If you wanted to find the two most elegant drip coffee makers in the world and compare them head to head, you’ve come to the right place.
The Chemex Ottomatic and Technivorm Moccamaster are both automatic pour over brewers that brew excellent dripped coffee. So when posed with the choice of Chemex Ottomatic vs Technivorm Moccamaster, which one should you choose? And is there a clear winner at all?
Chemex Ottomatic vs Technivorm Moccamaster
Let’s look at both the Ottomatic and the Moccamaster in terms of design, brewing capability, additional features, and of course, cost.
Design
Ottomatic
The Chemex is an iconic pour over brewer without a shred of doubt. The elegant hourglass shape, heat resistant glass, wooden trim and leather tie make it look more like a work of art rather than a coffee maker.
The original Chemex is available in a variety of sizes. The Ottomatic ships with the 6 cup classic coffee maker, which is actually 30 ounces, so you’re looking at 6 x 5 ounce cups or 5 x 6 ounce cups.
The Ottomatic is essentially an extension of the original Chemex brewer. It’s a sleek plastic body with a heating element, a water reservoir, and a pulsing showerhead.
Overall, the aesthetics are gorgeous. The design of the Ottomatic really complements the simple elegance of the Chemex, and it’s all packaged up into a really small and neat machine that won’t take up too much space on your counter.
Dimensions: 11 x 7.5 x 11.5 Inches
Moccamaster
The Technivorm Moccamaster is a handmade drip coffee brewer from the Netherlands. The Moccamaster’s elegance derives from its clean lines and simple design, much like the Chemex.
The machine itself is made from a mix of high quality plastic and stainless steel.
You have a tower like structure on one side, which houses the heating element and water reservoir. The reservoir is transparent, and there is a transparent pipe in the center of the reservoir where water bubbles through into the black showerhead.
Right below the showerhead is where the funnel and carafe sit.
The Moccamaster has a bigger footprint than the Chemex, but only slightly. It’s much taller, though.
Dimensions: 13 x 6.7 x 16.2 inches
Verdict
Both the Moccamaster and the Chemex are elegant and simple. They will both draw envious eyes wherever they are, and the clean lines make it fit into any classic or modern kitchen.
There’s no clear winner here, so I am going to call it a tie.
Brewing
Ottomatic
The Ottomatic is an ideal drip brewer, as the stainless steel showerhead has 9 holes through which it pulses water over the bed of coffee grounds.
The machine heats up fairly quickly and within 45 seconds or so of starting up, you’ll have a cup of coffee brewing.
The pulsing mechanism is what makes the Ottomatic really special. The pulsing mimics the actions of your hands as they would do during a manual pour.
By adding a little water, pausing, and adding water again, it ensures that all the coffee grounds get evenly wet and bloom properly.
You can fit the 30 ounce carafe very comfortably under the showerhead.
Moccamaster
The Moccamaster is quite similar to the Ottomatic in this respect. The showerhead on the Moccamaster is also a pulsing showerhead, which wets the grounds, pauses, and wets again in a regular cycle until the brew cycle is finished
As we noted above, this ensures that the best drip coffee is made by allowing the coffee to bloom, rest, and brew.
It’s worth noting that the Moccamaster is an SCAA-certified coffee maker, which means it meets very strict standards, including that of maintaining the ideal brewing temperature throughout the brew.
Verdict
Both the Moccamaster and the Ottomatic employ very similar brewing methods. They both brew at the ideal temperature, too, so we’ll call it a tie.
Additional features
Ottomatic
Here’s where things get interesting: as far as additional features go, the Ottomatic really has none besides a warming plate and an iced brewing feature.
Even then, we’re not big fans of warming plates as the continuous heating can overcook your coffee and ruin the taste.
It’s fine to keep your coffee hot for a few moments, but if you leave freshly brewed coffee on the warming plate for too long, it will end up tasting a little weird.
The Ottomatic is pretty smart about the way it handles the warming process, though. The warming plate will only kick in after the brew cycle is completed, and it turns off automatically in 90 minutes.
Still, we strongly advise that you should drink up well within 90 minutes of brewing!
The iced coffee feature is basically the same thing, as the machine will still dispense hot coffee. The machine probably makes adjustments for quantity, and the warming plate does not kick in.
To make iced coffee, you’ll need to fill the bottom of the Chemex with a generous amount of ice and then start brewing.
Moccamaster
Like the Ottomatic, the Moccamaster has very few additional features of note. You have the option of buying a Moccamaster with a glass carafe or a stainless steel carafe.
A stainless steel thermal carafe is a much better way of keeping coffee hot, as there is no risk of overcooking the coffee.
The warming plate is missing in the Moccamaster, though.
One really interesting design touch in this machine is that you can adjust the flow rate of water by moving a little lever on the shower arm.
This is an interesting way to get a bit of additional control over your final brew.
Verdict
The Chemex Ottomatic has a bit of an edge here with the added warming plate and iced coffee function, but the Moccamaster puts up a fight with the flow rate lever.
However, the biggest advantage of the Ottomatic is that you’re essentially getting two coffee makers in one: an automatic dripper as well as a pour over funnel in the actualy Chemex itself.
For that reason, the Ottomatic is the winner here.
Maintenance
Ottomatic
The Ottomatic is very easy to clean, as the entire Chemex funnel can just be lifted off the base and you just remove the wood and leather bit and can either clean the glass by hand using soap and water. You can also place it securely in the dishwasher.
The machine itself can be wiped down.
Moccamaster
The Moccamaster is also pretty straightforward to clean except the components are not rated for dishwasher use, so you will have to clean the carafe by hand..
Everything else can just be wiped down.
Verdict
Both the Moccamaster and Ottomatic are very easy to maintain, but the dishwasher safe option of the Chemex makes it a tiny bit more attractive.
Cost
Both the Chemex Ottomatic and Technivorm Moccamaster cost almost the same, but as we noted above, you’re essentially getting two coffee makers for the money when you buy an Ottomatic.
For that reason, the Ottomatic is the winner in the cost and value category.
Conclusion
So there you have it: two high end coffee makers that are super expensive and both make great coffee. So which coffee machine should you choose?
The results are really neck and neck!
However, there must be a winner, and it’ the Ottomatic, mainly because of the value for money. If you already have a Chemex, you can just get the Ottomatic wihout a brewer and it will work perfectly provided it’s samller than 40 ounces.
The Ottomatic also allows you the choice of making automatic drip coffee or manual pour over coffee, which the Moccamaster does not.
Last update on 2024-04-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
