Huh, cool. If you want to save a few bucks you can go with a stainless steel French press or a mason jar if you're into cold brews. You're symbolizing a different kind of status though.
This summer was sunny and hot in Colorado, so every morning I'd make a jar of sun coffee. I'd leave it out through the day and overnight. The next morning I'd pull it in, filter it, refill it with grounds and water and take it outside again. It was cool enough to enjoy and really smooth.
throwaway81523 10 hours ago [-]
French press coffee isn't so healthy either because of stuff like cafestols in the fines (small diameter grounds) that slip through the french press screen. To get rid of those you want a brewing scheme with a paper filter. The simplest no-plastic approach is a Chemex. They have a history and they also look cool as heck. Unfortunately, since they are made of glass, they can break if you're not careful. https://chemexcoffeemaker.com/
Barbing 5 hours ago [-]
Nice lazy method: overnight cold brew + pour into a [glass] pourover w/paper filter.
Make a lot to only use a couple paper filters a week. Most days, your coffee is already ready in the fridge, no wait (unless you wanna microwave it or something).
Make it really strong and dilute with a lot of [non-dairy] milk to go easy on the stomach.
littlecranky67 3 hours ago [-]
How do you heat it up then? Or is it supposed to be drank cold?
senderista 3 hours ago [-]
I heat it up in the microwave all the time. Smooth as a pour-over and much less of a hassle to make.
littlecranky67 3 hours ago [-]
That is the advise I got before, but I find this is super difficult to hit the right temperature. I either get boiling coffee, or luke warm.
bayindirh 2 hours ago [-]
When you get used to the microwave you have, you can hit the same spot every time. It's a formula depending on your cup, the wattage of he microwave and time.
I can hit the temperature I want every time on a Bosch microwave from 80s which has two power levels and a rotary, mechanical timer.
Teynah 46 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
bayindirh 2 hours ago [-]
If you don't want to use paper filters, you can use Swiss Gold, generic all-steel or cloth ones as well. Also there's Stanley's all steel pour-over.
When you want to go low or no plastics, there are many choices now.
bradleyjg 1 hours ago [-]
Other than the fact that it does looks cool, what is simpler or better about this over a hario V60 ceramic dripper directly over a mug?
hyperbovine 10 hours ago [-]
Which is ironic because if you’re into Chemex you’re into vinyl, in my experience.
VladVladikoff 9 hours ago [-]
What is the advantage of this over a normal paper filter coffee maker?
throwaway81523 3 hours ago [-]
It's hard to find plastic-free normal paper filter coffee makers. A few exist but mostly only for small batches. Also, the porcelain or glass ones are breakable just like the Chemex. I'm a bit suspicious of copper (Hario makes one of those). Kalita has a stainless steel one but it's small and expensive. I'd be interested if you know of anything else.
nickff 10 hours ago [-]
The Chemex can also be a little annoying because of the tendency of the filter to block the 'spout', causing the brewer to stall, and requiring a chopstick or straw to avoid. That said, I use my Chemex twice a week.
hedora 6 hours ago [-]
If you want to save fewer bucks, get to zero plastic and get better espresso, you can buy one of these and a burr grinder:
I've had one for about a decade. It reliably produces better espresso than >99% of Bay Area coffee shops. (>95% if you exclude national chains).
If I were buying one today, I'd toss the flow control head, silicon sleeve on the cylinder and the pressure gauge, but those come with it for free now, so to each their own, I guess.
The trick is to boil the stainless steel cylinder in your kettle (PID at sea level, conventional above ~ 2000 ft elevation) with the water so that you get the temperature dialed in within a degree C or so, like a conventional (lead-filled, unlike the flair) Italian machine. I use a pair of tongs to pick up the stainless steel cylinder, so I don't need the sleeve. (Check the boiling point of water at your elevation -- unlike a steam machine, this can't exceed that temperature, so stuff might start to run kinda cool at 3000 ft or so).
Flair doesn't sell a "true" classic anymore, but I bet they could get the bare bones variant I use to < $100 if they tried. Maybe someone else will when any patents run out. My only other complaint is that the two-in-one bottomless porta-filter I have runs the espresso across plastic when in non-bottomless mode.
Note that the thing I linked has a plastic plunger. They make a stainless steel one as an upgrade. At that point, you're down to one silcone o-ring in the water / coffee path. Everything else is stainless, so no lead. The next thing to worry about is nickel, but that only matters if you're allergic. I used to use the SS plunger, but then you need to boil it too if you want to dial in the water temperature.
senderista 3 hours ago [-]
I've tried the Flair and I find the Aeropress much less fussy.
bayindirh 2 hours ago [-]
Aeropress is accelerated drip coffee. It's not espresso by any means.
filcuk 2 hours ago [-]
I hve either never had a good espresso or genuinely can't tell the difference between that as americano and an aeropress/v60. Probably best for me not to spend any more on these machines with my unrefined palette
bayindirh 42 minutes ago [-]
Honestly, I'd not be that hard on myself, and making bad espresso is easy in comparison to making a good one, but you don't need to go influencer levels of rituals to get good espresso either.
A good espresso/americano has more bite in taste than a good Aeropress/V60/drip. I personally love smoother profiles (less acidity, less bite, etc.), so darker roasts and espresso on the bitter side is not my kind of thing, but preferences differ. OTOH, I can make myself a cup of instant coffee if I feel lazy.
Again, there's no need to punch yourself like that. Try, experiment and build your taste profile. These kinds of hobbies needs some kind of experience to refine what you like and what you don't.
Most importantly, don't let anyone's taste dictate yours and vice versa. I never get upset just because how someone I know prefers their coffee way different than mine, but they insist that I shouldn't drink that coffee, because that doesn't fit their taste preferences.
There's no wrong, but only things you like. You can't fail at this, because there's no way to do so.
lerchmo 3 hours ago [-]
Aeropress cannot really do an espresso at a full 7,8 or 9 bar. It’s more like a pour over.
amanaplanacanal 1 hours ago [-]
I'm guessing the Flair can't either. That "pressure gauge" is hilarious.
Teynah 48 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
asdff 8 hours ago [-]
When I broke my french press I got by fine with just throwing grounds in a pot of boiled water and decanting it off after a few minutes steep. Basically all the press does anyhow just less convenient.
seemaze 6 hours ago [-]
Cowboy coffee. Simple, bur effective.
KingMob 2 hours ago [-]
A percolator would be perfect for you then. Plus they make a really pleasing sound!
mathgeek 11 hours ago [-]
> You're symbolizing a different kind of status though.
Now I'm curious whether you mean a higher status (which I infer when folks are using such things) or a lower status (which I could also infer).
bradleyjg 60 minutes ago [-]
It’s (attempted) countersignaling.
kombookcha 4 hours ago [-]
I haven't heard the expression "sun coffee" before. Is it just a colloquial cold brew?
roflchoppa 19 hours ago [-]
I should get my cold brew setup out, thanks for the reminder.
dominotw 19 hours ago [-]
i dont like french press coffee
Marsymars 19 hours ago [-]
FWIW, French press and cold brew are entirely different - the fact that a French press was used to filter cold brew is really kind of incidental.
Fricken 19 hours ago [-]
I use a moka pot. I don't feel comfortable calling what it makes espresso but for it's still pretty decent. If I had more patience I would do pour over at home.
bulbar 18 hours ago [-]
Well, the moka pot makes moka, not espresso ;-).
seemaze 18 hours ago [-]
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but even the $10k slayer espresso machine has a plastic water resevoir. Granted the brewing assembly is mostly plastic free.
While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible, it's practically impossible in the modern world.
Simple is usually best; glass or ceramic pour over, stainless press, or even the traditional South American coffee sock[0]
> While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible, it's practically impossible in the modern world.
I think the argument is pretty simple:
- Plastic is bad (environment, microplastics, etc)
- We should minimize it
That doesn't necessitate a "all the way to zero or don't bother" logic, which what you're saying reads as.
Coffee pods machines have been an environmental nightmare, great to see a growing trend that addresses this.
233mhz 2 hours ago [-]
If you care enough about the environment to get rid of plastic you should get rid of coffee too, this argument makes no sense
benrutter 1 hours ago [-]
"This machine used 99% less plastic over its lifetime, but it still uses some plastic, so why bother?"
"You say reducing plastic is good for the environment, but then you drink coffee which is bad for the environment, so you shouldn't bother even reducing plastic"
"EVs still use energy that's been generated from gas, even if its a lot less, so you might as well just drive a diesel powered pick up truck"
AdamN 2 hours ago [-]
Yeah this is the real issue. Ironically Nespresso pods are probably more environmentally friendly even if thrown in the trash and not recycled because the real environmental burden comes from the coffee itself and those pods are highly efficient in terms of how little coffee is consumed per shot.
I still drink coffee regularly so am not going to say people should stop doing what I continue to do but it's worth it for coffee drinkers to be thoughtful about the impact of their consumption.
amanaplanacanal 57 minutes ago [-]
Environmental burden of coffee: are you taking about transport costs to wherever you are, or something else?
benrutter 54 minutes ago [-]
Not OP, but coffee is really high on water use, and can be a big cause of deforestation in some cases. So they're probably getting at this.
my-huge-pony 18 minutes ago [-]
Apparently producing coffee beans for one large coffee uses 140kg of water. Ok, that sounds like a lot.
But also apparently producing one meal worth of chicken takes 700kg of water. Over 3000kg of water for beef. So I think, in comparison, coffee water use if negligible.
saidnooneever 18 hours ago [-]
stainless steel might be less bad for environment if u chuck it in the bin but if you look at the entire process from getting ores to having the steel item i dont really think its a very big difference.
used to live nexto a huge steel refinery and many mental diseases and cancers in the area are up more than 50% not to mention lots of birth defects etc.
maybe its effects are more local idk. Not sure how glass and ceramic are made.
ofc not bad to try and eliminate plastics but having 1 plastic free device that is overly expensive is really just a status thing. it contributes nexto nothing to environmental goals which i think eliminating plastics belongs to.
u can just put the grounds in a cup and pour hot water on it afterall. tastes fine.
Teynah 42 minutes ago [-]
The irony is that replacing a perfectly functional plastic coffee maker with a brand new $500 stainless steel one might be worse environmentally than just continuing to use what you have
coolestguy 13 hours ago [-]
It’s not about the environment for a lot of people, it’s about microplastics and their body
panos_news 15 hours ago [-]
This one has a glass reservoir. Look at the product page images before you decide to bear any news
seemaze 10 hours ago [-]
Well, it was paywalled, but that's beside the point. The point is that this marketeering contraption solves a problem that the marketeers created.
Coffee was enjoyed for hundreds of years before plastic was invented. The answer is not to get rid of the plastic, but get rid of the machine.
3 hours ago [-]
plorg 18 hours ago [-]
And unless you're picking it up at your roaster in a container you bring yourself the beans have probably been rattling around in a polyethylene-lined bag.
wackget 18 hours ago [-]
I was very skeptical but apparently the Caraway machine uses a glass reservoir and stainless steel pipes.
ninininino 18 hours ago [-]
> it's practically impossible in the modern world
This sort of defeatism is why people don't try. Consumers can shift products through purchase behaviors. We're already seeing improvements in kitchen appliances and gear, cosmetics, some outdoor gear.
iamnothere 16 hours ago [-]
Believe it or not, lawsuits and regulations are much more effective. Consumer behavior rarely moves the needle. It may make you feel better, but you can’t consume your way to a better world.
Conspicuous consumption has many forms, “ethical” consumerism is just the latest variation.
zenapollo 10 hours ago [-]
Would love to see some research on this. My libertarian friends are a dog with a bone in their belief that our individual dollar-votes are the foremost and correct way we shape the economic landscape. I can’t imagine how anyone arrives there from research or history or experience, but I guess it keeps their Ayn Rand-ian ambition fired up.
That being said i wish they were right. I pay a premium for organic and farmers market. As well as plastic free everything. It feels good to support those businesses, but they are still mostly just getting by.
Beyond lawsuits and regulations - I’ve personally seen what Europe is doing to deploy financial programs for transitions to, for example, regenerative farming. It really works. With the extra funds/financing, farms are able to plan 2-5 year payback instead 10+. The incentive alignment makes a huge difference.
iamnothere 8 hours ago [-]
Asbestos, lead, CFCs, DDT, there’s a ton of examples of where it worked. The question as usual is where regulation is appropriate and how far it should go. Banning lead pipes was obvious, and it worked once people understood the downsides and limited upside, but banning drugs has been a failure.
You have to look at the demand side of the equation, because creating black markets isn’t a good idea, and neither is creating widespread resistance and discontent. Governments aren’t all powerful (thank goodness), so regulation has to focus on the stuff that’s most harmful and has the highest chance of success.
foxglacier 1 hours ago [-]
If they were very profitable instead of just getting by, more of them would appear until they were just getting by again. So that's not a sign of lack of impact of your spending.
jrootabega 17 hours ago [-]
A small subset of coffee drinkers might produce a purchase trend that leads to a brief production of an overpriced coffee machine which still ends up being produced in the cheapest, dirtiest country they can get away with. The rest do not care and never will.
userbinator 4 hours ago [-]
While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible
I don't, and this is just stupid virtue-signaling for the easily gullible hypochondriacs.
Plastics came from hydrocarbons, which make up the bulk of all living matter.
amanaplanacanal 52 minutes ago [-]
And all hydrocarbons have the exact same health effects, amirite?
mikeweiss 8 hours ago [-]
I like Moka pots. Zero plastic
But seriously it's a shame how hard it is to find products like coffee makers and electric kettles with no plastic. Heat and plastic don't mix
asdff 8 hours ago [-]
Took me forever to find a french press that was all glass and stainless steel. Most of them the little filter at the cap (which vintage ones lack entirely fwiw) is some black plastic, but I found a bodum off crate and barrel a couple years ago that was stainless for that part too.
0_____0 6 hours ago [-]
Still has a polymer gasket :)
pengaru 7 hours ago [-]
> Heat and plastic don't mix
actually they do, and that's the problem
SomaticPirate 19 hours ago [-]
Aeropress makes a glass version although I was never too concerned about the microplastic risk
SoftTalker 18 hours ago [-]
Huh. They used to say they specifically did not offer a glass or stainless version because it would get too hot to hold/use.
Instead of a new $500 coffee maker like the ones in the article, that takes special (likely costly) presssed pellets of coffee, get a Chemex pour over for $50 and you'll never need another coffee maker again (unless you drop it). No plastic, and you can use whatever coffee you want.
plorkyeran 18 hours ago [-]
The original founder sold the company and the people who took over promptly did all the things people asked for and he said no to.
The glass aeropress is way more expensive ($200 rather than $30) and is bad in all the ways he said it'd be bad. Heavier, fragile, and makes worse coffee unless you put some extra effort into preheating it. Looks better, though.
mathgeek 11 hours ago [-]
Can't say I really have a problem with them. Let them sell expensive glass ones for the folks who care about the look. I've been plenty happy with my plastic ones (including the travel set).
Kirby64 11 hours ago [-]
> Huh. They used to say they specifically did not offer a glass or stainless version because it would get too hot to hold/use.
The expensive glass one uses double walled glass, so it’s not too bad. It’s $200 though which is ridiculous.
jrootabega 18 hours ago [-]
Bodum makes a pourover thingy that is no more than $20-30. Chemex is just the "prestige" brand.
iamnothere 16 hours ago [-]
How are other people supposed to understand that you’re wealthy and attractive if you buy the plebeian brand?
grich7642 18 hours ago [-]
It's not actually glass but a different synthetic/plastic. They do, however, make a stainless steel version. A lot of food safe stainless steel products are coated in PFAS though.
BobaFloutist 17 hours ago [-]
Now I'm going down the same rabbit hole I went down when people started talking about using wax instead of plastic, trying to determine if something being glass means it's definitely not plastic.
It does look like things we recognize as glass aren't plastic. So that's nice!
nachbo 18 hours ago [-]
I own one. It's glass and cast aluminum. Pricey but feels very solid. The glass does not get hot. It's very think.
devindotcom 9 hours ago [-]
I have a Technivorm Moccamaster KBG-V and they use good plastic for their parts but it's still plastic (except the thermal carafe etc). There's a new copycat version that's all glass and plastic (Simply Good I think?) but not sure how it actually performs.
What I'm surprised at is that no one has made non-plastic drop-in replacement parts for the reservoir, basket, and funnel. The KBG-V is highly modular so it's strange to me that no one has gone this route. It shouldn't change anything significant in the brewing process or quality of the coffee.
tedd4u 7 hours ago [-]
You can purchase a kit now that eliminates all plastic from the brew path, including a Hario V60 glass dripper, metal bracket with cork adapter, and a glass carafe with cork lid (all for $120, or buy parts separately). (No affiliation.)
Does it even make a difference for non-heated parts? Potable water is delivered in PVC pipes and HDPE hoses these days.
silverFork 18 hours ago [-]
Typical paper cups that are used to serve coffee produce massively more plastic particles and they are more toxic. One cup per year exceeds what whole year of coffee maker plastic releases..
Ok, but real coffee drinkers don't use paper cups ...
silverFork 18 hours ago [-]
They do when they are at work. People don't carry a tumbler when they go to the movies. There are starbuck's what do you call groupies and alike. The pods produce a lot of micro plastic too.
Years ago I looked for all stainless coffee maker and even the most expensive ones had plastic parts. The drip mechanism for all of them had plastic parts. I don't know if they have changed or not.
baud147258 1 hours ago [-]
> They do when they are at work.
what, they don't have their company-provided mug with the company logo on it? Though to be fair at work, most employee have been given a mug, there's a stack of freely usable mugs next to the coffee machine and there's a dishwasher there too so you don't have to wash them by hand, but there are still people using the paper cups.
KingMob 1 hours ago [-]
I'm sure a lot of workplaces have a kitchen with an assortment of random mugs. Maybe this is true at a construction site, but nowhere I've ever worked lacked non-paper cups.
polotics 14 hours ago [-]
Nope! The number of jokes I get at the office coffee machine (well the nespresso next to it) with my shot glass, you wouldn't believe. btw anyone tried the seaweed sphere capsules? :-)
Only in America is a coffee machine without plastic something special.
bob1029 18 hours ago [-]
When I drank coffee I would use a Hario V60. Avoiding plastic is trivial (and cheap). $40-50 for the entire setup. I preferred to waste my money on expensive beans instead.
lanfeust6 8 hours ago [-]
Hario Switch for me. The cheap manual devices make the best brew. Mind you, I make only one strong cup in the am and it's just for me.
bschwindHN 4 hours ago [-]
The V60 and the Switch are so good! I prefer the V60 when I have time to brew, but the Switch also makes a great cup that's a bit smoother tasting (which is good sometimes, not as good other times), and requires less supervision to brew.
V60 is still the undisputed champ for cleanup though. Dump the filter in the trash, rinse the dripper, and you're done.
regus 8 hours ago [-]
I make coffee in an electric percolator. It’s stainless steel, the coffee never touches any plastic. People online say this is the worst way to make coffee, but it tastes fine to me.
jmugan 7 hours ago [-]
We recently switched to that. I don't like the taste as much but not sure what else to do. This coffee thing is getting complicated.
comrade1234 19 hours ago [-]
I used to grind my coffee and manually make espresso. Years ago though I switched to an all-in-one. I was very adamant that it had to have ceramic grinders so that it will last forever. I've since had to replace some internal parts and I'm sure the display will eventually fail and not be replaceable, but those grinders are going to last centuries!
giwook 19 hours ago [-]
I'm assuming you've already noted in your will that the ceramic grinders be harvested from your coffee maker when everything's being sold at an estate sale otherwise what was the point of anything
Marsymars 19 hours ago [-]
> I was very adamant that it had to have ceramic grinders so that it will last forever.
I wonder about this - I've got a few 1Zpresso grinders - they're rated for 100-200kg of coffee, and napkin math says my most-used one has probably done about 70kg to date. At grinder prices and my age though, not sure I'd ever come out ahead with BIFL burrs though.
Kirby64 11 hours ago [-]
No ceramic burr grinders make comparable coffee to steel burrs. They’re all worse. Enjoy your steel burrs and don’t overthink it. Even “worn out” I bet they will taste better than ceramic burrs.
ungreased0675 4 hours ago [-]
Can you explain why? I don’t know enough about coffee grinders to work out how there could be any difference in the end product.
KingMob 1 hours ago [-]
I'm guessing because ceramics are hard, but not as hard as steel, so they're less precise as grinders.
Thing is, no grinder can produce perfectly-sized grounds 100% of the time. Due to randomness in how the beans break, there will always be pieces smaller than the desired size. (Probably larger pieces sneak through, too.)
Grinders all produce a distribution, it's just that burr grinders tend to have a tighter distribution than cheap spice grinders. I'd guess that ceramic burr grinders have ever-so-slightly more give than steel, and will let through slightly more undesired grounds as a result.
But it's probably a pretty minor effect.
ungreased0675 4 hours ago [-]
A Chemex with properly weighed and proportioned beans makes excellent coffee. It’s also plastic free and there isn’t a wait list.
turtlebro 18 hours ago [-]
Join team instant coffee. It's way better then its rep. No microplastics either.
viciousvoxel 9 hours ago [-]
Unfortunately instant coffee still has microplastics from the production process. Probably even more than regular coffee actually.
bschwindHN 4 hours ago [-]
> It's way better then its rep
Sorry but no, it has the reputation it deserves. It's an admirable invention for fast caffeine delivery, but you can get so much better flavor out of coffee that it's not even close.
zaphar 19 hours ago [-]
I mean, among real coffee snobs the status symbol is mostly not using a Keurig or Lavazza machine at all. Pour overs, Espresso machines, most status symbol coffee equipment is pretty light on the plastic already.
schnevets 19 hours ago [-]
I think it's less about status or quality and more about a convenient cup of complimentary coffee in a waiting room that doesn't come with two ounces of environmental guilt.
Marsymars 19 hours ago [-]
Yeah, my normal morning coffee for my wife and I is from a Kalita Wave glass brewer. No plastic touches the coffee. Costs $40. Ceramic or stainless steel also available.
shostack 18 hours ago [-]
This. Anyone serious about coffee who is not going with one of these machines purely for convenience and speed would not otherwise consider them in a million years.
19 hours ago [-]
jrootabega 18 hours ago [-]
It's CNN. Not exactly news snobs.
PowerElectronix 18 hours ago [-]
Do people take pods coffee seriously? If you want to signal true status with coffee you pull your roasted coffee beans from a very exotic place, ground them in your very expensive stainless steel manual grinder and make a very strong, very flavorful espresso in your generic chinese espresso machine (that steo is just heat, water and pressure, no need to go overboard there).
nstents 18 hours ago [-]
In the hinterlands we use a variable speed drill, a Hilti at this level, to power our manual grinder for the roasted exotic beans before using a stainless steel Alessi moka pot for our coffee.
No sense using our hands to belabor the point when grinding.
zekehernandez 19 hours ago [-]
I would enjoy a plastic-free drip machine with a thermal carafe for convenient large batches. For now, been enjoying a stainless steel french press and pour over.
sfpotter 9 hours ago [-]
Love my La Pavoni.
boplicity 9 hours ago [-]
Check out Coffee Sensor -- they make non-plastic replacement parts, so you can get fully plastic free.
Does it fix the weird chemical taste of pod coffee?
elchief 19 hours ago [-]
i just use a stainless steel electric kettle, and a glass ikea french press
$55ish CAD total
rafram 19 hours ago [-]
This setup does not make good coffee compared to an espresso machine.
chocochunks 18 hours ago [-]
I think you mean that setup does not make good espresso compared to an espresso machine. As someone that enjoys good coffee but doesn't particularly like drinking an overly strong thimble of coffee, a cup of milk on top of a thimble of coffee or a grossly stringent cup of coffee I hate the equation that espresso is the best coffee. My favourite bits of coffee, what I enjoy in lighter roasts is lost in espresso. Espresso is nice for cafes because it's a quick non-batch brew, that's about it.
You can have good coffee from any method.
skinfaxi 19 hours ago [-]
I wouldn't consider a French-press coffee to be espresso. In fact, espresso is probably too fine for a French press.
mcmcmc 19 hours ago [-]
It does if you like French press
Milner08 18 hours ago [-]
Nonsense. They are different drinks. Filter coffee through a French press can be fantastic, as can Espresso. You can also get dreadful espresso and dreadful filter coffee. However if you start with good beans the chance of getting good coffee out of a French press is much higher than a proper espresso machine (If you know what you're doing it can be amazing, but dialing it in properly is no easy task)
cjoelrun 18 hours ago [-]
Status: titanium credit card at expensive local coffee shop.
christkv 19 hours ago [-]
So ridiculous we already have ESE pods for traditional expresso machines. We replaced the Nespresso machine in the office with a normal expresso machine so people can make bring their own ground coffee if they want but we also offer ESE pods for people who don't care but still want a good coffee.
amelius 18 hours ago [-]
I hate it that Apple products still have so much plastic in them. Makes them look flimsy.
zombot 16 hours ago [-]
I must be hot shit then, my portafilter has no plasic and neither does my grinder.
orbis-tertius 2 hours ago [-]
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moeenmirza707 18 hours ago [-]
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throwitaway222 19 hours ago [-]
I think the status symbol is not having enough time to make it at home and also being able to afford it at Starbucks.
Rendered at 10:32:56 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
This summer was sunny and hot in Colorado, so every morning I'd make a jar of sun coffee. I'd leave it out through the day and overnight. The next morning I'd pull it in, filter it, refill it with grounds and water and take it outside again. It was cool enough to enjoy and really smooth.
Make a lot to only use a couple paper filters a week. Most days, your coffee is already ready in the fridge, no wait (unless you wanna microwave it or something).
Make it really strong and dilute with a lot of [non-dairy] milk to go easy on the stomach.
I can hit the temperature I want every time on a Bosch microwave from 80s which has two power levels and a rotary, mechanical timer.
When you want to go low or no plastics, there are many choices now.
https://flairespresso.com/products/the-flair-classic
I've had one for about a decade. It reliably produces better espresso than >99% of Bay Area coffee shops. (>95% if you exclude national chains).
If I were buying one today, I'd toss the flow control head, silicon sleeve on the cylinder and the pressure gauge, but those come with it for free now, so to each their own, I guess.
The trick is to boil the stainless steel cylinder in your kettle (PID at sea level, conventional above ~ 2000 ft elevation) with the water so that you get the temperature dialed in within a degree C or so, like a conventional (lead-filled, unlike the flair) Italian machine. I use a pair of tongs to pick up the stainless steel cylinder, so I don't need the sleeve. (Check the boiling point of water at your elevation -- unlike a steam machine, this can't exceed that temperature, so stuff might start to run kinda cool at 3000 ft or so).
Flair doesn't sell a "true" classic anymore, but I bet they could get the bare bones variant I use to < $100 if they tried. Maybe someone else will when any patents run out. My only other complaint is that the two-in-one bottomless porta-filter I have runs the espresso across plastic when in non-bottomless mode.
Note that the thing I linked has a plastic plunger. They make a stainless steel one as an upgrade. At that point, you're down to one silcone o-ring in the water / coffee path. Everything else is stainless, so no lead. The next thing to worry about is nickel, but that only matters if you're allergic. I used to use the SS plunger, but then you need to boil it too if you want to dial in the water temperature.
A good espresso/americano has more bite in taste than a good Aeropress/V60/drip. I personally love smoother profiles (less acidity, less bite, etc.), so darker roasts and espresso on the bitter side is not my kind of thing, but preferences differ. OTOH, I can make myself a cup of instant coffee if I feel lazy.
Again, there's no need to punch yourself like that. Try, experiment and build your taste profile. These kinds of hobbies needs some kind of experience to refine what you like and what you don't.
Most importantly, don't let anyone's taste dictate yours and vice versa. I never get upset just because how someone I know prefers their coffee way different than mine, but they insist that I shouldn't drink that coffee, because that doesn't fit their taste preferences.
There's no wrong, but only things you like. You can't fail at this, because there's no way to do so.
Now I'm curious whether you mean a higher status (which I infer when folks are using such things) or a lower status (which I could also infer).
While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible, it's practically impossible in the modern world.
Simple is usually best; glass or ceramic pour over, stainless press, or even the traditional South American coffee sock[0]
[0]https://perfectdailygrind.com/2016/01/coffee-sock-old-school...
I think the argument is pretty simple:
- Plastic is bad (environment, microplastics, etc) - We should minimize it
That doesn't necessitate a "all the way to zero or don't bother" logic, which what you're saying reads as.
Coffee pods machines have been an environmental nightmare, great to see a growing trend that addresses this.
"You say reducing plastic is good for the environment, but then you drink coffee which is bad for the environment, so you shouldn't bother even reducing plastic"
"EVs still use energy that's been generated from gas, even if its a lot less, so you might as well just drive a diesel powered pick up truck"
I still drink coffee regularly so am not going to say people should stop doing what I continue to do but it's worth it for coffee drinkers to be thoughtful about the impact of their consumption.
But also apparently producing one meal worth of chicken takes 700kg of water. Over 3000kg of water for beef. So I think, in comparison, coffee water use if negligible.
used to live nexto a huge steel refinery and many mental diseases and cancers in the area are up more than 50% not to mention lots of birth defects etc.
maybe its effects are more local idk. Not sure how glass and ceramic are made.
ofc not bad to try and eliminate plastics but having 1 plastic free device that is overly expensive is really just a status thing. it contributes nexto nothing to environmental goals which i think eliminating plastics belongs to.
u can just put the grounds in a cup and pour hot water on it afterall. tastes fine.
Coffee was enjoyed for hundreds of years before plastic was invented. The answer is not to get rid of the plastic, but get rid of the machine.
This sort of defeatism is why people don't try. Consumers can shift products through purchase behaviors. We're already seeing improvements in kitchen appliances and gear, cosmetics, some outdoor gear.
Conspicuous consumption has many forms, “ethical” consumerism is just the latest variation.
That being said i wish they were right. I pay a premium for organic and farmers market. As well as plastic free everything. It feels good to support those businesses, but they are still mostly just getting by.
Beyond lawsuits and regulations - I’ve personally seen what Europe is doing to deploy financial programs for transitions to, for example, regenerative farming. It really works. With the extra funds/financing, farms are able to plan 2-5 year payback instead 10+. The incentive alignment makes a huge difference.
You have to look at the demand side of the equation, because creating black markets isn’t a good idea, and neither is creating widespread resistance and discontent. Governments aren’t all powerful (thank goodness), so regulation has to focus on the stuff that’s most harmful and has the highest chance of success.
I don't, and this is just stupid virtue-signaling for the easily gullible hypochondriacs.
Plastics came from hydrocarbons, which make up the bulk of all living matter.
But seriously it's a shame how hard it is to find products like coffee makers and electric kettles with no plastic. Heat and plastic don't mix
actually they do, and that's the problem
Instead of a new $500 coffee maker like the ones in the article, that takes special (likely costly) presssed pellets of coffee, get a Chemex pour over for $50 and you'll never need another coffee maker again (unless you drop it). No plastic, and you can use whatever coffee you want.
The glass aeropress is way more expensive ($200 rather than $30) and is bad in all the ways he said it'd be bad. Heavier, fragile, and makes worse coffee unless you put some extra effort into preheating it. Looks better, though.
The expensive glass one uses double walled glass, so it’s not too bad. It’s $200 though which is ridiculous.
It does look like things we recognize as glass aren't plastic. So that's nice!
What I'm surprised at is that no one has made non-plastic drop-in replacement parts for the reservoir, basket, and funnel. The KBG-V is highly modular so it's strange to me that no one has gone this route. It shouldn't change anything significant in the brewing process or quality of the coffee.
https://www.manual.is/semi-manual
plastic coffee maker: 7-20 particles
paper cup : 25000 particles
https://getplasticproof.com/blog/does-coffee-have-microplast...
https://sifts.co/blogs/microplastics/microplastics-and-coffe...
https://sprudge.com/hot-to-go-which-type-of-coffee-has-the-m...
Years ago I looked for all stainless coffee maker and even the most expensive ones had plastic parts. The drip mechanism for all of them had plastic parts. I don't know if they have changed or not.
what, they don't have their company-provided mug with the company logo on it? Though to be fair at work, most employee have been given a mug, there's a stack of freely usable mugs next to the coffee machine and there's a dishwasher there too so you don't have to wash them by hand, but there are still people using the paper cups.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvktnHozAj4&t=71s
V60 is still the undisputed champ for cleanup though. Dump the filter in the trash, rinse the dripper, and you're done.
I wonder about this - I've got a few 1Zpresso grinders - they're rated for 100-200kg of coffee, and napkin math says my most-used one has probably done about 70kg to date. At grinder prices and my age though, not sure I'd ever come out ahead with BIFL burrs though.
Thing is, no grinder can produce perfectly-sized grounds 100% of the time. Due to randomness in how the beans break, there will always be pieces smaller than the desired size. (Probably larger pieces sneak through, too.)
Grinders all produce a distribution, it's just that burr grinders tend to have a tighter distribution than cheap spice grinders. I'd guess that ceramic burr grinders have ever-so-slightly more give than steel, and will let through slightly more undesired grounds as a result.
But it's probably a pretty minor effect.
Sorry but no, it has the reputation it deserves. It's an admirable invention for fast caffeine delivery, but you can get so much better flavor out of coffee that it's not even close.
No sense using our hands to belabor the point when grinding.
$55ish CAD total
You can have good coffee from any method.