Looking for a non-toxic coffee maker? I test over a dozen espresso and drip coffee machines every year, and here I’ve picked out three BPA-free options that deliver peace of mind when you’re enjoying your morning brew.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a material used in some hard plastics, and is classified as an endocrine disruptor (a substance that can affect hormone levels). When it comes into contact with food and drinks, tiny amounts can be transferred and consumed.
The official stance of the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) is that “BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods. Based on FDA’s ongoing safety review of scientific evidence, the available information continues to support the safety of BPA for the currently approved uses in food containers and packaging.”
Latest Videos FromTechRadar
The Food Standards Agency in the UK adopts a similar position, stating that “Where it is allowed to be used, tiny amounts of the chemical may be transferred from some packaging into food and drinks, however the level of BPA detected in food to date in the UK is not currently considered to be harmful.”
However, in both countries BPAs are forbidden in items intended to be used by babies and young children, and some coffee fans prefer to pick brewers that are BPA-free to play it safe.
All three coffee makers below are explicitly marked as BPA-free, but there are some other options to consider if you want to avoid contact with plastics. For example, if you want a manual espresso machine, the La Pavoni Europiccola (reviewed by my colleague Josephine Watson) is worth a look. Although it isn’t explicitly marketed as non-toxic, the heating element is stainless steel, and its tank is made from brass to limit contact with other materials in the brew path. Meanwhile, pour-over fans can avoid plastic entirely by opting for a Chemex brewer, or a simple glass or ceramic dripper.
Ninja Prestige DualBrew System
The Ninja Prestige DualBrew System — known as the Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker Barista System in the US — is BPA-free, plus Ninja’s product FAQ also states that it’s free from PTFE/PFOA, chemicals used to make non-stick coatings. PTFE is chemically inert, and regarded as safe at the temperatures used by coffee machines. However, as with BPAs, some coffee-drinkers prefer to avoid it for peace of mind. PFOA has been phased out in the US and UK, having been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. You will not find it in any modern coffee makers.
The Prestige DualBrew System was released two years ago, but remains one of my favorite two-in-one coffee and espresso machines for sluggish mornings. Either fill the brew basket with ground coffee before bed, set the timer, and wake to a hot pitcher full of delicious pour-over, or drop in a Nespresso Original pod and enjoy a rich espresso with zero effort.
It’s the little features that really make the DualBrew System stand out. For example, the hotplate under the pour-over pitcher offers adjustable time and temperature settings, so you can keep your coffee pleasantly warm without risk of stewing it. Remove the pitcher and you’ll find a fold-down drip tray, so you can dispense coffee directly into a cup or travel mug instead.
You can adjust the height of the espresso drip tray to accommodate different-sized cups, too, and around the side of the machine, there’s a fold-out milk frother for turning your Nespresso drinks into lattes or cappuccinos. It doesn’t heat the milk as a steam wand would, but Ninja’s designers have added a “recipe” label that provides guidance on the length of time for which you should microwave and whisk the milk for different drinks.
Read my full Ninja Prestige DualBrew System review
Ninja Luxe Café Premier
The Luxe Café Premier (which was known as the Luxe Café when it launched in 2024) is another Ninja coffee maker explicitly stated to be BPA-free. Ninja also notes that “after the reservoir, the water does not come into contact with any plastic,” which is good to know if you’re worried about substances leaching into hot water.
It’s a brilliant all-in-one coffee maker that takes the trial and error out of making well-extracted coffee, handling the trickiest barista tasks and helping even first-time users produce a consistently well-extracted brew with a fully rounded flavor.
When preparing an espresso, the machine does the hard work of dialing in the grinder for you, suggesting an appropriate grind size and then funneling the prepared coffee neatly into the filter basket. A calibrated tamper helps you create a perfectly even bed of coffee, and once the handle is inserted under the brewing group, the Luxe Café will time your shot to make sure it’s not extracting too fast or slow.
You can push the steam wand down into your milk jug to use the automatic frothing system, or lift it a few degrees to use it manually, depending on how confident you feel. We found that the auto system worked equally well with dairy milk and plant-based substitutes such as oat and almond.
“Overall, the Ninja Luxe Café delivered on its promises of uncomplicating espresso,” said our tester Danielle Abraham. “It consistently created quality espresso and made things simpler by intuitively dosing and providing the correct grind level for the perfect pull, something you’d be hard-pressed to find on other semi-automatic espresso machines at this price point.”
If you have a small kitchen, the Ninja Luxe Café Mini offers almost exactly the same features in a more compact package, brews “absolutely delicious” coffee, and is also BPA-free.
Read our full Ninja Luxe Café Premier review
Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker
Fellow’s premium coffee makers are a popular choice for coffee roasters and specialty cafés, and the Aiden Precision Coffee Maker is no exception. The brand states that “Aiden is built with high-quality, food-grade plastic (BPA-free), stainless steel, and silicone, so that you can brew with peace of mind.”
The Aiden offers a choice of brewing modes, so you can pick the appropriate one depending on how much time you have to spare. Auto Brew mode works like any basic drip coffee maker, simply heating water and pumping it over your ground coffee. The pump will run until the water tank is empty.
Guided Brewing mode is where things get interesting. It lets you choose how much to brew, then suggests the optimal dosage, bloom time, and temperature based on the type of beans you’ve selected. The machine will also tell you whether to use the cone or flat-bottomed brew basket, and can detect which one you’ve inserted.
The Aiden has a cold-brew mode as well, which uses hot water to bloom the coffee, then switches to cold for the remainder of the process. It’s a clever trick that means your drink takes just 1.5-2 hours to prepare compared to the 24 hours for traditional cold brewing. The flavor profile is impressively similar, so hats off to Fellow.
However, the Aiden loses half a point for its carafe, which lets heat escape a little too easily. Fellow claims it will keep your batch of freshly brewed coffee hot for hours, but during my tests, it cooled noticeably within 45 minutes.
In short, the non-toxic Aiden brews exquisite drip coffee, but you’ll need to be ready to enjoy it straight away.
Read my full Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker review
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qxbMvB2MqURafAvkusNHVK-1920-80.jpg
Source link
catherine.ellis@futurenet.com (Cat Ellis)
