# Moccamaster



## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I've been looking for a batch brewer and I've got a chance to get a Moccamaster quite cheaply (about £40) and wanted to ask if this machine is still considered quite good? It's a quite basic model (H 741) with 1L capacity and doesn't have some of the features, like being able to turn off the hot plate separately or being able to adjust the flow of the filter holder. Is it still worth getting now that there are other similar or better machines out there? (Bonavita, Breville etc.). I'm also curious how it is at brewing 250ml - 500ml batches as well.

Update: Intended to post this in the Grinders|Machines|Accessories forum.


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Tewchnovorm have been making filter Moccamasters, etc for decades. They're well regarded in the catering trade. Spares are easy to source & not expensive.

They will keep on brewing batches continuously without any problems.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I ended up getting it for about £10 as the shower head is rusty, and the machine was overall so dirty. I think the previous owner used a dirty carafe to fill the water tank, so it was covered with coffee stains everywhere as well as heavy scale. After a good cleaning it looks much better, I still need to change the shower head though. I would love to hear tips on how to get a flat bed / even extraction when using it. It seems to help to stir in the beginning and then again in the end just before all the water is dispersed.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

that's a bargain, well done, should clean up just fine and you should be able to source spare parts if needed I think.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

Yeah the worst part seems to be the water tank, which has turned pretty much yellow/brown, and doesn't seem to clean off since it's plastic. Not sure how to make it turn clear again


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

cold water and a few drops of dosmestos normally.......and you can also try cafiza or limescale remover or citric acid.........will probably need several treatments


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

It seems quite a lot of work to remove the water tank, as you need to undo all electrical connections and the plumbing. I tried with citric acid but only helped mildly. Need to soak it for several hours maybe?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

the_partisan said:


> It seems quite a lot of work to remove the water tank, as you need to undo all electrical connections and the plumbing. I tried with citric acid but only helped mildly. Need to soak it for several hours maybe?


Overnight......to be honest, you may as well see if you can price a new one.....I doubt they will be mega expensive


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

It's not but changing a few parts quickly adds up unfortunately.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

This is the spray head.. Looks a bit eww, but I don't know if it's actually harmful or not. Any ideas?








Also a picture of the machine before I cleaned it up:


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

So far, I'm quite impressed with the quality of the brews I get out of this. It's up there with my best pour overs. The only downside is it's not very practical for making less than

Stable, high temperature and the constant gentle trickle of water being poured very close to the basket seem to make all the difference. It still seems to require a little bit of intervention to get a completely flat bed, but it's just a stir in the beginning, one or two gentle stirs in the top after all water is dispersed to break the clumps of coffee floating around, and a gentle swirl of the basket afterwards. Basically I treat it like a pour over but without having to do the pouring myself.

I'll also add the bleached #4 filters are ridiculously cheap, like equivalent of £1 for a pack of 200...


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

After soaking the spray head in citric acid solution for 12h this is how it looks like now.. Seems like this part is also made out of copper, like the heating element, and the chrome plating has wore off for the most part.


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Replacing the water tank is very fiddly & time-consuming: Just let the descaler solution clean it gradually, each time you descale the whole machine.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I've settled in a quite consistent method with my Moccamaster now and after weighing/measuring 4 brews it resulted in +-0.25% EY. I've changed the brew ratio to be 27.5g/500g as this gives me ~15-15.5:1 beverage/dose.

Put 500g water into tank

Put bleached filter and ground coffee in basket (don't rinse filter)

Set filter basket setting to closed

Turn on machine

Stir with a spoon 15 seconds after water started coming out

Set filter basket setting to fully open at 30 seconds

Stir the surface 2-3 times at 1:15

Give the basket a gentle swirl to settle the grounds when all the water has been dispersed.

Total contact time is between 3:30 and 4 minutes. I let it also drip an additional 30s-60s.

I get 423g +/-4g in the cup


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I've started using a bit difference in Moccamaster after La Cabra's popup here where they used 65g/L. I've been typically using 1:18 but gave it a try as every now and then I got quite bitter/dry brews with my old recipe. I used 1:16 and significantly coarser grind (#14 of #16 in EK43). The coffee taste very good, balanced and very juicy.

TDS hovers around 1.35% and the reported extraction numbers are on the lower side - 18-18.5, even lower than my V60 brews which tend to average 20% using a similar brew ratio. I wonder if the method of measurement isn't completely correct in this case because it's essentially like a semi-immersion brew similar to a clever and not a real percolation brew. I keep the brewer closed for 1 min for more even saturation. and use 30g coffe/480g water and get about 395-400g beverage out, so somehow 80g is retained?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

the_partisan said:


> TDS hovers around 1.35% and the reported extraction numbers are on the lower side - 18-18.5, even lower than my V60 brews which tend to average 20% using a similar brew ratio. I wonder if the method of measurement isn't completely correct in this case because it's essentially like a semi-immersion brew similar to a clever and not a real percolation brew. I keep the brewer closed for 1 min for more even saturation. and use 30g coffe/480g water and get about 395-400g beverage out, so somehow 80g is retained?


Method of measurement is fine, at no point is all the brew water in contact with, nor held with the coffee. You just have a long, big pre wet.

The output from the Moccamaster brewer starts strong & ends weak/~avg TDS. An immersion would be fairly uniform when it drained, maybe a little up turn at the end.

Is 80g retained in the brew basket, solely by the grinds, filter & holder. Or is some retained in the water tank & boiler?


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

The boiler does retain some water as it's not a pump operated machine unlike the Wilfa Precision for example. Some of the old water is used in the next brew and so on. You can turn the machine upside down to empty it, which I do if I haven't used it in a week or so.

I did three batches with 480g water without emptying the boiler in between and with the just the jug and filter holder (no paper filter) in place and got 462g, 471g, 467g out. Also waited an hour or so between the brews since it does behave a bit differently when water is already warm. So there's a bit of variation, and I think some would also be absorbed by the paper filter (I don't prewet).

If I grind finer the coffee can easily taste overextracted (dry/bitter) at times.


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