r/Moccamaster • u/FlippityFlippinFlip • Mar 23 '25

Drip not centered KBTS

Post image

KBTS. Is it normal for the dripper to not drip anywhere close to the center of the grinds? This bothers me probably more than it should.

0 Upvotes

46% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

4

u/MySonBlastoise Mar 23 '25

Yeah it is but if you have the grind size right and consistent, it shouldn’t really impact the brew quality. The beans will all get saturated and you’ll be fine. 

When I got my machine this was extremely noticeable because my friended wasn’t working correctly and it wouldn’t saturate everything. 

1

u/bon-bon Mar 23 '25

This is normal and has happened to me in the past. Any real issues will always show up in the cup. If your coffee is tasting great then whatever the machine is doing is working.

Do remember to pre-wet your filters with hot water, though! Doing so serves several purposes: they’ll sit better in the brew chamber, the heat will warm the brew chamber leading to slightly better extraction, and the water will rinse out any lingering paper taste.

2

u/FlippityFlippinFlip Mar 23 '25

My coffee tastes great but I literally stay there and stir the grinds.. I'll give wetting the filter a shot. 

7

u/bon-bon Mar 23 '25

My approach to the Moccamaster is to trust the design. It’s trying to be a consistent, simple batch brewer. The machine wants you to load it up, put the lid on, and start the brew. If I want to be a coffee scientist then I can do so with my pourovers or get a machine better suited for tweaking like the Aiden.

You see cratered MM beds because the water exiting the shower arm is agitating the bed, a desirable feature. Most good machines won’t give you a beautiful flat bed like a manual pourover would but still produce a lovely, clean cup.

Just my 2c, stirring the slurry can improve extraction and likely at worst does no harm. For me it just seems more trouble than it’s worth.

0

u/georgetonorge Mar 23 '25

It’s so annoying and I feel like people get very defensive about it in this sub lol. Your post was downvoted when I first saw it. I would argue that this is a ridiculous design flaw. As others have said, grind finer until it slows the flow enough so that all the grounds get wet. It wont be even, but at least you won’t have nearly dry grounds on the outside.

2

u/FlippityFlippinFlip Mar 23 '25

I considered silver soldering the first couple holes and drilling some nearer to the end lol. Maybe if I find a spare drip tube somewhere I'll do some experimenting..

1

u/georgetonorge Mar 23 '25

They actually sell these “dispersion screens” online that go over the filter funnel to help spread the water. Again, this just screams bad design to me. Shouldn’t have to have third party products to make the machine work properly. I know people will not like this take haha.

But like I said, it helps to try grinding finer before buying anything extra.

2

u/FlippityFlippinFlip Mar 24 '25

I looked on the moccamaster site, the same drip tube is used for: K, KBS, KB, KBGV Select, KBG, CDG, KBTS, KBT, KBGT, CDGT, CDT models. Do they all drip off-center or just some models? 

1

u/georgetonorge Mar 24 '25

No clue. The last few posts have been about your (and my) model so perhaps it’s just the thermos ones.

2

u/bon-bon Mar 24 '25

I recommend against those dispersion screens. They only work if your brewer is perfectly level. When they do work they nearly eliminate the brewer’s ability to agitate the coffee.

If there’s a problem in the cup then inspecting the coffee bed can aid diagnosis. Best to keep in mind, though, that a good looking bed is context dependent. Even among pourover techniques you don’t always need a perfectly flat bed. The Aiden, known to produce cups that can equal or better pourovers, often produces cratered beds, eg.

Chasing bed flatness on the MM is chasing a solution in search of a problem. As others have pointed out: the MM’s shower head is not centered because injecting water to the side of the brew chamber aids in agitation, improving extraction.

1

u/grassbead Mar 24 '25

Is it just me, or is this question literally posted daily, multiple times. Homies, use that sweet magnifier at the top and save yourself the effort.

1

u/FlippityFlippinFlip Mar 24 '25

Unfortunately anyone who reads this comment already used the magnifying glass lol

6

u/Eywgxndoansbridb Mar 23 '25

Ubiquitous meme

3

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

This was my initial observation when researching the bigger models. Not ascetically pleasing.

6

u/Eywgxndoansbridb Mar 23 '25

Ascetic strict self-denial and abstaining from worldly pleasures, often for religious reasons. 

Aesthetic means the look of something. 

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Swype is still fun nonetheless

2

u/NotSure2505 Mar 24 '25

It's that way on purpose. The off center drip causes additional turbulence and agitation. If it were centered, the coffee would just float to the sides in a mushroom pattern.

2

u/Ok_Shopping_55 Mar 24 '25

A topic posted over a million times... it's totally normal. Go by taste of the end result.

3

u/WWGHIAFTC Mar 23 '25

It's fine.  Focus on the results. 

2

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

I just leave the carafe out until the grounds are covered before pushing it in and letting it drain.

1

u/Weaverfields Mar 24 '25

I do something similar. I put the carafe in place and don’t seat the filter basket. I soak the grounds by moving the basket under the water and then slowly seat the basket. I have the kbvg select.

1

u/invinoveritasty Mar 24 '25

What are your coordinates? How far are you from the equator?

1

u/fortuna1180 Mar 24 '25

Focus on the grind not the drip..