I Found the Best Plastic-Free Coffee Brewers, Including a Drip Machine

I recommend this set to anyone looking for an easy, tasty, and consistent way to make pour-over coffee for two. The tall, narrow shape ensures that any water poured into the top makes its way through more of the coffee as it drips downward. This provides even extraction and balanced flavor, even if your pours aren’t perfectly timed or placed. And unlike other flat-bottom drippers I’ve tried, the holes never clog before brewing is finished. It’s also one of Dedini’s favorites because his tests involving multiple temperature probes found the double-walled stainless-steel design has better heat retention than his old plastic dripper.

The dripper and insulated glass carafe are available separately, but I recommend getting them as a set because the dripper is too narrow to fit on most other carafe designs.

This classic has a convenient all-in-one design and makes a healthy shareable portion of light-bodied, fruit-forward coffee. However, its thick paper filters absorb some of the toastier, chocolatey notes, so it’s not the best choice for fans of medium- or dark-roast coffees. (Switching to areusable stainless-steel filtercan help with this, even if it’s kind of annoying to clean.) And its lack of insulation means coffee gets cold pretty quickly after it’s brewed.

Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to plastic content in French presses. For example, I confirmed with customer support thatthis highly rated Public Goods pressthat appears to be made entirely of glass and steel uses plastic parts to attach the filter to the plunger. Hario’s French press costs a bit more, but I confirmed with specialty-coffee-equipment retailer Prima Coffee that it has no plastic parts. For a more classic look, there’s also awood-handled version.

This insulated French press is ourheirloom-quality pickbecause of its 100 percent stainless-steel construction. Kelsey Horwitz ofBeacon Coffeecalls it the gold standard of French presses because in addition to making great coffee, Frieling sells all the replacement parts you could need to keep it going forever.

The Weber BIRD is my top gift recommendation for the coffee nerd who has it all. It’s a “zero bypass” brewer, which means all the water that goes into the device is forced through all of the coffee grounds inside. TheAeropressis the most popular brewer in this category, but it is made almost entirely of plastic. Although Aeropress recently released a$200 glass-and-steel version, it’s difficult to use and I can’t recommend it. Meanwhile, the experience ofbrewing with the BIRDis so delightful that the quality of the coffee — which is excellent — is almost beside the point. It feels more like playing with an overengineered German children’s toy than brewing coffee.

While French presses separate grinds from brew by plunging them to the bottom, the BIRD pulls them up slowly as you twist the precision-machined brass wing nut around the polished steel driveshaft. The rising filter has a silicone seal around it that generates a vacuum in its wake, sucking the brewed coffee into the bottom of the carafe. The seal releases with a mutedthunkonce the filter reaches the wider lip of the carafe. This allows you to lift both the lid and the spent grinds away, leaving behind a bright, flavorful, and grit-free serving of coffee.

Any serious coffee nerd can come up with a litany of reasons for not buying a percolator, but if avoiding plastic is your goal, it is by far the easiest and most economical solution. “It is the option for people like me who fit into the Venn diagram of ‘Do not have time for this shit’ and ‘Are concerned they’ll die of toxins,’” said Curbed writerAdriane Quinlanof her beloved percolator. She appreciates that she can let it brew unsupervised while she completes her morning routine, unlike pour-over methods, which demand several minutes of continuous attention.

If you prefer a stronger cup of coffee but don’t want to mess around with espresso, a Mokapot is another all-metal stovetop option worth considering. I’m going to venture a guess that anyone who’s concerned about plastic in their coffee might also be avoiding aluminum cookware, so I’d recommend Bialetti’s induction-ready stainless-steel version instead of the classic design. The “six-cup” version brews about one American mug of coffee at a time.

Hedricks told me plastic-free espresso is more easily achievable than a drip machine because of manufacturers like La Pavoni, whose lever-actuated designs predate the widespread adoption of plastics. In a machine such as the Europiccola, water goes directly into the boiler, eliminating the need for a plastic tank. And since you provide the pressure with your arm strength, there’s no need for a pump or any water lines.

If you want a machine with a pump, you’ll have to accept a plastic water reservoir. (Hedrick told me about a new$8,000 Swiss machinewith an all-stainless-steel water path, but it’s not widely available for purchase yet.) If you can accept cold water touching plastic, Hedrick recommends the Gaggia Classic Pro as an affordable and capable option with a mostly metal water path, aside from two silicone water lines. Unlike cheaper machines, it’s completely serviceable if anything goes wrong.

Others come close, but this is currently the only drip machine with a completely plastic-free brewing path, from the glass water reservoir through the stainless-steel internals and all the way to the carafe (also glass). It may look like a Moccamaster, but it’s actually better at brewing coffee thanks to an automatic bloom mode, which pre-wets the coffee before brewing begins, and a wider circular showerhead that promotes even extraction. The metal internals and brew basket conduct more heat away from the water than plastic parts would, so the brewing temperature ends up being a bit lower than ideal for some lighter roasts. But overall, it’s a very impressive and consistent brewer that I’d recommend to anyone looking to minimize plastic exposure in their morning routine.

The easiest way to ensure your coffee isn’t touching plastic while it’s being ground or shortly thereafter is to use a manual grinder. The Timemore C2S is a popular, well-reviewed option that’s well under $100. It can grind up to 25 grams of beans at a time and, unlike most options in this price range, even the lid is made of metal.

Hedrick is also a fan of Timemore’s electric grinders, and I was able to confirm with customer support that the Sculptor series has an all-steel grind path as well as a metal cup for receiving ground coffee — though whole beans do touch a plastic hopper on their way into the machine. The more affordable 064S features swappable 64 mm flat burrs and is suitable for pour-over and espresso use.

If you’d rather not even have your whole beans touch any plastic, then the Zerno Z1 is a truly plastic-free grinder from the hopper to the chute — even if it costs well over $1,000. Hedrick praises the grind quality of these grinders and likes that they’re made in Chicago, but she laments that there’s always a long wait list to order one. Dedini is also a Zerno fan and plans to order the commercial-grade Z2 when it becomes available.

I must confess that I don’t personally love the Fellow kettle’s dial interface, which feels fussy compared with the buttons on my trusty Bonavita of nearly a decade. But after Hedrick mentioned that some stainless-steel kettles actually have plastic on the inside, I took a look and discovered that my Bonavita uses a plastic part on the inside of the kettle to attach the handle to the body. It’s located above the maximum fill line, but it’s still exposed to heat and condensation. Meanwhile, I was able to confirm with Fellow that the only non-stainless part on the inside of the kettle is a small silicone gasket to hold and protect the temperature sensor. So if you’re looking to avoid plastic in yourgooseneck kettle, go with the Fellow.

If you’d rather not deal with a silicone gasket, get a stovetop kettle. Hario’s V60 Buono has a wider base than most and is induction compatible. Its rounded spout doesn’t pour as precisely as the Fellow or Bonavita electric kettles, but it is truly plastic free on the inside.