The AeroPress ships with paper filters. Most people never try anything else. But the filter is the single biggest lever you have for changing how your coffee tastes — more than grind size, water temperature, or steep time.

There are three filter types worth knowing about: paper, metal, and cloth. Each one changes what ends up in your cup.

What the Filter Actually Does

Coffee contains oils (lipids), dissolved solids (the flavor compounds you want), and fine particles (tiny fragments of ground coffee). The filter’s job is to hold back the grounds. But depending on the material and pore size, it also holds back — or lets through — oils and fines.

Oils add body and mouthfeel. They also contain cafestol and kahweol, which contribute bitterness. Fines add texture and weight but can make the cup muddy if there are too many.

The tradeoff is always clarity vs. body. More filtration = cleaner, brighter, thinner. Less filtration = heavier, richer, muddier.

Paper

Paper is the default and the most popular for a reason. It absorbs oils and traps nearly all fines, producing a clean cup with clear, discernible flavors. Light and medium roasts benefit the most — paper lets origin characteristics (fruit, floral, acidity) come through without being masked by oils or sediment.

The standard AeroPress filters are thin. They work, but under the ~1.5 bars of pressure during plunging, they become more porous and let some fines through. Two fixes:

  • Stack two filters. Doubles the filtration. The cup gets noticeably cleaner, closer to a Chemex pour over. Several AeroPress competition winners use this technique.
  • Use thicker paper. Aesir filters are denser than the stock ones, with smaller pores that hold up better under pressure. They produce exceptional clarity — the biggest single upgrade you can make to an AeroPress if you prefer clean cups.

Paper is single-use, but the filters are cheap (~$0.02 each) and compostable.

Metal

Metal disc filters (Able DISK, Fellow Prismo, AeroPress’s own stainless steel filter) let oils and fine particles pass through. The result is a heavier, fuller-bodied cup — closer to French press than pour over.

AeroPress’s stainless steel filter has laser-cut 178-micron holes. Their gold-tone filter has smaller holes for slightly less sediment. Third-party options vary in mesh fineness.

Metal works well with medium and dark roasts where you want richness, chocolate notes, and a thick mouthfeel. It’s less ideal for light roasts — the oils and fines tend to mask the delicate acidity and fruit notes that make light roasts interesting.

Metal filters are reusable indefinitely. Rinse after each use, soak monthly in coffee cleaner or baking soda.

Cloth

Cloth sits between paper and metal. It lets oils through (like metal) but catches most fines (like paper). The result is a cup with more body and richness than paper, but without the grit or muddiness of metal.

If you like the mouthfeel of French press but wish it were cleaner, cloth is the answer.

The downside is maintenance. Cloth filters need to be rinsed immediately after use and stored wet (in water in the fridge). They absorb flavors over time and need replacing every few weeks. Most people find this annoying enough to stick with paper or metal.

Which Filter for Which Coffee

Filter Body Clarity Best for
Paper (single) Light High All-purpose, especially light–medium roasts
Paper (double or Aesir) Very light Very high Light roasts, competition-style clarity
Metal (fine mesh) Heavy Low Dark roasts, chocolate/nutty profiles
Metal (standard mesh) Very heavy Very low French press lovers, espresso-style concentrate
Cloth Medium Medium Medium roasts, balanced body + clarity

The short version: if you want to taste the bean’s origin character, use paper. If you want richness and weight, use metal. If you want both and don’t mind the upkeep, use cloth.

Stacking Filters

You can combine paper and metal. A paper filter on top of a metal disc gives you the body from the metal (oils pass through the paper during the steep) with slightly more clarity during the press. Some people do the reverse — metal on bottom, paper on top — for a cleaner cup that still has some oil character.

This is mostly for experimentation. For daily brewing, pick one filter type and dial in your grind and ratio around it.

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