Bigging Up The Aeropress » The Aeropress – Exposed Grounds, Filter And Filter Cap

Even though the Aeropress filters look and feel like newspaper, they are surprisingly durable, and survive many rinses and coffee makings.

 
If you unscrewed the filter cap, set it to one side, peeled off the filter from the used grounds, rested the filter on the filter cap prior to rinsing, and then watched the sun come out and shine through the window before capturing the entire moment on film memory card, it would look something like this.

I think it’s quite pretty.   :)

Even though the filters look and feel like newspaper, they are surprisingly durable, and survive many rinses and coffee makings.   The only time I’ve been forced to replace one  (aside from when kvetch threw out the used ones during misguided cleaning efforts)  was the one and only time I tried to remove the plunger with the  (wet)  filter in place.   I struggled to get the plunger out of the base, and the filter tore and had to be discarded anyhow, so really the whole thing was an exercise in futility.
 

• The moral of the story  -  Always, always, always remove the filter cap and filter before removing the plunger from the base.