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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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!
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
> 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
$55ish CAD total
You can have good coffee from any method.