Technivorm is the fifty-year old Dutch company behind the Moccamaster line of premium drip coffee makers, which have long been regarded by coffee types as a high-quality option for batch brewed coffee at home or in the cafe, thanks to their consistently high and even water temperature. It’s not just their technical prowess winning them fans, though. The Moccamaster’s rugged, semi-industrial design gives a far more “serious business” appearance than most prosumer appliances, and paired with the brand’s hot-rod line of custom colors, it’s more than enough to have many a design-conscious coffee lover reaching for their wallets.
Unless, of course that person lives in the United States, where distribution of Technivorm’s spectrum of Moccamaster colors is still a confusingly open question.
A range of enticing color options is not the only new thing in the Moccamaster stable. They’ve been teasing the Moccamaster “Cup-one” for awhile now, but based on our conversations with NordCoffee, the Australian distributors of Moccamaster, while at the 2014 Melbourne International Coffee Expo, it sounds like this machine is finally making its way out into the world. NordCoffee expect to be receiving their shipments of the single-cup brewer in the next couple months, and will be selling them at a retail price of $275 AUD. We talked to a number of US Moccamaster outlets, as well as reaching out to Technivorm for comment, and so far there is no word to be had on if and when the Cup-one will be making it to the United States.
Unravelling the mystery of these machines’ international availability is no simple task. First off, there’s the question of voltage. When the new line of colors were introduced on the venerable Moccamaster KBG741 model, the rumor was that the full range of bright colors was only available on the 220 volt European model. Since then, a few of the colors have popped up in 110v versions at retailers in the states–Seattle Coffee Gear says they will have more of the red model in stock 6/7/2014–and the official Moccamaster US website seems willing to sell you the full line of colors right now, though no mention is made of the machines’ voltages.
The Moccamaster Cup-one is purported to have the same internal technologies as the larger machines in the Moccamaster home line, though somewhat miniaturized. Apparently the machines were test-marketed in Norway, one of Moccamaster’s strongest markets, where the voltage is 230. Though the show floor didn’t offer a lot of time to put it through its paces, the cup of coffee I did have brewed off it seemed quite capable, and the visual appeal, especially with the included rubber-banded ceramic travel mug, is really something.
The at-home market doesn’t have much in the way of luxe one-cup options, so I hope the Cup-one manages to find its way to wider availability. As for that full color range, these kandy-kolored hot-rod babies could fit themselves handsomely into a wide range of high-end kitchens in the States, or even in cafes, where they’re used occasionally in Australia and quite commonly in New Zealand (with a large distribution network by Coffee Supreme).
If you’re feeling adventurous, America, Moccamaster will sell you what is quite probably — but not definitely — a 110v colored KBG741 right now. The biggest distributor of Moccamaster in North America by far is Williams-Sonoma, who you’d think would be a prime candidate to offer the machine in cerulean blue or Dream House pink, but alas, only the drab silver tones are currently available. Attempts to contact Moccamaster USA yielded no response.
One thing’s for certain, and that’s America’s predictable response to being denied beautiful Moccamasters. Expect 220-to-110 converter boxes, custom powder coat jobs, and more such chicanery while Technivorm sits on distributing this line of machines to the States. Everybody wants what they probably (but maybe, and certainly vaguely) can’t have.
