Many people search for a stainless steel coffee maker that doesn’t include any plastic parts, worrying about hot water coming in contact with those plastic parts might lead to an undesirable taste or health issues. Or you might be concerned with the environmental impact of using plastic.
When searching for the term stainless steel coffee maker, you’ll probably come across two things:
- A regular plastic/stainless steel housing with vacuum stainless steel carafe.
- Or a full stainless steel body with a vacuum stainless steel carafe.
Truth is, there are NO drip coffee makers that contain no plastic parts at all. So, what do you do if you want to produce coffee without using any plastic parts? You have a few options....
Your Options for Plastic-Free Coffee Brewing
First Option – Manual Brewing
If you truly want to get rid of plastic in your daily brewing, the best way is to go from machine brewing to manual brewing. Manual coffee brewers were invented way before automatic coffee brewers and the overuse of plastic. A lot of them are made of safe materials such as ceramics or stainless steel.
Second Option – Coffee Maker with BPA-FREE Plastic
When it comes to coffee machines, even if you buy a full body stainless steel machine, two parts will never be plastic-free:
- The water reservoir: which is mostly okay since it does not come in contact with heating.
- The filter basket, which can be used with either a reusable mesh filter or paper filter. This part comes in contact with hot water, and it generally cannot be made of any material other than plastic.
However, both are usually BPA free and safe to use plastic.
Which route to go for is down to why you want a plastic-free coffee maker. Is it for health concerns and not water coffee that has come in contact with plastic? Or is it a lifestyle choice and environmental conscious choice where you prefer not to use plastic?
If it’s the first one, then BPA-Free is a completely safe material and it shouldn’t be concerning to use on daily basis. Otherwise, your best pick is to go for a manual brewer.
How To Make Coffee Without The Use of Any Plastic: (Alternative Coffee Brewing Methods)
Quick note: We get many emails telling us that some of the products recommended by us do contain plastic (as obvious from the photos). Well, yes, some products may contain plastic parts on their EXTERIOR. The plastic does NOT come in contact with hot water or coffee on the inside of the coffee maker, and that’s why we’ve qualified them as plastic-free coffee makers.
You can use a stovetop moka/coffee maker. They’re all stainless steel, no plastic parts at all. But of course, it’s pretty manual and no fancy features. See our favorite stainless steel stovetop coffee makers here.
Use a French press. It’s also very manual, but easy and quick to use. And most importantly, no plastic parts! Click here to see the best french press pots you can buy.
You can use a stainless steel coffee percolator which has no plastic parts in its interior at all (some plastic parts out the exterior). There’s an electric or stovetop option, it’s nice and quick, although the method itself is old, the new percolators have been updated to meet a modern user’s expectations.
A Chemex glass coffee maker, which is a manual drip coffee maker. Click here to learn more about the one pictured above.
Or you can use a ceramic drip pour-over coffee maker.
As you can see, if you’d like your coffee without the use of plastic, you’ll have to go back to basics. We highly recommend a Hario Dripper or a French press as a fast and easy way to make delicious coffee, followed by the stovetop coffee maker and the percolators.
Best Stainless Steel Double Wall French Press With No Plastic Parts
As we’ve already recommended french press as an alternative coffee brewing method, most press pots are made of glass with plastic exterior. Although that does not affect the taste of the coffee as the plastic does not come in contact with it, many people would still prefer that their pot does not include any plastic at all.
Why Choose a Stainless Steel French Press?
- a stainless steel french press is slightly more expensive than its glass/plastic counterpart, but it is more durable, it doesn’t scratch or break.
- It is double-walled, so it keeps your coffee hot for a longer period of time.
- It’s more stylish.
Here are our favorite stainless steel French Press Pots:
Frieling Polished Stainless French Press:
- Available in few sizes: 8 oz, 17 oz, 23 oz, 36 oz.
- Insulated interior – retains heat 4 times longer than a regular press.
- Mirror finished on the outside, brushed finish on the inside.
- Dishwasher safe.
Bodum Columbia 8-Cup Stainless-Steel Thermal Press Pot:
- 8 cup capacity thermal french press by Bodum. (available in other sizes)
- Double-walled insulated interior. Keeps coffee hot for 2 hours.
- Polished mirror finish exterior.
- Twist shut lid.
- Includes coffee scoop.
- Dishwasher safe.
Francois et Mimi Stainless Steel Double Wall French Coffee Press:
- Fully stainless steel, holds up to 36 oz.
- Double walled interior.
- Brushed stainless steel finish.
- Available in other sizes.
Learn all about stainless steel french press pots here
Recommended BPA-Free Coffee Makers
What I recommend here is going for a coffee maker with stainless steel housing and minimal plastic parts, which will be BPA-free.
Technivorm Moccamaster
Moccamaster by Technivorm is one of the best drip coffee makers available on the market. It’s a classic machine that has been available for years and years. What sits this one apart from other coffee makers is its high quality build. Made mainly from stainless steel housing, apart from the reservoir, filter basket an handles, and it’s still handmade in their main factory in the Netherlands.
Another great thing about the Moccamaster is that it is Specialty Coffee Association certified, meaning that your coffee will be brewed to Specialty coffee standards every time.
Moccamaster is available in several models and sizes which you can learn all about here.
Single-serve coffee makers are a popular choice for a quick cup of coffee or for a single-person use. Majority of these coffee makers are made of plastic, and they use plastic pods for brewing.
Hamilton Beach’s FlexBrew is a great alternative to those brewers. It has a stainless steel housing. It does NOT use pods, but you can brew your own coffee grounds by using the BPA-Free filter basket. And for those who like to enjoy their coffee on the go, you can brew up to 14 oz of coffee in a travel mug (or any mug you like).
OXO Brew is an 8-cup coffee maker with stainless steel housing and double-walled stainless steel carafe. Like the Moccamaster, the OXO brewer is SCA-certified and brews to Gold Cup standards.
What’s great about this brewer is that it can brew up to 8 cups of coffee, and it also has the ability to brew a single cup, without the need for any special filter or accessory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Coffee Makers Plastic on the Inside?
A coffee maker has many parts on the inside: heating elements and electric parts that operate the machine. Mostly, these are metal made parts that you shouldn’t be concerned much about.
What you’ll want to pay attention to is what parts come in contact with the hot water or the coffee as it brews, and those are: the water reservoir, the brew head and the filter basket. Those parts, unfortunately, are still and will most likely continue to be made of plastic. So, you’ll want to make sure that these are BPA-Free.
Are Stainless Steel Coffee Percolators Considered Safe?
For the most part, these are some of the safest way to make coffee. There are some concerns over small aluminum parts inside the percolators that come in contact with hot liquid, but not all percolators have that. And if they do, these are really small parts that don’t affect your coffee negatively.
