Some products show up everywhere — subway ads, Instagram, celeb endorsements. With our Hype Meter series, we're testing such products to conclude one thing: Does it live up to the hype?
What’s Everyone Talking About?
The Moccamaster, a pour-over coffee pot that looks as yummy as its coffee tastes. The midcentury modern styling looks stunning on your coffee bar, and the coffee it makes is even more appealing.
What’s the Buzz About?
The Moccamaster Pour-Over coffee maker by Technivorm makes 10 cups of high-quality coffee in just about 3 minutes. No need to boil water and stand over a manual design: This coffee pot automates the process without compromising the quality.
This coffee maker was designed by coffee lover and industrial engineer Gerard C. Smit in 1968. Smit collaborated with scientists at Douwe Egberts and the Norwegian Coffee Association (NCA) to create a coffee machine that would make the highest-quality, best-tasting cup of coffee possible.
And he succeeded. The Moccamaster is now one of the most highly lauded coffee makers available. I've been using the pot for months now, and I have yet to meet its equal.
Where’s All the Hype Coming From?
- Coffee enthusiasts, like Sip Coffee
- Coffee brands like Black Ink Coffee, which rates the Moccamaster the highest
- Esquire says the Moccamaster is “The Best Professional Grade Coffee Maker”
- Chef Marie-Aude Rose calls it “life-changing”
So Does It Live Up to the Hype?
How Did We Come to This Conclusion?
I am a notoriously awful coffee maker: I burn it, I overbrew it. I am careless with the grinds. But I adore coffee. And while my trusty Tchibo single cup is wonderful on most days, when I'm on deadline, when my sleep is poor, or when I have guests, I like to make a larger pot. I had an automatic drip coffee maker that I'd bought at Target for about $50 — which was fine, but honestly, the coffee was lackluster, dull, and watery. I am not a lackluster or dull lady, and I want my coffee to reflect that.
In fact, I have very high standards for anything I serve my guests, so this wasn't cutting it. Add in the fact that I am not the best at making coffee, and it was nearly embarrassing! So, I began looking around at different coffee makers, trying to figure out if there was something different ... something that made a whole pot of coffee without it tasting quite so bleh.
After a lot of internet sleuthing, I found the Moccamaster. It is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), which pays high attestation to their quality. After reading all the reviews, I knew I needed it immediately. Sooner, even.
What makes the 40-ounce Moccamaster KBGV different from other coffee makers is the fact that unlike traditional drip coffee pots, it’s not merely using coils and superheating water, spraying it all over the grounds. Instead, the Moccamaster uses a copper heating element that’s similar to what’s used in an espresso machine.
It precisely heats the water to around 205 degrees Fahrenheit in under 1 minute, and keeps the water at that temperature for the duration of the brewing time. If it were too cold, the coffee would sour. Too warm, and the coffee would become bitter. If it fluctuates, you get an uneven brew and an unpredictable coffee flavor. Often, this is one of the major problems with standard drip coffee makers: The water temperature fluctuates, and it's either too warm or too cold. In fact, I tested my old coffee maker to see what temperature it was brewing at, and it was a low 160 degrees. (No surprise, huh?)
The way the water is distributed over the grounds mimics that of a traditional pour-over coffee maker, as opposed to the spray of drip machines. This changes the way the coffee brews because of the even, continued distribution of the water over the coffee into a cone filter. Moccamaster also gives you explicit instructions for how much coffee to use, the preferred grind (medium course, like sea salt or rough sand), and provides a scoop for the perfect measurements. This is critical for coffee screw-ups such as myself: They take all the work out of your hands.
Plus, the machine comes in 20 different colors, which is completely awesome ... if a little daunting.
That's not to say this machine is perfect. While it is freaking gorgeous and makes one hell of a pot of coffee, it's pricey at $350. Also, there are a lot of parts to this machine, which means cleaning it can be a pain. But honestly, that's really no different than any other drip machine. My biggest gripe is the base of the coffee pot that keeps it warm only stays on for a couple of hours. I know that this is done so that quality isn't compromised, but I have ADHD, and sometimes forget that I've brewed myself a pot. By the time I remember, it's cold. That's a personal, nitpicky thing that bugs me.
What’s the Bottom Line?
The Moccamaster is the best drip machine on the market, making your coffee more than just your routine — it's an experience. Plus, it's really pretty, and if you're going to look at it every day for the rest of forever, it may as well look good.
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