Moccamaster (Technivorm) - KBTS

The models with a manual filter basket and no hot plate (KBT, KBTS) would have been a better choice then. You can do smaller amounts and brew right into the cup with those models.

I use mine a couple of times a week. I can’t brew as flavorful cup of coffee as I can using my V60, so I use more commercial beans in my Moccamaster and use my “better beans” for my V60. The Moccamaster brews a consistent and nice cup of coffee. Better than other cups I’ve tried from drip machines and certainly better than Keurig (which my wife uses). I have the KBTS version. I will close the drip stop to kind of replicate a bloom. I also will gently stir to get more even saturation. Then I open it up and don’t worry about the rest. But if you don’t like what comes out then you should return it.

I do 30g/500ml pots in my KBTS daily and like it. Actual yield is closer to 400ml as well.

> but I'm just not excited about paying that much money for a machine that I can't program if it's not even capable of saturating the grounds well unless I stir it. My MM tastes fine. I don’t stir the grounds. I tried stirring and don’t notice a difference. 🤷‍♂️ But yeah it’s not for you if you want customizable options.

Another vote for Moccamaster. I just bought the KBTS. It's $$, but I like that it's repairable. If I didn't want to spend that money, I'd buy whatever cheap drip machine has a thermal carafe. (My husband wakes up an hour before me, so I appreciate the ability to keep the coffee hot.) I'm a fan of the Chemex too, but that does take a while to brew, and it's a PITA if you're brewing for guests. Imo, having tried many different coffeemakers, the best thing you can do for good coffee is grind your own beans. You can do a few pots' worth and keep them in an airtight container. They don't even have to be great beans. Just grinding fresh makes a big difference.

After doing a ton of research and a lot of time on BIFL, I bought a Moccamaster about three months ago and couldn’t be happier. It does exactly what I need. I used the giant database of coffee makers on the “Barista HQ” webpage to compare the models closely, and I ended up going with the 79212 KBTS (8 cup with stainless steel thermal carafe). I kiiiiind of wish I’d gotten the 15 cup option, but that just tells you too much about my coffee habits haha.

I currently own a Moccamaster KBTS and an xBloom Studio. I previously owned (and returned) an Aiden. My .02 - if money isn’t an issue get the Moccamaster and an extremely good grinder. Since it’s such a basic/dumb device - the grinder (and of course water) will have the biggest impact, but with a top tier grinder, you can get absolutely stunning cups of coffee. I would also recommend getting a model like mine that has a selectable manual flow rate for the dripper, as you can start it closed, wait 30 sec or so for it to get the coffee wet, open the flow to full or half speed (depending on how much your brewing) and just give the dripper cone a light back and forth turn with the handle to level out the bed and you’ll have much better coffee than the models without that control. As ridiculously goofy as it sounds - I have my Moccamaster paired with a Lagom 01 with 102mm SSP ULF Brew burrs and running Aquacode water through it and the cups I’m getting with it dialed in are absolutely as good as the pour overs I had at glitch in Japan. While I usually do a manual pour over with my extra fancy beans, I did make a 32oz pot of Panama Gesha, and it was sensational. It’s also nice because the carafe keeps it hot for hours, so I can use a nice tasting glass and slowly pour out an ounce or two at a time and get the pleasure of drinking it at multiple temperatures and experiencing the flavor changes as each cup cools over and over. As an aside - you can also use a metal Hario V60 in place of the plastic cone that comes on the model I have - and you can even fit a drip assist on top of the V60 to break up the pour and go with a finer low agitation brew and get surprisingly good cups. I’ve even had success running ultra lights through it.

RE: returning the Aiden. 1. They have an extremely high failure rate, and the Fellow sub is literally a non-stop complaint session on Aiden’s failing. On the other hand - the Moccamaster sub on Reddit is the exact opposite and full of non-stop “runs forever without issues” posts. 2. The lid is incredibly tall and makes the overall unit weirdly tall when opened. This normally wouldn’t be an issue - but after brewing the inside of the unit is full of condensation, so you have to leave the lid open for hours for it to dry out, otherwise it will develop biofilm and start to smell. It’s an eyesore with the lid open. 3. It’s all plastic and the build quality isn’t inspiring to say the least. While the dripper and lid on the Technivorm are thin plastic, the rest of the machine is a handsome steel and well built, and overall looks feels more premium. Others may feel different. 4. The carafe is one of the worst I’ve ever used, it’s thin, doesn’t keep coffee warm for very long. 5. A lot of folks seem to like the coffee the Aiden makes, but I never once got a great cup from it - even when I used coffee from Fellow drops with their custom recipe’s - or loaded custom recipes from folks online who claimed they were dialed in. The basket brews also lacked any pleasant acidity, perhaps because it is a basket filter versus a cone - so I find the Moccamaster makes a better pot of coffee. For single cups (pour over) the xBloom Studio was considerably better and was less effort to use and much faster/easier to clean. 6. It’s more complicated than it needs to be. The circular display is infuriating, and the app isn’t exactly inspiring. You can simplify it - but it’s ALWAYS more complicated than the one button Moccamaster.

I love my moccamaster KBTS. Not sure how you would determine the "best" drip coffee maker, but I love it dearly and it makes an amazing cup of coffee. I chose it over the Aiden / Xbloom for it's simplicity and easily replaceable parts.

I believe it. My mocca makes coffee almost exactly the same as my pourovers that’s why I love it so much. I still do pourovers for single cups and use the mocca when I need more than one cup.

Yea it’s the thermal carafe but the smaller rounder version

We got one from the 70s that we found at a thrift store after moving out with my fiancee since my mother-in-law has had a Moccamaster too. Works just fine, I took it apart to clean it once and was shocked how simple the design was. Works like a charm.

I have one and, to your point, was surprised the coffee wasn’t better. It’s great coffee but not out of this world. It won’t turn old beans to fresh or cheap beans to premium. It still makes me happy every time using it though. I trust the consistent quality and appreciate the simplicity.  The non-burner version has a nice bonus: I put a little wooden block next to the carafe trigger and just brew a half pot directly into a tumbler.

Yes, different models. $159 was for the base model.