Getting the Plastic Out of the Moccamaster Brew Path

We have a Technivorm Moccamaster and love it. The one thing that bugs us is the plastic in the hot-water path. Research over the years has shown that hot water on plastic sheds microplastics, and that doesn't seem likely to be great for you long term. In the Moccamaster, the main hot-plastic contact is the brew basket, where near-boiling water and grounds sit for the whole brew.

The cold-water reservoir is also plastic, but cold water is far less of a concern, and there's no practical DIY fix for it anyway. Fully plastic-free brewers exist, such as SimplyGood (Amazon) and Caraway (carawayhome.com), but they currently run $400+. So the biggest gain for the least money is swapping out the brew basket and its bracket. Technivorm doesn't sell a plastic-free version (every OEM replacement basket is BPA-free plastic), so the options below are aftermarket.

Option 1: Etsy "No Plastic Brew Kit" (CoffeeTechUS)

• What it is: A stainless steel bracket that replaces the OEM one. You can buy the bracket alone or with a cone (ceramic #4 or stainless).
• Fits: KBGV and KBGT.
• Price: About $60 for the bracket only, up to about $120 with the ceramic cone.
• Before ordering: Check the serial number on the bottom of your brewer. The KBGV bracket changed at serial 2207, so 0000–2206 is the original and 2207+ is the updated one. Send your serial to the seller to confirm fit.
• Notes: These are the most straightforward and polished kits. Check the reviews for the specific kit you're eyeballing.

Option 2: Amazon budget stainless basket and bracket (Amazon)

• What it is: A cheap stainless basket and bracket set sold as an OEM-size replacement.
• Fit: Depending on your Moccamaster model, you may need to drill new mounting holes in the bracket.
• The catch: The basket isn't OEM size. It's about 3.5" deep vs. 4.125" OEM, and about 4" across the top vs. about 5". That's roughly 55% of stock capacity, so full 40 oz batches overflow and splatter.
• The fix: Skip the included basket and use the bracket with a ceramic cone (below). This combination works great.

The ceramic cone: Creano porcelain, size 4 (Amazon)

• Uses standard #4 paper filters, same as the stock basket.
• 10.5 cm tall, which clears the outlet arm (about 11.9 cm of clearance with the Amazon bracket).
• The 5.5 cm base ring drops into the bracket's 6 cm hole.
• A single large drain hole keeps flow fast enough for full batches.
• Ruled out: The Melitta porcelain 1x4 is too tall (12.2 cm). The Fino #4 and Cilio #4 base rings are too wide for the 6 cm bracket hole. Hario V60-02 and Kalita 185 are too small for a full pot.

Trade-offs with any of these

• No auto drip-stop. That mechanism is built into the plastic basket, so don't pull the carafe mid-brew.
• Preheat the cone. Rinse it with hot water first, because cold ceramic pulls heat from the first pour.
• Keep your OEM parts in case you want the drip-stop back.
• What's still plastic: the cold-water reservoir and lid, and the carafe lid. The outlet arm is already stainless.