Technivorm Moccamaster 53941 KBGV Select 10-Cup Coffee Maker, Polished Silver, 40 ounce, 1.25l

I don’t consider myself to be a coffee connoisseur, yet here I am…

For most of my life I’ve used Mr. Coffee coffee burners. And while I noticed that the coffee I was making (wasting) did not taste as good as the coffee from nice restaurants and coffee shops, I didn’t really care much, and kind of assumed it was due to their expensive makers and fancy coffee. It turns out that was only partially true. About 7 years ago my most recent coffee burner died, so I went to my favorite coffee burner store, Home Depot. I found a $20 Black & Decker 5-cup coffee burner. Except, it didn’t burn the coffee. The maker included a reusable mesh filter. Combining the additional solute from the mesh filter, with coffee that was brewed at the correct temperature…my world was changed. I began sampling fancier coffee’s that my deluxe $20 maker was worthy of. I even joined a coffee club. Whenever I had guests over, I’d brew a pot of coffee and wait for the compliments. And generally, friends and family did often comment that they really liked my coffee.

Now that you know my life story and we are basically best friends, let’s talk about the Moccamaster. A few years after the purchase of my $20 deluxe coffee maker I went to visit a cousin in Portland. For those of you that don’t know, Portland basically invented coffee. My cousin roasted his own beans and brewed in a retro-looking Moccamaster. The coffee we drank that week was phenomenal. I searched some of his equipment and was immediately put off by the price. I’m, uh…rather cheap. This fancy coffee lifestyle would be relegated to vacations and special occasions. A few years, pounds, and pay raises later, my mom has moved in with me. It didn’t take her long to discover my coffee. And while I’m happy to share, we have found the 5-cup capacity of my $20 maker to be a little short of our need. The Moccamaster has definitely been on my mind since my trip to Coffee-land. It has double the capacity, 40 ounces. It’s a done deal.

Here is what I like about it:
– Handmade by Dutch gnomes (or maybe humans…it’s all really unclear)
– Retro design and color options
– Makes truly great coffee
– Includes a 5-year warranty
– Replacement parts make it highly serviceable
– *Designed for the connoisseur (see below)

Here is what I dislike about it:
– It’s too expensive
– Plastic parts feel thin and cheap
– Minimal user settings
– *Designed for the connoisseur (see below)

Cost is relative. For someone spending $10 a day at Starbucks, the Moccamaster may save you significant money over time. I was never doing that. I upgraded from the cheapest maker I could find. I’ve justified this as a “treat yo’self” purchase. As my $20 deluxe coffee maker showed me, you don’t need to spend big money to have a decent cup of Joe.

*It’s designed for the connoisseur. What I mean is that it’s not packed full of typical “American” safety features. For example, you can remove the filter basket cover to stir, or just watch the coffee blume. My $20 deluxe maker stops dripping if the lid is opened. The showerhead of the Moccamaster is stainless steel and fully exposed while brewing. You are freely able to put your hands on it and burn the heck out of yourself. I personally appreciate that it was not ruined by lawyers. This is also reflected in the fact that the carafe is not dishwasher safe. It’s clearly designed for someone that is a coffee enthusiast, willing to take the time and put in the work to prepare a quality cup of coffee. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. Is there room for improvement by making the plastic parts and carafe dishwasher safe? I think so!

At the end of the day I do recommend it for those that know what they are looking for.

I love the design, the ease of use, the clear water container which is a nice change from the interior one on my previous machines, and most of all, the coffee.

This machine is simple. It’s very easy to see the exactly how much water you’re pouring in. There’s an on/off switch, and a selector switch which sets the brewing cycle, either for more or less than a half pot.

The brew time is a bit slower when you select half pot or less, and the hot plate will turn off automatically a bit sooner. You can use this setting even when you make more than half a pot.

I use a fairly coarse grind (coarser than grocery store ground coffee). This works well for me. Moccamaster includes a chart that shows water to coffee ratios for various amounts, based both on number of scoops with the included scoop, and grams. I find their recommendations based on grams to give better results, but you can adjust the amount of coffee to find what’s best for you.

There is no timer, no clock, no lights or buttons aside from the two I’ve described, and the simplicity of the machine is part of its appeal.

I’ve read some criticisms of the way the water is distributed over the ground coffee, and with a full pot, this may be something to watch. The spray arm doesn’t extend across the full diameter of the basket, so about 30 seconds after brewing starts, I use a spoon to stir the coffee grounds a bit to make sure they all get wet. But this isn’t necessary and I only do it because I think it produces a better cup of coffee. All of the coffee grounds will get wet without this step, but some won’t get as much time to “bloom”.

I haven’t run a cleaning and descaling cycle yet, but the products for this are less expensive than for my previous machine.

Some people don’t like the plastic parts, but they’ve been fine for me.

This machine is made in the Netherlands and comes with a 5-year guarantee. Moccamaster sells replacement parts (carafe, plastic parts, spray wand, etc) at reasonable prices, too.

I was lucky to get my candy apple red model on sale (about $80 off), so check for sale prices before you pay full retail, but it’s worth it I even at full price.

EDITED to add: Rinsing the filter after you place it in the basket, then dumping out the water, will remove most of the paper taste from the filter, and it will also help the water to distribute farther and more evenly during brewing. It’s a fast, easy step, and it *is* included in the instructions, but somehow I missed it until I watched a YouTube video talking about the best brewing technique for the Moccamaster.

Simple design, easy to use, looks great! High cost for what it does but the quality is higher. well worth it.

This machine gives me the best coffee I have have ever tasted for single serve use or multiple cup use.
I like the bullet proof simplicity of the brewing process. There are no complicated electronics to fiddle with or break down.
At first, I was concerned about the fragile looking carafe, lid and other removable plastic parts. I then realized that a responsible adult exercising normal care will not have have any concerns.
For everyday hand washing of the pot, the lid detaches itself. It is easily reattached by slipping the nub on the lid into the notch.
I was concerned that Mocca Master’s one cup model could not accommodate a 16 ounce Canadian mug, and that this model’s half pot option would be too much for a single serve option. I was delighted to find that the half pot option is 16 ounces and perfect for my mug. ( To maintain gold standard quality , I have been informed not to make less than the half pot (16 oz, 1/2 liter, or 4 European size coffee cups).
The 5 year warranty and the encouragement to repair with easily available parts, rather than trash and replace , make this a worthwhile investment.
It works simply and simply makes the best tasting coffee.