Technivorm Moccamaster

Hmm let me think back... ----- Apple Homepod ----- Bought it years ago since i was in the Apple ecosystem and I wanted an easy way to play music, set timers and add items to my grocery/reminder list. I also knew state of the art in LLMs was picking up so I was willing to overlook how bad Siri is. Flash forward to today: - Siri is still a pile of garbage - It only recognizes my voice despite my wife having an iPhone and being part of the household - Sometimes doesnt save the timer - Only recently did it get Spotify integration through my phone - Still cant give it multiple items to add to a list at once ----- Google Home ------ Started strong then got progressively worse with each update until it could no longer do basic tasks like timers + reminders ----- GoPro Hero ----- Housing failed on my first use and they refused to honor the warranty. ----- Quest 3 ----- Amazing device! But I wanted to use it for a virtual monitor and all the software was terribly buggy. ------------ Worth stating my favourite purchases in the last little while that make me happy every time I use them. - XREAL One Pro (Amazing for a virtual display) - Kindle - Apple Watch (Perfect for waking me up but not my wife) - iPad Air (Second display + drawing) - Macbook Pro M4 14' (A portable beast) - Moccamaster (Simple machine, great coffee) - Toyota Tundra 2010 (Likely will run longer than I live and theres no touch screen in sight) - Yeti mug (hot drinks all day) - Hydroflask (cold water all day) - Timbuk 2

Exactly because I work in tech for a couple of decades that I avoid any smart appliance. I do not need my dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, coffee maker, rice cooker, stove, refrigerator, etc. to be connected to the internet to provide a "smart" feature which is just a timer, while adding to the noise of notifications. The only need I have is that they work dependably whenever I need them, at most with a timer so I can check when electricity will be cheaper and program them to turn on at that time. My coffee maker is a sturdy Technivorm Moccamaster, the blender is a Vitamix from the 90s that still work flawlessly, dishwasher, dryer and washing machine early 2010s Bosch and Miele. They all work exactly as they are supposed to, never had to do anything more than cleaning/upkeep. A few friends bought newly built apartments with smart fridges, washers, etc. installed by the developers, and all of them had some issue with appliances on the first couple years residing in these homes.

I have a drip brewer (Moccamaster), mocha pot, Senseo, french press, Keurig machine, aeropress, pour over setup, e61-based espresso machine (a heat exchanger), and am upgrading to a dual boiler espresso machine. I also have a Nespresso machine. Each can make very good coffee and none of them taste bad in comparison to any others. But if your budget is $1000, I would avoid the espresso category because you also need a grinder and a great grinder is probably more than a budget espresso machine and more important for consistent and good shots.

I live in Sweden and can find quite a lot of old school kitchen appliances in flea markets/thrift stores. I bought my Technivorm Moccamaster coffeemaker in one, a Bamix immersion blender, a Bosch stand mixer, all of them from around the 80s and still working 100% fine.

I had a Oxo "Barrista Brain" that I really liked, partly because it would remind me when it needed cleaning, and could be scheduled to start brewing at a particular time. However, those fancy electronics ended up being the primary failure point 4 years down the line, the dial control failed. I ended up replacing it with a Moccamaster and a Zigbee "smart outlet". Because the Moccamaster is so dead simple, I just leave it switched on, and use the button on the outlet to turn it off. To brew in the morning, I have a button on my headboard that if I hold it for 2 seconds starts the brewing. The "start brewing at X:YY" on the Oxo didn't end up working that great for me, because I get up at varying times (half an hour before my alarm this morning, for example). So, I'd recommend anything with a rocker "on" switch and a smart plug, for sure.

I definitely agree with you. I would also add that I believe there’s an element of the period of time in which they had the money to purchase their goods. Many goods had been iterated upon and become the best versions while having been around long enough to make an informed decision on high quality products. Today, we have been in a period of rapid change as technology advances. My grandparents bought the best of the analog world. Their CRT TVs were the peak of consumer sets. The world switched to LCDs when I was looking to buy a TV, which took a long time to catch up to the height of CRTs (not until OLED in my opinion). Their film cameras took exceptional pictures. Only recently have most consumer DSLRs begun to achieve the same level of quality. Their cars had battle-tested V6 engines while the cars I looked at had newer, unproven inline 4 engines that came with carbon build up issues. So a mix of survivorship bias and cost preference but also the current state of the market. Fortunately for me, I have been able to purchase a nice PVM to play my old video game consoles on, have made use of my grandfather’s film camera and can develop the film at a local studio, and am able to buy a used car with a proven V6 engine since they are still available in the market. When buying products that will hopefully last, I first look to what my grandparents own as a starting point. Often, purchasing older goods let me take advantage of those points you mentioned. For a current product on t…

Great example - my Moccamaster since I bought it few months ago is used ten times more than capsule machine that stands next to it. And I'm not sure if the coffe is really better - but it does not matter because the morning ritual makes the experience so much better, that I cannot imagine going back to capsules.

Came here to say Moccamaster, but I have the full one. Have done most every manual prep (Chemex, French Press, Aeropress, pour-over, etc) over the years but switched to the Moccamaster a few years ago and never looked back. Someone hit the motherload of coffee prep gear at my local Goodwill a couple of years into my Moccamaster purchase. I have the ten cup and put 67g of ground coffee into it every morning. Once fully brewed I reserve half of it into a Stanley thermos to have over the course of the day and then have my morning coffee. Always excellent and above all, consistent.

French press I would not recommend. You get a lot of unhealthy oils normally removed by a paper filter. After my coffee maker broke, I ran with french press (about 6 cups a day) for 2 months and it made me feel unhealthy after a while. Then I switched back to a drip coffee maker (Moccamaster in fact) - coffee is excellent. Same issue might apply to espresso machines.. not sure.

If you are keen for a machine and you like it diluted, I recommend the Moccamaster. It’s a good-looking classic machine that you could definitely sell. For a similar coffee with more manual work, get a Chemex

If you want a simple drip machine that makes really good coffee, I can highly recommend a Moccamaster. It's probably the closest you're going to get to a pour over with a machine, and it has only two buttons - one to turn the machine on, and another to to adjust how long the plate stays hot.