Have you ever looked at a coffee maker and were so mesmerized by the sheer craftsmanship that you just couldn’t take your eyes off of it?
It’s very rare that a coffee maker combines ridiculously good looks, ease of use, and exceptional coffee brewing. The Technivorm Moccamaster checks all of those boxes.
Learn more in this Technivorm Moccamaster review.
Technivorm Moccamaster Review: The lowdown
The Technivorm Moccamaster is a handcrafted drip coffee maker made in the Netherlands. Each machine is assembled by hand, and the craftsmanship and care that goes into each machine really shows.
What’s more, it’s certified both by the SCAA and European Coffee Brewing Center. Both of these bodies have very strict standards and only exceptional coffee machines that make legendary coffee get certification.
You can brew up to 5 cups in one go: to start the brew, it just takes the push of a button. You can see the water dripping over your coffee grounds, and then filtering into the pot below. Once you taste coffee made from the Moccamaster, it will pretty much ruin any other kind of drip coffee for you.
It’s poetry in motion!
Design and build quality: 5/5
- Note: 1)Too coarse a grind, too little coffee, or insufficiently tamping the grounds before brewing can all lead to inadequate pressure for a proper brew. 2)It is important to note that the amount of espresso extracted will vary depending on the grind size and amount and reprogramming may be needed when the size and amount are adjusted
Now that we’ve fawned over this machine quite a bit, let’s start digging into details and getting to the meat(coffee) of the matter.
Technivorm has been around since the 1960s and they’ve honed the making of coffee makers into an art and a science. They’ve got some very talented designers on their team, too.
The overall build is really neat with not too many fancy embellishments or designs, but the Moccamaster looks really sharp and elegant. While most modern coffee makers opt for LCD screens and the like, simplicity is what really sets the Moccamaster apart into a class of its own.
Technivorm has chosen a mix of plastic and steel to build this machine. The plastic is very durable and BPA-free, of course.
The tower like structure on the left of the machine is what defines it’s unusual look! Atop the tower sits the water reservoir, which is connected to a plastic shower that rains on the coffee grounds in the filter basket.
You can choose a variety of colors with the Moccamaster: bear in mind though that the tower and base is the only thing that comes in different colors. Everything else will be the same.
Finally, it’s important to point out that this is a pretty big coffee maker. It’s designed to grab your eye and be the centerpiece of your kitchen. If you’re tight on space, you may not be able to fit it.
Measurements:
13 x 6.7 x 16.2 inches
Functionality: 4/5
So how well does the Technivorm Moccamaster brew coffee, and what sets it apart from other brewers? After all, the Technivorm is not cheap, so there has to be something that sets it apart and justifies the higher price tag.
The key to the exceptional coffee made by the Technivorm is the way it showers water over your coffee grounds.
Normally, coffee makers will just shoot water over the grounds. This may result in some patches not getting enough water, which means your coffee will not be fully extracted.
Incidentally, this is why pour over tastes so good: since you’re pouring by hand and evenly wetting all the grounds, you get a very balanced and thorough extraction.
The Moccamaster mimics the action of a hand pour by pulsing water through a showerhead with 9 holes all over the grounds. This ensures that grounds are evenly wet, and also ensures that an ideal amount of water is in contact with the grounds at all times.
Another factor the Moccamaster handles very well is temperature control. You need to have water temperature as consistent as possible for an even extraction, so the Moccamaster maintains the temperature in the ideal brewing range of 195 to 205 Fahrenheit(90-95 Celcius).
It also heats the water very quickly through the copper heating system. Copper elements are great because they conduct heat very well.
This combination of temperature control and pulsed showering of hot water brews a superb cup of drip coffee every single time.
We did say that the Moccamaster will ruin any other coffee for you!
You can brew up to 5 cups of coffee in one go. In case you want to pause the brew, you just pull out the carafe and the machine will stop brewing. There’s no “pause” button like you would find on other machines.
However, this is not a problem so much as it is an advantage!
You can also adjust the flow rate of the water by adjusting a lever. You may wish to adjust the flow if you’re brewing less than full capacity. This way you’ll prevent water from splashing on parts of the filter that don’t contain coffee grounds.
Finally, there are two options as far as the carafe goes: you can the Technivorm Moccamaster with a glass carafe or a stainless steel carafe.
If you usually drink up the coffee within a short time of brewing, the glass carafe is fine and you can save some money.
However, if you’d like to keep coffee hot for some time, the insulated thermal carafe is a great option as it can keep coffee hot for a very long time.
Use and maintenance: 5/5
Making drip coffee with the Technivorm is very easy.
To start, you’ll need some #4 filters as this is a large coffee maker and has a big filter basket. You can also use a reusable filter as long it’s size #4.
Grind some coffee beans into ground coffee and add it to the filter. The Moccamaster comes with an instruction manual that has suggested doses for the amount of cups you want to make.
For the most part, the doses are accurate and you’ll make great coffee with them, but you can always experiment by tweaking the numbers up or down to see how that changes the flavor.
Since you are making drip coffee, you’ll want to use a medium or medium-fine ground.
Simply add water into the water reservoir, add ground coffee into the filter, and press a button the get the brewing process started.
You’ll be able to see water rise through the tube and shower over the coffee grounds. It takes just around 5 minutes to brew coffee.
Five minutes for a cup of coffee is pretty standard when it comes to drip coffee makers. For a faster cup, you’d need to opt for a single serve machine.
Once you’ve had your coffee, just toss out the paper filter and grounds, and rinse out the filter basket and carafe. Ideally, you should rinse everything within a few minutes of brewing so coffee deposits don’t start to stick.
You’ll need to wash everything by hand as the components are not safe for the dishwasher.
As with all drip coffee makers and indeed any coffee machine, you’ll need to regularly descale.
There’s no water filter built into the machine, which is a bit of a bummer. You’ll need to use your own filtered water or bottled water for brewing.
Considering how exceptional this coffee machine is otherwise, the absence of a filter seems forgivable!
Overall value: 4/5
Now that we’ve covered the ins and outs of the Moccamaster in this review, let’s talk about the overall value of the coffee machine.
There’s no doubt that the Moccamaster is going to set you back by quite a bit. Since every machine is assembled individually and tested before shipping out, there is going to be a cost associated with that level of quality.
On top of that, you get a 5 year warranty, which is pretty impressive considering that most coffee maker manufacturers rarely go beyond a 2 year warranty.
A 5 year warranty is a sign of confidence behind the product!
So if you have the budget and want to drink the best coffee possible, the Technivorm Moccamaster is definitely worth buying.
Actual cost of the machine
The cup is only as good as the coffee you use to brew it. Although we’re singing praises of the Moccamaster, it’s worth noting that any coffee maker is only as good as the coffee you put in it.
Using supermarket coffee grounds or any other stale pre-ground coffee will not result in the magical cup that will ruin all other coffee, unfortunately.
The key to good coffee is using fresh coffee beans and grinding them just before brewing.
So there’s one hidden cost of the Moccamaster coffee maker: a grinder!
Chances are you already have a grinder, in which case, awesome! Go buy the Moccamaster!
But if you dont’t have a grinder already, you’ll need to get one. Considering that it’s not easy to brew just a single cup with the Moccamaster, that means you’ll need to grind at least 30-60 grams of coffee every time you brew.
That’s a lot of manual grinding if you want to save and use a manual grinder. The easier route to go would be to get an electric burr grinder, which can be found for less than $100.
You’d incur this cost with any coffee machine, but it’s even more relevant because the Moccamaster itself is so expensive.
Is there any reason to not get the Moccamaster?
What situation calls for not getting the Moccamaster? There are not many cons to this machine but there are a couple of things you need to know.
There’s no timer
Interestingly enough, Technivorm has not added a timer feature in the Moccamaster. So you can’t drop grounds in the filter basket, set a timer, and expect to wake up to a cup of fresh coffee.
You’ll have to get up and grind it in the morning like the rest of us!
It’s tough to brew just one or two cups
For best results, you need to use the Moccamaster to brew at least three or five cups per brewing process. So if you brew for a family, or brew to drink 2-3 cups in the morning, the Technivorm is a good choice.
But if you’re just going to drink one cup and run, a single serve coffee maker would be a better option. Small single serve coffee makers are cheaper, too.
Related
The Verdict: Is the Technivorm Moccamaster worth it?
To conclude this review, the Technivorm Moccamaster is unbeatable in its class. With some of the best brewing systems in the industry, SCAA certification, the option for a thermal carafe or glass carafe, this drip coffee maker has it all(except a timer).
If you have the budget, then you really can’t go wrong with the Technivorm. It’s going to make a statement on your kitchen counter and on your taste buds, that’s for sure!
Last update on 2024-04-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
