Moccamaster KBG741

Technivorm

Dutch automatic filter brewer

Moccamaster (KBG741 / Technivorm)

The Dutch automatic that quietly defines what good filter coffee looks like at home. Set it, walk away, it just works.

Roast	Grind	Coffee	Water	Time
light	medium-coarse	11 g	180 ml	6:00
medium	medium	11 g	180 ml	6:00
dark	medium-fine	11 g	180 ml	6:00

Per 180 ml cup. Makes 4–10 at a time.

What goes wrong

Grinding too fine (over-extracts, bitter), using stale beans (Moccamaster is gentle and won't mask flaws), leaving the carafe on the hot plate too long (cooked, flat).

Care schedule

2 tasks for this machine.

Wash the carafe properly

Weekly

Coffee leaves a brown film on glass and a duller one on steel. It is not a stain, it is oil, and it goes rancid - a thermal jug that has never been properly cleaned adds a stale note to everything poured into it.

What you need

A long-handled brush. Bicarbonate of soda, an oxygenated cleaner such as Cafiza, or a denture tablet. Hot water.

What goes wrong

Leaving the pot on the hot plate to dry out, which bakes the film on hard. Cleaning the jug and never the lid. Dishwashing an insulated jug. Taking a scourer to glass and leaving scratches that hold more oil than before.

The procedure

Rinse with hot water after every pot, before the oil dries. That is 90 percent of the job.

5 more steps

The full procedure is in the app, along with a reminder when this is next due. Add the Moccamaster KBG741 to your shelf and it keeps track.

Get the app

Descale the Moccamaster

Every 3 months

Scale builds on the copper heating element and drops your brew temperature below the 96°C the machine is built around. A scaled Moccamaster brews cooler and flatter, and the element works harder to get there.

What you need

Citric acid powder, about 30g, or a citric-acid based descaler such as Durgol Swiss Espresso. Fresh water for two rinse cycles. No paper filter.

What goes wrong

Leaving the paper filter in the basket, which floods the counter. Rinsing only once, so the next pot tastes sour and metallic. Letting the machine sit switched off with descaler in the reservoir overnight, which attacks the element instead of the scale. Using vinegar and then wondering why the coffee smells of vinegar for a fortnight.