Aarke

Coffee Maker

Minimal plastic contact Not recommended $150+

A beautiful stainless-steel drip machine that looks plastic-free but isn't - the reservoir, filter basket lining, and brew path are BPA-free plastic. Documented here so you can tell the design from the materials.

We don't recommend this for a plastic-free kitchen

Its stainless-steel exterior reads as premium and clean, but the water reservoir, filter basket, and the part coffee flows through are plastic - so it isn't the plastic-free machine its looks suggest, and there are genuinely plastic-free options.

Plastic-free verdict: Minimal plastic contact

The polished SUS304 stainless exterior is what everyone notices, and it's why the Aarke gets mistaken for a plastic-free machine. But Aarke's own material list includes BPA-free food-grade plastic for the water reservoir, the filter basket's lining and bottom, "the part where the coffee goes through," and the carafe lid / aroma diffuser. So plastic is in the water and coffee path, not just the housing. It's BPA-free and Aarke says hot-water/plastic contact is limited, but this is not a plastic-free machine - the steel is largely on the outside.

Verification: Manufacturer confirmed · reviewed 2026-07-06

Buy from Aarke

What it's made of

PartMaterialFood contact
exterior housing
SUS304 stainless - the premium look, but not the water path
Stainless Steel (304 / 18-8) No
water reservoir
BPA-free food-grade plastic
Plastic (other / unspecified) Yes
filter basket (lining and bottom)
BPA-free food-grade plastic; includes the part coffee flows through
Plastic (other / unspecified) Yes
carafe Soda-Lime Glass Yes
carafe lid / aroma diffuser
BPA-free plastic
Plastic (other / unspecified) Yes
seals Silicone Yes

Included as a deliberate "looks plastic-free but isn't" reference, because the Aarke is exactly the machine people ask about. Its minimalist stainless-steel design and premium positioning make it a frequent pick in "non-toxic coffee maker" guides, and it is a genuinely nice, SCA-certified brewer with BPA-free materials. But the parts that actually touch water and coffee - reservoir, filter basket, the brew path, the carafe lid - are plastic, with the steel concentrated on the exterior. If your goal is to keep coffee away from plastic, the Simply Good Coffee Brewer (plastic-free brew path) or a manual pour-over do that; the Aarke doesn't, despite appearances. A good machine, just not a plastic-free one.

Pros

  • Beautiful, durable stainless-steel exterior; SCA-certified brewing
  • BPA-free food-grade plastics
  • Fast, good-tasting brew

Cons

  • Plastic reservoir, filter basket, and brew path - not plastic-free where it counts
  • Premium price for a machine that reads cleaner than it is
  • Steel is mostly exterior, not the water path

Categories: Drip Coffee Machines

Sources

Every material claim above is backed by these. This is the scattered info we centralized.