Description
The Moccamaster is what a drip coffee maker looks like when almost nothing is spent on features and almost everything is spent on the brewing. There is no clock, no timer, no app and no brew mode menu. There is a switch, a copper element that heats water quickly, a nine hole outlet arm that distributes it over the bed, and a thermal carafe underneath. This is the polished silver KBT, model 79112, made in the Netherlands.
What it is and where it fits
The listing gives the size as 6.75 inches deep by 11.5 inches wide by 15.25 inches high and the weight as 6.5 pounds. Fifteen and a quarter inches is tall, and the reservoir is filled from the top, so the wall cabinet gap has to allow for a hand and a jug above that.
Where it fits is a kitchen where somebody cares what the coffee tastes like and does not want to stand over a kettle. It is the automatic counterpart to manual pour over such as the Hario V60, and the design goal is the same, which is even saturation of the coffee bed with water at the right temperature.
Living with it day to day
The routine is deliberately short: paper filter in the basket, coffee in, water in the tank, flip the switch. The product copy describes a full 40 ounce pot in about six minutes, which is fast for a drip machine and means the water is not sitting in contact with the grounds for longer than it should be.
The nine hole outlet arm is the piece of hardware that distinguishes this machine. Most drip makers drop water onto the bed from a single point, which soaks the middle and leaves the edges under extracted. Nine holes spread the flow across the basket. It is a small part doing the job that a person with a gooseneck kettle does by hand.
The manual adjust brew basket is the other real control. The drip stop can be set to slow the flow, which increases contact time and produces a stronger cup from the same dose, and it lets the machine brew a partial carafe without the water rushing through. That is the answer to the small batch problem that makes most twelve cup machines useless for two cups.
The thermal carafe means there is no hot plate and no cooking. The product copy claims the coffee stays hot for up to an hour, which is a modest and honest claim rather than the four hour figures other machines quote, and it reflects a carafe that is insulated rather than heated. The trade is that stainless cannot be seen through, so the level has to be checked by lifting it. Noise is not published, and with no grinder and no pump this is among the quieter machines in this catalog.
Controls and connected features
One switch. There is no display, no clock, no timer, no app, no Wi Fi, no Bluetooth and no account, so nothing to reset after a power cut, nothing to pair and nothing that can be withdrawn in a software update.
That is not an omission, it is the whole design philosophy, and it is worth comparing directly with the connected machines elsewhere on this site. A machine that reads its pods over Wi Fi has features this one will never have and a dependency this one will never have either. A Moccamaster is a machine that can be repaired rather than replaced, and the listing supports that reading: it has been available since 2003 and is not flagged as discontinued.
The specification block does contradict itself on filters. This record says reusable while the same machine in another color on this site says paper. Moccamaster brew baskets are designed around paper filters, and paper is what the sibling listing records.
Running cost and upkeep
Voltage is recorded as 120 volts, which is correct for a North American machine. This is a corded countertop appliance with no water line, no drain, no gas and no venting, and no wattage or amperage is published, so the rating plate is the reference. A machine that boils 40 ounces in six minutes is not a small electrical load, so the circuit it shares is worth a thought.
Paper filters are the running cost and they are among the cheapest consumables in this catalog. There is no water filter cartridge, no pod and no capsule. Descaling is the recurring maintenance, and on a machine with a copper element and a fast heat up it matters, though no interval is published.
The genuine argument for a machine at this price is the ownership horizon. The parts list on this record names the brewer, the thermal carafe, the brew basket, the reservoir lid, the brew basket lid, the nine hole outlet arm and the manual, which is unusual because it means those parts are identified individually and are the kind of thing that gets sold as a spare. A machine whose components have names tends to be a machine that can be kept running.
Two dates on this listing disagree. Manufacture year is given as 2016 while first availability is May 5, 2003. The UPC field also carries seven different numbers, which points at several supplier records merged into one.
Highlights
- Nine hole outlet arm that spreads water across the coffee bed rather than pouring it in one spot.
- Manual adjust drip stop brew basket, which allows flow control and proper partial batches.
- Thermal carafe with no hot plate, so brewed coffee is not cooked while it sits.
- Full 40 ounce pot in around six minutes according to the manufacturer copy.
- One switch and no electronics, so nothing to reset, pair or update.
- Available since 2003, not discontinued, with individually named replaceable parts.
Things To Consider
- No clock and no timer, so it cannot start before anyone is awake.
- Fifteen and a quarter inches tall with a top fill reservoir, so cabinet clearance matters.
- The thermal carafe is claimed to hold heat for about an hour, which is less than heated carafe machines claim.
- Stainless carafe cannot be seen through, so the level has to be checked by lifting.
- The filter type field says reusable here and paper on the sibling listing for the same machine.
- Manufacture year 2016 and a 2003 availability date cannot both describe this unit.
Who it is not for
Anyone who wants coffee waiting at a set time should buy a programmable machine, because no accessory adds a timer to this one and the Breville Precision Brewer offers a thermal carafe with scheduling and brew modes attached. Anyone who wants pods, espresso or milk drinks will find none of it here. Anyone brewing a single cup daily will waste most of a 40 ounce pot and should look at the Moccamaster Cup One instead. And anyone shopping primarily on price will find far cheaper machines throughout the coffee machines category that brew perfectly acceptable coffee, because what is being bought here is construction and repairability rather than functions.
