EPIC AeroPress Filter - Stainless Steel Metal by Coffee Nebula

good filter for my purposes

Works....no problems.

sturdy filter and easy to clean

Works great. Feel better not having to worry about the paper.

UPDATE 12/10/2016I've been using this filter daily for well over a year now, and it's still going strong. It's been dropped many times as I carry my brewing equipment from my desk to the break room. Not a scratch on it. I strongly prefer the taste of coffee made with a metal filter now, too. Paper filters remove too much coffee goodness that coffee made with a paper filter, even an Aeropress paper filter using the same process I use with this steel filter, just tastes too "bright" to me now. I like the full body taste this product makes possible.Since having received this in exchange for a review, I've bought two more at normal price: one as a gift for a coworker, who loves it, and another for myself to keep at home. With this product still available at this price, I personally would not even consider any other option. Highly, highly recommended.ORIGINAL REVIEW 9/23/2015Disclaimer: I received a heavily discounted sample of this product in exchange for a fair and honest product review.That I received this product at a big discount has nothing to do with my five star rating. Having tried this, I would buy it again for up to twice the price as it's currently being sold for. This is a great filter at a great price!Unlike some other stainless steel AeroPress filters sold here on Amazon, the EPIC filter is made of a single, thin piece of stainless steel with beveled edges (the edges aren't sharp!) and holes drilled. It is not a mesh filter! Because it is a single solid piece and the holes are so small, it feels very durable in the hand. With my mesh AeroPress filter, I'm constantly worried I'll break the thing if I drop it or something. Not with this. The design very much promotes durability.I was a little concerned before my first use that the small holes might not be enough to allow water to flow readily through the filter (when pressing down the plunger of the AeroPress). My expectation was that some of the holes would clog and that the AeroPress might be very difficult to press down. That was not so in my case. I use a Hario Mini to grind my coffee on each use (at the 7 clicks setting), which is a somewhat coarse grind--coarser than drip but not so coarse as French Press. Using this grind, the filter did not clog at all or let any sediment through at all. In fact, I was happily surprised to find that it was actually easier to press the AeroPress plunger down when using this filter than it is with paper filters and is about the same ease of use as my mesh filter, which was more expensive. I'm quite happy with that aspect, too.A note about the holes: you might get sediment leaking or clogging if you use a very fine grind! You shouldn't be using espresso grinds with an AeroPress anyway because the grind is too fine and will overextract due to the much longer brew time of an AeroPress vs. an espresso machine, but normally espresso grinds will "work" with paper filters--just not ideally. With this filter, it is possible fine grinds could escape through the holes and introduce solid coffee to your cup or clog the holes and make it really tough to press the plunger down. Simple solution: don't use fine grinds. If you buy ground coffee instead of grinding your own, buy a drip grind or a French Press grind. If you can grind yourself at the store or own your own grinder, use a setting somewhere between drip and French Press. This will give you the best tasting coffee out of your AeroPress no matter the filter you're using. I personally use a Hario Mini hand grinder (~$20, single serving) and find it produces great results at 7 clicks, though it is a bit difficult to use (hard on the hands and wrists).Along the lines of ease of use, because this filter is a single piece of stainless steel, it doesn't have one problem my mesh filter has. My mesh filter is several pieces assembled together: the steel mesh plus an outer ring that holds the mesh together. The mesh filter is a little tough to clean because of its design. Sometimes coffee grounds get stuck in the ring. This EPIC filter is super easy. Just rinse it under water and brush your hand over the holes a few times to knock out bits that have gotten stuck. Bam--easy.Lastly, the coffee made with this filter tastes fantastic. Every cup I've pulled from the AeroPress using this filter has tasted like the best cups I've ever pulled using paper filters, only the results from the stainless filter are easier to produce consistently. I think the reason for this is partly to do with the AeroPress plunger being easier to press, making it easier to do a slow, consistently timed press each time. It's also possible that paper filters were affecting the taste of the coffee. Can't tell for sure. By no means is there a world of difference in the quality of the coffee when using paper filters vs. this EPIC stainless steel filter, but the point I at least mean to make is that this stainless filter makes at least as good if not better coffee than the paper filters.Now, it is true that you need to go through a *lot* of paper filters to equal the cost of even one of these EPIC filters. I think with current pricing it would take about a thousand paper filters to match the cost of an EPIC filter. That is a lot of coffee! And I'm not positive that the carbon footprint of a single EPIC filter is really less than that of one thousand paper filters (because the processes of refining iron into steel, manufacturing stainless steel, and manufacturing products made of stainless steel are all very expensive, ecologically speaking). If you're considering buying a stainless filter to save money or help the environment, consider your personality and use habits. If you think you might lose, accidentally throw away, or somehow break this filter in less time than it would take you to get through ~1,000 uses of the AeroPress, a single EPIC filter might end up being more costly than the same amount of paper filters you'd have used in that time. This consideration, though, is common to all stainless steel filters and isn't something unique to the EPIC filter. In fact, it's probably better for the EPIC filter because the manufacturing process of producing a single, flat piece of cut and drilled stainless steel is cheaper, ecologically speaking, than the manufacturing processes that produce mesh filters. In that regard, the EPIC filter is a better alternative to the mesh models. Just consider your use before buying one of these filters to save money or help the environment.Overall I love this filter and am grateful to the manufacturer for having made this offer to me. It's one of the few product samples I've received that I really see myself using all the time and will probably last me a very long time. As said before, I would definitely buy one again in a heartbeat if I lose or break this one.

I have used an aeropress daily for the last 8 months, and have always used the paper filters. The difference between the paper and stainless steel filters are subtle; slightly different taste, and not having to use the paper filter every time (less waste). However it does come with a couple of drawbacks;- I use the inverted method, it is a little more difficult to line up the filter and put the cap on (upside down)- I have noticed it is harder to depress the aeropress through the small holes in this filter- Over the course of a week I notice more of the holes in the filter getting clogged, so you really need to scrub the filter clean rather than just rinseOverall I think it is a very good product and like the idea of having a reusable filter, I will continue to use it.I was provided this product at a discount to provide a fair an honest review.

Full disclosure: Styer Systems offered a test sample of their product if I would post an objective review. I do not know the company or its owners.Metal Aeropress filters are not new and have been available for several years. The first filters were originally $25: I didn't think these products were needed in my kitchen at that price since a 2-year supply of paper filters was $10. I might change my mind considering the price and performance of the EPIC.Design: +1. Simple is better. The original stainless filters were screens with crimped frames, this design is difficult to clean thoroughly.What Styer, and a few other venders, have designed is something very much like the water defuser in an espresso machine. The Epic is a flat stainless foil with very fine holes, (perhaps laser cut?) and is quite rugged.Use: +1. I found the pressure to drive down the Aeropress plunger was a little greater than with the paper filter. However, I no longer had to worry about the paper filter "blowing out" or leaking grinds in my cup.Taste: +1. The EPIC did not add to the coffee flavor. I find paper filters add a bit of flavor unless they are rinsed before brewing. This was not needed with the EPIC and it didn't not add a metallic taste with either the acidic or neutral coffees I used.Residue/sediment: -1. I have not found any metal filters able to remove residue as well as paper. Period. My co-tester cannot abide sediment in her cup and she was put off by the EPIC on only this count. However, the sediment was much less than the screen types I have tried and I found it acceptable. (see picture) As another reviewer pointed out, this is could easily be remedied by making my grind a little coarser if I wish to please those with white teeth.Cleaning: +1. The EPIC only requires a rinse under running water after use, as one does when reusing a paper filter. I'd also recommend boiling steel filters monthly just to avoid "yuck." I chose the most coarse espresso grind to avoid clogging the holes in the filter. While many of these perforated foil filters can be cleaned with a pin, this is tedious and the EPIC holes are very small: This may make pin cleaning difficult. Just avoid the finer espresso grinds and you should be okay. Since I find I need to clean paper filters twice if I reuse them, before use and after, I give this criteria to the Epic since I only need rinse it once.I ultimately paid for the EPIC because it simplifies the slightly busy Aeropress workflow. It is good stuff and will likely out last your Aeropress. I hope my Aeropress using friends like their stocking stuffers this Christmas. (shhh)