My Moccamaster Delivers Drip Coffee Perfection

Coffee is the original office biohack and the nation’s most popular productivity tool. As we lose sleep to the changeover to daylight saving time, the caffeine-addicted WIRED Reviews team is writing about our favorite coffee brewing routines and devices that’ll keep us alert and maybe even happy in the morning. Today, reviewer Simon Hill gives an ode to the Technivorm Moccamaster. In the days after, we’ll add other Java.Base stories about other WIRED writers’ favorite brewing methods.

I don’t function too well until I’ve slurped down my first coffee of the day. It’s an addiction I accepted long ago. But my pursuit of the ideal morning cup has taken years. I tend to get obsessive about finding the ideal gadget (there’s a reason I’m on the WIRED Reviews team). I’m always eyeing up the next big thing, but the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT is my forever drip coffee machine.

Six minutes is all that stands between you and a perfectly brewed mug of delicious coffee. The Moccamaster is consistent, reliable, easy to use, and quiet. With an optimal design that’s more than 50 years old, it has attained evolutionary perfection for a drip coffee machine. It quickly fills your home with that irresistible aroma, makes the most of your beans, and looks great on the countertop.

The Brief

There’s no substitute for fresh-ground, quality beans, but I do not have time for the faff of tamping and tweaking. I also need enough for my wife, and I want a second cup lined up and ready to go when I’ve finished my first. Drip coffee is my go-to, and after a parade of mostly cheap machines over the years, I have settled on Technivorm’s Moccamaster KBGT.

I hated coffee growing up, but we only ever had instant coffee in the house. Watery and weak, instant coffee is enough to put anyone off. Good coffee was far from ubiquitous in ’90s Scotland. My wife introduced me to my first “proper coffee” at an Italian café. The aroma, the crema, the depth of flavor, suddenly I understood.

For years, coffee was something we got at a café or restaurant. We drank tea indoors. But my reliance built when I got a job testing games. We often had to pull all-nighters to get a build tested in time for the publisher. There was a pot of drip coffee available at all times, and it was a constant companion during my years in game development, though it came from a big Kirkland tin and was usually stewed to death.

At home, we graduated to a French press, perfect for lazy Sunday mornings. But eventually, we got a drip coffee machine of our own. There have been dalliances with cheap espresso machines, but the biggest step up in our coffee game was buying fresh beans from a good roaster and grinding them for every pot. After finding my favorite roaster (Glen Lyon) and pairing it with the Oxo Conical Burr Grinder, then upgrading to the Fellow Opus, I turned my attention to the machine.

Worth It

I dithered for a long time about whether the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT could possibly justify its price. Even on sale, it’s three or four times more expensive than a standard drip coffee machine. But there are reasons.

Photograph: Simon Hill

This Dutch master, handmade in the Netherlands since 1968, has a steel construction, copper heating element, and a glass-lined thermal carafe. It is precise, brewing at between 92 and 96 degrees Celsius, earning it awards from the European Coffee Brewing Center and the Specialty Coffee Association. If the sales spiel has your eyes glazing over, just know that this machine makes great coffee every time.

I switched from a long-serving Melitta that I was happy with, but I could taste the improvement in my first cup. It made my coffee sing, reduced the bitterness, and unlocked deeper flavors. It was also much faster. Over time, I discovered the Moccamaster was far easier to keep clean, incredibly consistent, and refreshingly straightforward. Fill it and hit a single switch. No need to think, which is ideal for my foggy brain first thing in the morning.

The Moccamaster is easy to take apart and clean. It can also be repaired, and you can order replacement parts if anything wears out. It comes with a five-year warranty, but Technivorm will repair it beyond that time for a reasonable fee.

The Moccamaster won’t suit everyone. Some folks balk at the plastic parts, and they can feel jarringly cheap compared to the rest of the machine, but that’s because they are BPA, BPS, BPF, and phthalate-free. You should only wash them in soapy water, not in the dishwasher.

If you like your coffee piping hot but take your time finishing a pot, the Moccamaster might cool down a little too quickly. The thermal carafe works quite well when it’s full but not so much after you’ve had a cup or two, and you can’t see inside to check how much is left.

We always use the same oversize mugs, so I know a pot gets us two cups apiece, and we drink it all within a couple of hours. But you can opt for the Moccamaster KBGV Select Coffee Maker if you want a glass carafe, a hot plate, and the option to brew small batches.

You can argue that the only constant in life is change, but the Moccamaster begs to differ. The next big thing, one-upmanship of tech can be exhausting, so it’s refreshing when you can Buy It for Life. My forever coffee machine has been brewing me a perfect cup every morning for a couple of years now. I expect it to outlive me.