While I sympathize with the sentiment to eliminate plastic from the transport chain for anything ingestible, it's practically impossible in the modern world.
Simple is usually best; glass or ceramic pour over, stainless press, or even the traditional South American coffee sock[0]
[0]https://perfectdailygrind.com/2016/01/coffee-sock-old-school...
used to live nexto a huge steel refinery and many mental diseases and cancers in the area are up more than 50% not to mention lots of birth defects etc.
maybe its effects are more local idk. Not sure how glass and ceramic are made.
ofc not bad to try and eliminate plastics but having 1 plastic free device that is overly expensive is really just a status thing. it contributes nexto nothing to environmental goals which i think eliminating plastics belongs to.
u can just put the grounds in a cup and pour hot water on it afterall. tastes fine.
This sort of defeatism is why people don't try. Consumers can shift products through purchase behaviors. We're already seeing improvements in kitchen appliances and gear, cosmetics, some outdoor gear.
Conspicuous consumption has many forms, “ethical” consumerism is just the latest variation.
Instead of a new $500 coffee maker like the ones in the article, that takes special (likely costly) presssed pellets of coffee, get a Chemex pour over for $50 and you'll never need another coffee maker again (unless you drop it). No plastic, and you can use whatever coffee you want.
The glass aeropress is way more expensive ($200 rather than $30) and is bad in all the ways he said it'd be bad. Heavier, fragile, and makes worse coffee unless you put some extra effort into preheating it. Looks better, though.
The expensive glass one uses double walled glass, so it’s not too bad. It’s $200 though which is ridiculous.
It does look like things we recognize as glass aren't plastic. So that's nice!
plastic coffee maker: 7-20 particles
paper cup : 25000 particles
https://getplasticproof.com/blog/does-coffee-have-microplast...
https://sifts.co/blogs/microplastics/microplastics-and-coffe...
https://sprudge.com/hot-to-go-which-type-of-coffee-has-the-m...
Years ago I looked for all stainless coffee maker and even the most expensive ones had plastic parts. The drip mechanism for all of them had plastic parts. I don't know if they have changed or not.
I wonder about this - I've got a few 1Zpresso grinders - they're rated for 100-200kg of coffee, and napkin math says my most-used one has probably done about 70kg to date. At grinder prices and my age though, not sure I'd ever come out ahead with BIFL burrs though.
$55ish CAD total
You can have good coffee from any method.
This summer was sunny and hot in Colorado, so every morning I'd make a jar of sun coffee. I'd leave it out through the day and overnight. The next morning I'd pull it in, filter it, refill it with grounds and water and take it outside again. It was cool enough to enjoy and really smooth.
Now I'm curious whether you mean a higher status (which I infer when folks are using such things) or a lower status (which I could also infer).