Terrible plastic smell and taste in new coffee makers.

QUESTION:

Every new coffee maker I’ve ever tried has an awful plastic smell when you first start brewing with it. I hate it! Is this even safe?

I can even taste it in the coffee. It tastes gross.

It’s like that “new car smell” people talk about. The difference being I’m not being asked to make coffee with the plastic in my car.

Is it toxic? And anyway, is there some way to wash out the taste in some way?

Better still, can you recommend any coffee makers that’s don’t have any plastic? That would be best! Thx.


ANSWER:

Hi,

We’ve been asked about this a few times now. You’re not alone in hating that plastic smell and taste!

One thing you can try is to run water through the brewer four or five times, before you make any coffee. Just flush out the system. Some people use a mixture of half water and half vinegar to try to get rid of the plastic taste.

Does it work? Maybe. A bit. Truth be told, that taste is probably going to stay with you for the first two or three weeks. And then it’s gone.

Onto the next solution… which is to ditch the plastic coffee makers and find something that is plastic-free.

Unfortunately, this means you won’t have the convenience of a drip brewer. All drip brewers and single-serve brewers include at least some plastic.

If you want to be plastics-free, you have a few choices.

The first option is to use a coffee percolator. Some people love percolated coffee, and other hate it. Honestly, my guess is that most of haters have never even tried it! The body of the percolator is steel, as is the basket for the coffee grounds. There may be a little plastic at the top of the lid.

Option two is to go with a French press. These are made with glass or, in some models, steel. Again, the only plastic you’ll find is the lid. But I’ve never noticed any smell or taste even with a new press.

To go 100% plastic-free, you could try the Chemex pour over brewer. It's a bit of extra work in the morning to pour by hand, but the result is excellent.

I hope this helps a little.

Nick

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