Reviews by Room ➜ Kitchen ➜ Coffee Makers
Non Toxic Coffee Makers
Dr. Meg Christensen is the founder of Interior Medicine, a physician-created resource on non-toxic home products and household exposures. Her layer-by-layer analysis of materials and products draws on her background in medicine, biochemistry, epidemiology, and clinical research.
Updated March 2026
Heat, acidity, and daily repetition are the conditions most likely to accelerate leaching from plastic. Coffee checks all three boxes, which is why the equipment you use matters so much. This guide covers filters, French presses, and brewers, with every component evaluated for what it's actually made of and what that means for your health.
Simply Good Coffee makes the best non toxic drip coffee maker because no plastic ever touches your water, grounds, or coffee. Even the piping is stainless steel, and their diagram of the internal components offers the kind of transparency I love. Since coffee is a daily exposure, a healthy plastic-free coffee maker is worth it.
A mostly plastic free coffee maker, the Aarke is really pretty, and is made primarily with stainless steel and glass. Like every other drip machine out there, the filter basket is lined with plastic, but it is Prop 65 -approved BPA free and the tubing inside is made with food safe high quality silicone that has LFGB certification, making this much better than a cheap or uncertified version. With its stainless steel water tank and glass carafe, it’s a healthier coffee maker than vast majority of drip machines, and a good less toxic option.
Non-Toxic Espresso Machines
Non-Toxic Drip Coffee Machines
The Gaggia is a more affordable almost plastic-free espresso machine that comes in close second to the ECM. It has a plastic water reservoir, but the tubing that routes the hot water is metal. Generally, espresso machines actually have a health advantage from an exposure perspective— you can potentially be less worried about them than other brewing methods because the contact time between hot or acidic coffee or water and the machine components is so short. The Gaggia gets great reviews and is a good choice for a non toxic home espresso machine.
Every espresso machine contains some plastic (thanks to Tom’s Coffee Corner who opens them up to inspect) —in the tubing, the gaskets, or the water tank. The model that comes the closest to being a totally plastic free espresso machine is above. It includes a glass water reservoir and partial stainless steel tubing, is the ECM Puristika. It’s an investment, and a little hard to find, but eBay often has some available.
Plastic-Free French Press
Plastic-Free Manual Espresso
Aeropress makes this totally plastic free espresso maker. It’s manual, and fast— making coffee with it takes about 2 minutes. Super easy, tech-free, and is made entirely of glass and stainless steel. Great if you like espresso but not the machine set up, or if you want a French press alternative. (I recommend their reusable stainless filter over their paper ones, available here on Amazon or their site directly.)
A classic! The Moka Express is a great non-toxic coffee maker that doesn’t require any filters, and their classic model is made of aluminum, so it’s very affordable and the coffee heats up quickly (yes, aluminum is safe, and you can read more in my guide here.) They also now have a very pretty stainless steel version.
If you’re allergic to the nickel in stainless steel (most people aren’t, but you can read my steel guide here), or like the aesthetic of glass, I like Zwilling’s French press best. It’s double walled, so your coffee still stays warmer than other glass models, and there are zero plastic components. It gets great reviews. If you’re looking for an even more affordable option, IKEA has a similar one.
Mueller Stainless Steel French Press
I slightly prefer stainless steel over glass french presses because they require absolutely zero plastic components, they don’t break (so you don’t have to replace them, making them sustainable), and they keep your coffee warm. This non toxic French Press is made by Mueller, a German company, and can be purchased through Amazon. An affordable non toxic way to make coffee.
For a non-toxic coffee maker with no plastic for single cup use, Chemex pourovers are the best. Made of strong borosilicate glass, and rated super highly for decades. I also appreciate their wood handle rather than relying on a silicone sleeve. Simple and straightforward! I recommend using this with different unbleached filters or a stainless steel one (listed next) rather than theirs, for more material transparency (paper processing is intense!)
I love the simplicity of this. Made of stainless steel, it rests directly on your mug, and doesn’t require a separate filter because the mesh is so fine. An inexpensive, healthy, and sustainable way to brew a cup of coffee.
Pourover and Non Toxic Coffee Filters
A stainless steel coffee filter that fits into your pourover set up is great because it’s reusable, and even more sustainable than non toxic paper filters. This link takes you to a bunch of them that comes in different shapes and volumes— search based on your brand or size for compatibility.
Non Toxic Paper Coffee Filters
Like toilet paper, coffee filters can contain chlorine bleach, PFAS, and other unsafe additives. Each one represents a small exposure, but exposures are cumulative, so I prefer going the safe route because I drink coffee every single day. I use the If You Care brand for many of my cooking and baking needs, and their coffee filters are fantastic, too. They’re totally chlorine and PFAS free.
Not seeing the product or brand you’re curious about? Ask me here.
FYI ➜ “Non-toxic” doesn’t have a definition, and I use the words chemical-free, toxin, and toxic on Interior Medicine inaccurately. I do this for practical purposes, for now: they’re accessible terms that allow people to find what they’re looking for, and they’re shorthand for a complicated problem. I made an entire (free!) course about this. Check it out here.
Join the Newsletter
Join the Newsletter
BPA and PFAS-Free Pillows
Shower Filters That Actually Work
Plastic-Free Countertop Water Filters
What I Use in My Home
More Healthy Design For You
More About Non-Toxic Coffee Makers
What is the best non toxic coffee maker?
The Simply Good Coffee plastic-free drop coffee machine, listed first above, is the only completely plastic-free machine available so far. The Aarke is a close second. If you are open to manual coffee making methods, like French Press, pourover, or percolation, use a stainless steel or glass option, also listed above, with non-toxic coffee filters.
Are coffee filters toxic?
Yes, most contain some concerning chemicals. Paper coffee filters are often made with cellulose fibers (from bamboo), or polypropylene plastics. “Wet-strength agents” are added so they don’t disintegrate on contact with hot water. The most common wet-strength agent is polyamide-epichlorohydrin, but melamine formaldehyde, polyacrylamide, and polyethyleneimine are also common additives. Bio-based agents like soy protein are becoming more common as demand for non-toxic coffee filters rises. Finally, many coffee filters are bleached with chlorine so they appear white instead of natural brown.
Considering coffee is a daily exposure for most, it may be worth avoiding these things. However, coffee itself is anti-inflammatory, so that cost-benefit analysis is important to consider, too!
Paper filters remove some of the oily compounds from coffee, which aren’t bad, and are even anti-inflammatory, but create a more bitter taste than unfiltered coffee that not everyone likes. Reusable cloth filters allow more oils to come through.
Reviews by Room ➜ Kitchen ➜ Coffee Makers