The Aeropress can do good things, but not following the official recipe. James Hoffman has a nice technique (backed by a lot of experimentation) that works well

The Aeropress can do good things, but not following the official recipe. James Hoffman has a nice technique (backed by a lot of experimentation) that works well for me. But for minimal fuss and consistent results, I agree that something like the clever dripper, a French press, or a "slow flowing" V-shape pourover are the best options. That said, I don't think "water first" makes much difference. It's a matter of long contact time guaranteeing good extraction, and eliminating the need to worry about precise grind size.