A wave of plastic-free coffee pods and machines
cnn.com
cnn.com
This summer was sunny and hot in Colorado, so every morning I'd make a jar of sun coffee. I'd leave it out through the day and overnight. The next morning I'd pull it in, filter it, refill it with grounds and water and take it outside again. It was cool enough to enjoy and really smooth.
Make a lot to only use a couple paper filters a week. Most days, your coffee is already ready in the fridge, no wait (unless you wanna microwave it or something).
Make it really strong and dilute with a lot of [non-dairy] milk to go easy on the stomach.
I leave it on the counter to extract, and store it in the fridge.
I can hit the temperature I want every time on a Bosch microwave from 80s which has two power levels and a rotary, mechanical timer.
https://www.harvardhealth.org/healthy-aging-and-longevity/wh...
For all cause mortality among people without cardiovascular disease, they split into groups of men and women and then further into groups of no coffee, filter only, both brews, and unfiltered only.
For both men and women without preexisting cardiovascular disease, both brews had the lowest all cause mortality. I'd expect that "both" would be between "only filter" and "only unfiltered". It isn't because "both" is a separate population from the "only" groups, indicating that confounding may be substantial here. Nevertheless, for people without preexisting CVD, all but one of the confidence intervals for the hazard ratio is entirely below 1, and the unfiltered for men includes 1. I wouldn't draw any strong conclusions from this.
My recommendation would be to just drink your coffee, take your blood pressure regularly to see if you're hypertensive, and check your cholesterol with labs if you're regularly hypertensive.
> People younger than 60 who drank one to four cups of coffee, particularly filtered coffee, had lower rates of artery disease and death
> The study is observational and doesn't prove that filtered coffee is healthier than unfiltered coffee
> a cup of unfiltered coffee contains 30 times more diterpenes than a cup of filtered coffee
This sentence in particular is kinda meaningless without specifying the specific amounts and what they mean. For instance, saying "an unfiltered cup of coffee contains 30 times more salt than a filtered cup" would not mean much if one contains 1 ug and the other 30ug, but would be very significant if it was e.g. 1 vs 30g
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/coffee-and-cholest...
When you want to go low or no plastics, there are many choices now.
https://flairespresso.com/products/the-flair-classic
I've had one for about a decade. It reliably produces better espresso than >99% of Bay Area coffee shops. (>95% if you exclude national chains).
If I were buying one today, I'd toss the flow control head, silicon sleeve on the cylinder and the pressure gauge, but those come with it for free now, so to each their own, I guess.
The trick is to boil the stainless steel cylinder in your kettle (PID at sea level, conventional above ~ 2000 ft elevation) with the water so that you get the temperature dialed in within a degree C or so, like a conventional (lead-filled, unlike the flair) Italian machine. I use a pair of tongs to pick up the stainless steel cylinder, so I don't need the sleeve. (Check the boiling point of water at your elevation -- unlike a steam machine, this can't exceed that temperature, so stuff might start to run kinda cool at 3000 ft or so).
Flair doesn't sell a "true" classic anymore, but I bet they could get the bare bones variant I use to < $100 if they tried. Maybe someone else will when any patents run out. My only other complaint is that the two-in-one bottomless porta-filter I have runs the espresso across plastic when in non-bottomless mode.
Note that the thing I linked has a plastic plunger. They make a stainless steel one as an upgrade. At that point, you're down to one silcone o-ring in the water / coffee path. Everything else is stainless, so no lead. The next thing to worry about is nickel, but that only matters if you're allergic. I used to use the SS plunger, but then you need to boil it too if you want to dial in the water temperature.
A good espresso/americano has more bite in taste than a good Aeropress/V60/drip. I personally love smoother profiles (less acidity, less bite, etc.), so darker roasts and espresso on the bitter side is not my kind of thing, but preferences differ. OTOH, I can make myself a cup of instant coffee if I feel lazy.
Again, there's no need to punch yourself like that. Try, experiment and build your taste profile. These kinds of hobbies needs some kind of experience to refine what you like and what you don't.
Most importantly, don't let anyone's taste dictate yours and vice versa. I never get upset just because how someone I know prefers their coffee way different than mine, but they insist that I shouldn't drink that coffee, because that doesn't fit their taste preferences.
There's no wrong, but only things you like. You can't fail at this, because there's no way to do so.
Now I'm curious whether you mean a higher status (which I infer when folks are using such things) or a lower status (which I could also infer).
While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible, it's practically impossible in the modern world.
Simple is usually best; glass or ceramic pour over, stainless press, or even the traditional South American coffee sock[0]
[0]https://perfectdailygrind.com/2016/01/coffee-sock-old-school...
I think the argument is pretty simple:
- Plastic is bad (environment, microplastics, etc) - We should minimize it
That doesn't necessitate a "all the way to zero or don't bother" logic, which what you're saying reads as.
Coffee pods machines have been an environmental nightmare, great to see a growing trend that addresses this.
I still drink coffee regularly so am not going to say people should stop doing what I continue to do but it's worth it for coffee drinkers to be thoughtful about the impact of their consumption.
The overall issue is that coffee pod waste is de minimus compared to the environmental impact of the coffee industry at large.
But also apparently producing one meal worth of chicken takes 700kg of water. Over 3000kg of water for beef. So I think, in comparison, coffee water use if negligible.
"You say reducing plastic is good for the environment, but then you drink coffee which is bad for the environment, so you shouldn't bother even reducing plastic"
"EVs still use energy that's been generated from gas, even if its a lot less, so you might as well just drive a diesel powered pick up truck"
It's like stopping using aspirin because "drugs are bad" while doing meth every day
That feels like a pretty wild claim, but I'll happily admit if I'm wrong.
Coffee was enjoyed for hundreds of years before plastic was invented. The answer is not to get rid of the plastic, but get rid of the machine.
used to live nexto a huge steel refinery and many mental diseases and cancers in the area are up more than 50% not to mention lots of birth defects etc.
maybe its effects are more local idk. Not sure how glass and ceramic are made.
ofc not bad to try and eliminate plastics but having 1 plastic free device that is overly expensive is really just a status thing. it contributes nexto nothing to environmental goals which i think eliminating plastics belongs to.
u can just put the grounds in a cup and pour hot water on it afterall. tastes fine.
2. If each person's individual impact is small, and I agree, then the logic cuts both ways! When I buy stainless steel products, I "contribute next to nothing" against neighbors of that huge steel refinery.
There's some people that care about no plastic at all anywhere (which... is pretty unrealistic considering water pipes are plastic), but usually the primary concern is plastic in the heated water portions. Water tanks on espresso machines are not typically heated.
This sort of defeatism is why people don't try. Consumers can shift products through purchase behaviors. We're already seeing improvements in kitchen appliances and gear, cosmetics, some outdoor gear.
Conspicuous consumption has many forms, “ethical” consumerism is just the latest variation.
That being said i wish they were right. I pay a premium for organic and farmers market. As well as plastic free everything. It feels good to support those businesses, but they are still mostly just getting by.
Beyond lawsuits and regulations - I’ve personally seen what Europe is doing to deploy financial programs for transitions to, for example, regenerative farming. It really works. With the extra funds/financing, farms are able to plan 2-5 year payback instead 10+. The incentive alignment makes a huge difference.
You have to look at the demand side of the equation, because creating black markets isn’t a good idea, and neither is creating widespread resistance and discontent. Governments aren’t all powerful (thank goodness), so regulation has to focus on the stuff that’s most harmful and has the highest chance of success.
Likewise, no plasticizers in standard sched 40.
Guess people really like clear plastic for some reason. Which is the one thing it can't do
I don't, and this is just stupid virtue-signaling for the easily gullible hypochondriacs.
Plastics came from hydrocarbons, which make up the bulk of all living matter.
But seriously it's a shame how hard it is to find products like coffee makers and electric kettles with no plastic. Heat and plastic don't mix
actually they do, and that's the problem
Instead of a new $500 coffee maker like the ones in the article, that takes special (likely costly) presssed pellets of coffee, get a Chemex pour over for $50 and you'll never need another coffee maker again (unless you drop it). No plastic, and you can use whatever coffee you want.
The glass aeropress is way more expensive ($200 rather than $30) and is bad in all the ways he said it'd be bad. Heavier, fragile, and makes worse coffee unless you put some extra effort into preheating it. Looks better, though.
The expensive glass one uses double walled glass, so it’s not too bad. It’s $200 though which is ridiculous.
If you do care about no plastic... just get a Chemex, again for $45. Fully glass. Or Hario has a lot of offerings that are plastic free for $20-50.
It does look like things we recognize as glass aren't plastic. So that's nice!
What I'm surprised at is that no one has made non-plastic drop-in replacement parts for the reservoir, basket, and funnel. The KBG-V is highly modular so it's strange to me that no one has gone this route. It shouldn't change anything significant in the brewing process or quality of the coffee.
That sounds more like a gun in Cyberpunk 2077 than a coffee machine.
V60 is still the undisputed champ for cleanup though. Dump the filter in the trash, rinse the dripper, and you're done.
plastic coffee maker: 7-20 particles
paper cup : 25000 particles
https://getplasticproof.com/blog/does-coffee-have-microplast...
https://sifts.co/blogs/microplastics/microplastics-and-coffe...
https://sprudge.com/hot-to-go-which-type-of-coffee-has-the-m...
Years ago I looked for all stainless coffee maker and even the most expensive ones had plastic parts. The drip mechanism for all of them had plastic parts. I don't know if they have changed or not.
what, they don't have their company-provided mug with the company logo on it? Though to be fair at work, most employee have been given a mug, there's a stack of freely usable mugs next to the coffee machine and there's a dishwasher there too so you don't have to wash them by hand, but there are still people using the paper cups.
Sorry but no, it has the reputation it deserves. It's an admirable invention for fast caffeine delivery, but you can get so much better flavor out of coffee that it's not even close.
I was attracted by the removal of the plastic waste, but the coffe has been very underwhelming. Not in the sense that it was not to my taste but that was plainly bad. I know that it might have been a single fluke, the machine or whatever, still tho, did not like the coffee.
My wife and her friends tried it as well some hours later and told me the same thing without me influencing their opinion with mine.
I am happy to see a change in that way but I don't feel it's a viable alternative to traditional capsule machines, meanwhile I'll stick to my dear Moka.
(context: I'm italian)
To each their own of course, but If I am a very happy owner of multiple La Piccola Piccola machines and just order a box of ESE pads every couple of weeks.
From what I've read, it's true that the oils aren't filtered out as well as with paper filters, but their contribution is minimal.
By the way, always coffee with milk.
Those pod machines are just all around crap. Kind of acceptable in an office kitchen, but really surprised anyone wants one at home.
I wonder about this - I've got a few 1Zpresso grinders - they're rated for 100-200kg of coffee, and napkin math says my most-used one has probably done about 70kg to date. At grinder prices and my age though, not sure I'd ever come out ahead with BIFL burrs though.
Although ceramic can technically be sharper, and technically is harder, it’s both very difficult to get a sharp edge and that edge is extremely brittle and chips easily.
Steel can be made much more precisely easily, and the sharpness has toughness that won’t degrade as quickly. This lets you make an edge that cuts much cleaner, which leads to better shaped particles. Once you start “mashing” the particles instead of cutting them, grind size distribution gets a lot worse and you start getting more “fines” which leads to muddy cup profiles.
Also, because ceramic burrs are used on lower end grinders, the tolerance on the burrs and the other stuff around the burrs (alignment, shaft, etc) is much worse overall which impacts repeatability, and because you are continuously grinding, repeatability (play or shimmy) translates to worse grind size distribution.
Thing is, no grinder can produce perfectly-sized grounds 100% of the time. Due to randomness in how the beans break, there will always be pieces smaller than the desired size. (Probably larger pieces sneak through, too.)
Grinders all produce a distribution, it's just that burr grinders tend to have a tighter distribution than cheap spice grinders. I'd guess that ceramic burr grinders have ever-so-slightly more give than steel, and will let through slightly more undesired grounds as a result.
But it's probably a pretty minor effect.
$55ish CAD total
You can have good coffee from any method.
No sense using our hands to belabor the point when grinding.