What is the AeroPress Original XL?
The Original at twice the size, with a 20 oz Tritan carafe to press into.
The AeroPress's one real limit is that it makes one cup. The XL answers it directly: the same three-part mechanism scaled to 20 oz, which AeroPress rate at two to four cups, with a carafe included because a 20 oz brew will not fit in a mug.
Immersion then pressure: coffee steeps in a sealed tube and is pushed through a paper micro-filter by hand. That is a French press without the grit and a filter brew without the wait.
It is $79.95 and stands 193 by 152 mm, against 133 by 107 for the Original. In the box are the 20 oz carafe, XL paper micro-filters, an XL stirrer and a scoop. AeroPress say made in USA and add their own note that some products are manufactured overseas, which is more candour than most brands offer.
AeroPress Original XL what it is like to use
The same brew, scaled, which is harder than it sounds and mostly works.
Scaling an immersion brewer is not free. A bigger puck is a deeper bed, so the water has further to travel and the press takes more effort and more time, which lengthens the contact. In practice the XL wants a slightly coarser grind than the Original to keep the press from becoming a fight.
What does not change is the filter. Paper still traps the oils and the fines, so the cup is clean rather than heavy, and it is the same character as the smaller brewer rather than a French press in disguise.
As with every AeroPress, the maker's espresso claim does not survive contact with the numbers. Hand pressure is nowhere near nine bars, and a 20 oz brew is furthest of all from a shot.
What you can brew with it
Two to four cups at once, hot or cold, in the same two minutes.
20 oz is the point of it: two mugs at once, or one very large one, or a base for iced coffee that does not need brewing twice. It also makes cold brew in the same tube, and at this capacity a single overnight steep is worth doing.
The carafe is Tritan rather than glass, which matters more than it sounds: a 20 oz glass server is the part that breaks first in most brewers, and this one cannot.
Living with it, day to day
The same two-minute clean, one more thing to wash, and noticeably more to store.
The puck still ejects dry and the chamber still rinses in seconds, so the XL keeps the AeroPress's best trick at double the volume. The carafe is the extra job, and it is a wide-mouthed Tritan cup rather than anything awkward.
Chamber, plunger, seal and filter cap wash as before, top rack only. Spares are sold for all of them.
The filters are the running cost to watch: XL paper micro-filters are a different size from the standard ones and cost more, and they are not interchangeable with the Original's. An XL stainless steel filter is sold separately for anyone who would rather buy once.
AeroPress Original XL vs AeroPress Clear
Against the Original at $39.95, this is exactly twice the money for exactly twice the coffee.
The decision is arithmetic. If one 10 oz cup is enough, the Original does the same job for half the price in a smaller package. If two people want coffee at the same time, brewing twice on the Original takes four minutes and this takes two.
Against the Clear XL at $89.95, that is this brewer in Tritan rather than polypropylene: see-through, and ten dollars more.
Against a French press of similar capacity, this is cleaner in the cup and far cleaner to wash up, and the press is cheaper. Against a drip machine at 20 oz, the machine is easier and this is better.
Is the AeroPress Original XL worth it?
$79.95, which is a lot for an AeroPress and reasonable for a two-cup brewer.
Measured against its own family this is the expensive one, and the premium is real: double the Original, and the filters cost more per cup for as long as you own it.
Measured against anything else that makes two good cups in two minutes, it is competitive. A drip machine at this price brews more but stews it on a plate; a Chemex is cheaper but needs a kettle and five minutes of attention.
The honest test is how often two cups are needed at once. Occasionally, and the Original brewing twice is the cheaper answer. Daily, and this pays for itself in mornings.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Right for two coffee drinkers in one house; wrong for one person, and wrong for a rucksack.
Buy it if two of you want coffee at the same time every morning, or if you drink 20 oz yourself and are tired of brewing twice. The carafe being unbreakable Tritan makes it a sensible kitchen fixture rather than something to handle carefully.
Take the Original if one cup is your habit, because this is double the price and double the shelf space for capacity you would not use. Take the Go if it is going travelling: at 193 by 152 mm plus a carafe, this one stays on the counter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AeroPress Original XL?
The double-capacity AeroPress: 20 oz against the Original's 10, rated at two to four cups, with a 20 oz Tritan carafe, XL paper micro-filters, an XL stirrer and a scoop in the box. It is $79.95 and stands 193 by 152 mm.
Are AeroPress XL filters the same as the standard ones?
No. The XL takes a larger filter that is not interchangeable with the standard size, and it costs more per filter. That is a running cost worth knowing about before buying, and AeroPress also sell an XL stainless steel filter for anyone who would rather buy once.
AeroPress XL or Original?
Capacity, and nothing else meaningful. The XL is 20 oz for $79.95, the Original is 10 oz for $39.95, and both brew the same way in the same two minutes. If two people want coffee at once every morning, the XL saves you a second brew.
How many cups does the XL make?
AeroPress rate it at two to four, from a 20 oz brew. In practice that is two generous mugs or one very large one. The included Tritan carafe exists because 20 oz will not fit in a mug the way the Original's 10 oz does.
Does the XL come with a carafe?
Yes, a 20 oz Tritan carafe. Tritan rather than glass matters here: on most brewers at this capacity the glass server is the part that eventually breaks, and this one is shatterproof.
Is the XL harder to press than the Original?
A bigger brew is a deeper bed of coffee, so there is more resistance and the press takes longer. A slightly coarser grind than you would use in the Original keeps it comfortable and stops the longer press from over-extracting.
