Ratio Six

I am also local to PDX and that was a factor in my buying the 6. I have heard these issues have been sorted out with the newest model, but the build quality is abysmal. I have had to get mine in for warranty service twice because the finish was flaking and chipping off under totally normal use due to the following design flaws: 1. The rubber gasket on top of the filter basket and carafe catches on a “lip” at the end of the top of the machine, and the steam/coffee oils/acid weaken the finish, which over time starts to peel off due to the gasket catching on this lip (hard to explain in words) 2. The carafe has six little plastic nubs on the bottom which scratch the finish on the base of the unit. There is a very specific way you can assemble and disassemble the whole “brewing stack” to avoid these issues, but frankly I don’t think a coffee maker in this price bracket should be this fragile and fiddly. Anyway, the third time this happened, Ratio told me they couldn’t fix my model anymore due to not having any more parts in this color and suggested I just buy a new one. No “hey we’re sorry your $400 coffee maker has been such a problem, here’s a discount on a new one” or “we only have parts in this color, is that okay” or “here’s the updated carafe design which will prevent the problem from getting worse,” nothing. I wasn't expecting them to do anything for free since the machine is out of warranty, but they made no attempt to accommodate me as a longtime customer who's had repeated, documented problems, just “buy a new one.” The Ratio makes better coffee, but only slightly, and the MoccaMaster wins on build quality, repairability, and customer service imo.

The Moccamaster is a fine auto drip coffeemaker but another one that is SCA certified and about the same price is the Ratio Six...quality through and through and a flat bottom brew basket...it has auto bloom which the Moccamaster lacks. It makes very very good tasting coffee once you experiment and get your optimal coffee to water ratio and grind setting.

Ratio Six! SCA approved! Coffee is HOT! Expensive but solid quality build and automatic bloom.

If you’re in the US, go find a local TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. They typically have Breville Precision Brewers for on sale for $179. I actually got one for $89 recently. Any of those on your list will be perfectly fine though. I like the OXO stuff for the money, but if you can wait on a moccamaster sale you’d be in good shape. It’s not my favorite brewer at MSRP (I much prefer the Breville precision, the Ratio 6, and the Fellow Aiden—all of which I’ve owned), but if you can get it around $200 it’s great.

If you’re using a good machine and grinder there’s really no quality difference whatsoever once you’re dialed in. Drip and pour over are conceptually the same thing, it’s just a matter of if you wanna do it yourself or not. I make pour overs for smaller weekend or evening cups, batch/drip for mornings before work to save time and brew larger cups. Using a Fellow Aiden currently, which has been great but also have the Breville Precision (also great) and have had the Ratio 6 and Moccamaster previously.

If you’re going to experiment with different beans/roasts from different roasters then get a conical burr grinder (Baratza encore) and a Moccamaster. Take good care of them and they will last you a long time. If you’re just going to buy ground coffee from a typical grocery store then I wouldn’t bother w it and just get a Ninja. I’m not a snob about it (i still drink Dunkin every day) but the Moccamaster is easy to use and clean and it really does brew in such a way that it brings out the different notes in different coffees. It made me look forward to trying out different roasters because I knew I would get a correct brew w the machine and I look forward yo trying new roasts. If you do get the Moccamaster get the thermal carafe if you plan on enjoying coffee over the course of a day. It keeps it warm a long time; I initially had the glass carafe and even though it had a heating plate it would shut off automatically and the coffee cooled down quickly. Just a note, my favorite roaster (George Howell) recently said he preferred the Ratio Six over the Moccamaster because it distributes the water more evenly. I gave it a shot and while I think it makes an excellent cup equal to the Moccamaster I find that it’s just not as well designed overall and has more parts to clean and the way the filter slots in between the spout and carafe is annoying to me. Best of luck whatever you do. There are so many great roasts out there waiting for you to try.

I've had two diff Moccamasters over the last few years now and have loved them both(switched to the thermal carafe). I just received a Ratio Six for Christmas and so far it's pretty nice so you may want to add it to your list to investigate. Bigger machine than the Moccamaster but it does have better coverage on the grinds as well as a bloom stage. Maybe someday someone will smarten up and have a temp settings for light/medium/dark roasts as well as a fully metal/glass water delivery system but until then these are two great machines. I'm not sophisticated enough to tell the difference but both machines make an excellent cup.

Technivorm Moccamaster is good but it has dry spots so you need to stir with a spoon during extraction. AFTER PAYING $250 for it. Bonavita has shower head so this problem doesn’t occur. Ratio Six has too shallow a bowl and coffee grounds can float up over the side unless you use a coarse ground. So you’ve paid $350 for a drip machine where you can’t fine tune a grind for best flavor. Using higher wall Bunn paper filters helps a little bit. Love the Clever. Lobe the Bonavita with thermal carafe. Love Chemex. Love Technivorm with thermal carafe. Sowden Soft Brew works kinda like a French Press but makes a smoother coffee.

I bought a Moccamaster KBTS last week when it was 45% off during Prime Day. At under $200 for an appliance handmade in the Netherlands with as solid a reputation as the Moccamaster has, it was a compelling value. Mine is dialed in - and right smack dab in the sweet spot of measured EY and TDS. Is it as good or better than my pour overs? Hell no. Period. You must be doing something wrong with your manual pour overs if the Moccamaster is beating you, and you’re using the same beans/grinder. The above said - I also got a new high end grinder last week, and with that properly dialed in to the beans running through the Moccamaster, it is absolutely as good or better than what someone can do with a manual pour over using mid-range equipment like an Ode 2, K Ultra, etc. If I use that same new grinder with a dripper and do a manual pour over - it is certainly better than the Moccamaster. Bottom line: with a good grinder and dialed in properly - a Moccamaster can do an extremely good job and make a large pot of delicious coffee. So can a Ratio and an Aiden though. If you’re changing the coffees you drink on a daily basis, dialing in the grind to perfection on a full pot of coffee isn’t easy and when you miss you miss on 60gr of coffee and a whole pot. The grind setting for a Columbian vs Kenya vs Ethiopia is going to be very different. It’s also not amazing for ultra light roast coffee - and if you have something fancy/expensive - it’s not easy to fiddle with all the variables (water, agitation, temp, etc). I like mine, and it serves a purpose - but the Aiden (returned), xBloom (in a closet) and Moccamaster (in use) haven’t convinced me to put away my drippers.

I will say, it is highly grinder (and grind) dependent and how much you want to faff around with the Moccamaster. If I use a Baratza Vario grinder with the Moccamaster it’s not great and there are too many fines to dial it in perfectly. If I use my Comandante C60 it is a big improvement and while it’s not as good as doing a carefully executed pour over with a $100 K6 manual grinder - it’s still superb. If I use my Lagom 01 with 102mm SSP ULF Brew burrs - and it’s properly dialed in, it makes a pot of coffee that will smoke most pour overs unless the pour over is using very good equipment. I do start the Moccamaster with the brew basket in the closed position, wait until it fills above the grounds and give them a stir - then put it in the open position. As long as I do that - I get a pot of very good coffee with excellent clarity and flavor notes that is far better than what you could do with a C40, K Ultra or ZP6 via manual pour over.

I have / had both. Honestly didn't like the Moccamaster. It's pretty popular, but the Ratio 6 is so much better. I sold the Moccamaster(s) a long time ago and still use the Ratio 6