Yes. A few automatic coffee makers keep plastic out of every part that touches your water and coffee, going by what their makers publish. The best documented is Simply Good Coffee’s Plastic-free brewer, which lists stainless steel, glass and silicone for those parts. Two limits matter: silicone is a synthetic rubber, so a brew path with silicone seals isn’t free of synthetic polymers, and we found no published study that has measured what any home coffee maker sheds.
What touches the water in a coffee maker?
In a drip machine, water passes six places on its way to your cup. It waits cold in the reservoir, runs down to a heater in the base, rises hot through tubes to the showerhead, drips through the grounds in the basket and collects in the carafe.
Most of that trip is hot. Simply Good and Caraway list brewing temperatures of 195 to 205 °F (about 90 to 96 °C), and Aarke lists 197 to 205 °F. Only the reservoir holds cold water.
So read a materials list from the hot end. The heater, tubes, showerhead, basket and carafe see near-boiling water or fresh coffee, and heat raised particle release in several of the studies below. A steel outer shell tells you little about what’s inside, and plastic on the outside of a machine never touches your coffee.
Do coffee makers release microplastics?
Nobody can say yet, because no published study we found has measured it for a home coffee maker. A 2024 review of 30 peer-reviewed studies on microplastic sources in home kitchens, with searches through June 2024, found very few that tested appliances at all, and it included no coffee-maker study. Snekkevik et al., 2024 Our own PubMed search on September 26, 2026 found none either.
The nearest evidence comes from other food-contact items:
- Normal use can release particles. A 2025 evidence map of 103 studies concluded that food-contact articles can release micro- and nanoplastics during normal, intended use. Only seven studies were rated highly reliable, and the map can’t tell you what a particular automatic coffee maker releases or rank brewers. Zimmermann et al., 2025
- Heat often raises release, though not always. Among the timed test series in that map, 14 found release rose over time or with heating, washing or repeated opening, while 12 found no increase. Zimmermann et al., 2025 In a 2023 experiment, plastic containers and a reusable food pouch released the most particles during microwave heating, compared with refrigeration or room-temperature storage, using water and dilute acetic acid as food stand-ins. Hussain et al., abstract
- New plastic kettles shed the most at first. In a 2025 study of eight new polypropylene kettles bought from two Australian supermarket chains, particle release was highest in the first boils, fell by the tenth, leveled off after about 50 and was still detectable after 150. That is the closest appliance we found in the literature, but a kettle is not a coffee maker. Shi et al., 2025
- Coffee brings its own particles. A 2026 study found microplastic particles in both instant and ground coffee, averaging about 1.4 particles per gram in instant and 0.3 in ground across 15 samples of each. The authors point to several entry points along the food processing chain. We read only the abstract. Gune et al., 2026
- So can the cup. A 2025 study of 155 drinks bought in the UK found microplastics in every sample, averaging 43 particles per liter in hot coffee, with particles from 10 to 157 micrometers. Hot drinks carried more than cold ones, and the authors linked much of the contamination to packaging. Al-Mansoori et al., abstract
Put together, a plastic-free brew path removes one possible source. It does not make your coffee plastic-free, and nobody can yet say how much it changes what’s in your cup. Research has found reasons for concern about microplastics, but it can’t predict one person’s risk or show that a household swap prevents disease. Our health explainer walks through that evidence.
Which automatic coffee makers keep plastic out of the brew path?
One brewer documents a plastic-free path part by part, and a second makes the claim for a model that hasn’t shipped yet. This is what each maker says on its own pages, checked September 26, 2026. None of these claims has been independently tested.
| Brewer | Price | Batch | What the maker says touches water or coffee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simply Good Coffee, Plastic-free | $399.99 on sale, $479.99 list | 8 cups, 40 oz | Stainless steel, borosilicate glass and silicone, with “no plastic or aluminum” |
| Caraway 10-Cup | $495, pre-order, estimated to ship December 10 | 10 cups, from a 50-oz reservoir | Glass reservoir and carafe; steel water path, showerhead, basket and filter. Seals and carafe lid not listed |
| Ratio Six, Series 2 | $379 list | 40 oz | A Tritan tank for cold water, then steel, glass, aluminum and silicone; the basket is polymer-lined |
| Ratio Eight, Series 2 | $699 list | 40 oz | A Tritan tank for cold water, then steel, aluminum and glass |
| Aarke Coffee Maker | $400 | Up to 42 oz | Steel, glass, silicone and BPA-free plastic, without saying which part is which |
Two labels cause most of the confusion. The first is “BPA-free”, which describes a plastic made without BPA. Moccamaster, for example, says the plastic parts in its brewers that touch coffee or water are free of BPA, BPS, BPF and phthalates. Moccamaster Ratio’s cold-water tanks are Tritan, which its maker, Eastman, calls a BPA-free plastic. Eastman The Six also brews in a polymer-lined basket, and Ratio says pairing it with the Eight’s steel dripper and thermal carafe gives it a plastic-free hot water path. Ratio Eight, Ratio Six
The second is a coffee-quality badge. The Specialty Coffee Association certifies home brewers for brewing quality and consistency, and its list includes the Aarke. SCA Simply Good calls its brew temperature SCA-certified, but the brewer was not on the SCA’s certified list when we checked. The report it links, commissioned from the lab Coffee Enterprises, measured coffee quality in three units of the brand’s Olson brewer in 2022 and 2023. It did not look at materials or particles. Coffee Enterprises report
Commercial brewers come up often too. Bunn lists all-stainless construction for its VP17-1 pourover brewer, but its standard funnel is black plastic, a stainless funnel is sold separately, and the page doesn’t list the sprayhead’s material. Bunn
Is silicone plastic?
It depends on who is counting. Silicones are synthetic polymers built on a backbone of silicon and oxygen, and the flexible kind used in seals is an elastomer, a rubber. NLM MeSH Simply Good counts silicone as plastic-free and lists it for the reservoir cover, carafe-lid seal, connectors and drip stop. Simply Good If your goal is no synthetic polymers at all, those four parts don’t meet it.
A 2023 review of silicone rubber in food processing looks at chemical and bacterial risks. It notes that leftover siloxanes can migrate into food, that heat and long use age silicone faster, and that worn parts should be replaced. Liu et al., abstract Simply Good says its seal kit is sold as a replacement part.
Can you brew without plastic for less?
Yes, if you accept a trade. The automatic machines above cost $379 to $699, and the cheaper routes give up either automatic brewing or the style of coffee.
- An electric percolator is still automatic: plug it in and it brews. Presto lists stainless steel construction for its 12-cup model, including the filter basket and perk tube, for $84.99, though not every small part is documented. It cycles coffee through the grounds several times, which Presto says makes a more intense cup. Presto Farberware lists an automatic keep-warm function for its stainless 12-cup percolator. Farberware
- A glass pour-over matches the batch size. Chemex makes its brewers from borosilicate glass, and the 8-cup size holds 40 ounces, the same as the automatic brewers above. Chemex You heat water separately and pour it by hand. For a single cup, the same idea works at mug size: a pour-over cone of glass, ceramic or steel set on your mug.
- A steel French press drops the paper. Frieling says its double-walled press is made entirely of 18/10 stainless steel, in sizes from 17 to 44 ounces. Frieling Losing the paper filter matters for a reason unrelated to plastic. Paper holds back cafestol and kahweol, coffee oils that raise LDL cholesterol. Urgert and Katan, abstract A meta-analysis of 14 trials found that unfiltered coffee raised total and LDL cholesterol, while filtered coffee showed very little increase. Jee et al., abstract If you’re watching your cholesterol, a paper-filtered method is the easier fit.
- A moka pot is mostly metal. Bialetti’s steel Venus has an 18/10 stainless steel body and a thermoplastic handle, and it seals with a gasket that the manual says to replace when worn. Bialetti It brews small, espresso-style batches: the largest size makes 15.5 ounces. Bialetti US
Should you replace the coffee maker you have?
Not necessarily. No study we found has measured what a home coffee maker sheds, so no one can tell you how much a new machine would change what’s in your cup. If yours works, keeping it is a reasonable choice. Switching makes the most sense when you’re replacing a machine anyway, or when you would simply rather not have plastic in the hot path.
A few steps cost little either way:
- Drink from ceramic or glass. Plastic-lined paper cups released particles into hot water at 85 to 90 °C within 15 minutes in a 2021 lab study. Ranjan et al., abstract
- Run plain water through a new machine. The kettle study’s authors suggest discarding the first few boils when a plastic kettle is new. Nobody has tested that for coffee makers, but it costs a few minutes, and the Simply Good manual already asks for two water-only cycles before first use. Shi et al., Simply Good manual
- Look after the parts. Descale as the manual says, and replace a cracked basket or a worn seal with the maker’s own part.
- Change the part you can. Some owners swap a plastic brew basket for one made of glass, ceramic or steel. That removes one plastic part and leaves the rest of the machine as built.
What we don’t know yet
- How much any coffee maker sheds. We found no peer-reviewed measurement for a home drip machine, plastic or not, so the size of any benefit from switching is unknown.
- Whether the declarations hold. Every materials list here comes from the manufacturer. We found no independent teardown or particle test of a current model, and none of the pages we read lists adhesives or coatings.
- How silicone seals age in coffee makers. We found no study of silicone parts in coffee makers after years of hot water.
- How Caraway’s machine performs. It hadn’t shipped when we checked, so there are no owner reports yet.
What we’d do
| If you… | We’d consider | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Have a machine that works | Keeping it and drinking from ceramic or glass | A plastic-free hot path |
| Want automatic brewing and can spend about $400 to $480 | Simply Good’s Plastic-free brewer | Money, and silicone seals remain |
| Want automatic brewing for under $100 | A steel electric percolator | Drip-style coffee, and a few undocumented parts |
| Will pour water yourself | A glass Chemex with paper filters | Automatic brewing |
| Like French press coffee | An all-steel French press | The paper filter that holds back cholesterol-raising oils |
Our pick
Affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works.
We chose these on one test: what the manufacturer documents for each part that touches water or coffee. We haven’t used any of them, and none has an independent particle test.
THE BREWER Plastic-free, by Simply Good Coffee (main pick)
- Why it fits: It has the most complete parts list we found for an automatic brewer, with no plastic or aluminum where water or coffee touches, according to the maker. It brews up to 8 cups (40 ounces) in about six minutes, with an automatic bloom and a warming plate that shuts off after 40 minutes.
- What touches water and coffee, as the maker states: a glass reservoir with a silicone cover and steel floor cover; a steel boiler with a glass boiler tube; steel internal plumbing with silicone connectors; a steel shower arm and showerhead; a steel filter basket and lid with a silicone drip stop; a glass carafe with a steel top and silicone lid seal. It takes #4 cone paper filters or a reusable metal one.
- Evidence: manufacturer-declared. Its linked lab report tested coffee quality only, and the brewer was not on the SCA’s certified list when we checked.
- Cons: The warranty is two years, or five with the brand’s $13 quarterly descaler-and-filter subscription. Warranty The manual says not to remove the carafe during brewing, so you can’t pour a cup mid-brew, and it brews 2 to 8 cups. It asks for descaling every two months or 100 brews with a coffee-maker descaler and advises against vinegar. The glass carafe can break, and a replacement with lid lists at $69.99. Carafe The base model has no timer; the Programmable version adds one at $469.99 on sale. The same manual covers the brand’s Glass and Thermal models and mentions plastic parts that touch liquid, so check that you’re buying the model named Plastic-free.
- Price: $400 to $480 (checked Sept 2026).
- Skip it if: you want a brew path with no synthetic polymers at all, you like to pour before the pot is done, or the price is out of reach.
Presto 12-Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker (02811)
- Why it fits: It is the cheapest automatic route we found with steel parts documented by the maker. It brews 2 to 12 five-ounce cups, at about a cup a minute.
- What touches water and coffee, as the maker states: stainless steel construction, including the filter basket and perk tube. Presto doesn’t state the material of the cover knob, basket lid or the washer on the perk tube. It uses wraparound paper filters.
- Evidence: manufacturer-declared, with gaps.
- Cons: Percolated coffee cycles through the grounds several times, a stronger style than drip. Coffee stays hot as long as it’s plugged in, so unplug it when you’re done. The base can’t be immersed in water, and the warranty is one year. Manual
- Price: about $85 (checked Sept 2026).
- Skip it if: you prefer drip-style coffee or want every part documented.
Chemex Classic 8-Cup
- Why it fits: It brews 40 ounces in glass, the same batch as the automatic brewers, for about $52.
- What touches water and coffee, as the maker states: borosilicate glass. The wood collar and leather tie sit on the outside, and it uses Chemex Bonded paper filters.
- Evidence: manufacturer-declared.
- Cons: You heat water separately and pour it yourself. Glass can break. Chemex says it can go in the dishwasher once the collar and tie are removed. The filters are an ongoing cost, and there is no warming plate.
- Price: about $52 (checked Sept 2026).
- Skip it if: you need automatic brewing.
Frieling Double-Walled Stainless Steel French Press
- Why it fits: The maker says it is made entirely of 18/10 stainless steel, with a double wall that keeps coffee hot longer than glass.
- What touches water and coffee, as the maker states: Frieling says the press, which has a two-stage filter, is crafted entirely from 18/10 stainless steel, and that every component is dishwasher-safe.
- Evidence: manufacturer-declared.
- Cons: No paper filter, so more of the cholesterol-raising oils described above reach your cup. You heat water separately. It costs more than a Chemex, and you can’t see how much coffee is left.
- Price: $115 to $160 depending on size, $140 for 36 ounces (checked Sept 2026).
- Skip it if: you’re watching your LDL cholesterol or want paper-filtered coffee.
Resources to go further
- Food contact articles as source of micro- and nanoplastics (Zimmermann et al., 2025). Free. What food-contact testing can and can’t show.
- Beyond the food on your plate (Snekkevik et al., 2024). Free. Kitchen sources, and how few appliances have been tested.
- Release of nanoplastic from polypropylene kettles (Shi et al., 2025). Free. The closest appliance study.
- Coffee consumption and serum lipids (Jee et al., 2001). Abstract free. The trial evidence behind the paper-filter advice.
- SCA certified home brewers. Free. Checks a brewing-quality claim; it doesn’t assess materials.
- Simply Good Coffee user manual. Free PDF. Worth reading before you buy, for the batch size and descaling rules.
- The Best Home Coffee Brewing Machine (James Hoffmann, YouTube, 2021, about 30 minutes). Free. A coffee expert compares drip machines on taste. Plastics aren’t covered, and prices are from 2021.
- How to Make the Best Coffee at Home (James Hoffmann; Octopus, 2021; 224 pages; ISBN 9781784727246). A home-brewing guide that covers the French press, stovetop pots and other manual methods.
- iFixit coffee maker guides. Free. Repair guides, for replacing a worn part instead of a whole machine.