Moccamaster KBGV Select vs Ratio Six Coffee Machine

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select is a hand-assembled drip coffee brewer built around a copper heating element that holds brew water in the correct extraction range, paired with a brew basket that controls how long the water stays in contact with the grounds. It carries certification from coffee industry bodies for brewing to specification, which is the practical reason it is recommended over cheaper drip machines that under-heat their water. The Select variant adds a switch to choose between a full carafe and a half carafe, adjusting the brew basket flow so a smaller batch is not over- or under-extracted. There is no clock, no grinder, no app and no programmable start. It is a single-purpose machine with replaceable parts, made in the Netherlands, and sold on the expectation that it will be repaired rather than replaced.

The Ratio Six is a drip coffee maker designed to reproduce a manual pour-over routine automatically. Rather than dumping water through the grounds continuously, it performs a pre-infusion bloom to let the coffee degas, then delivers the remaining water in controlled pulses through a showerhead that wets the bed evenly. The result is a brew profile closer to hand pour-over than to a conventional drip machine. Operationally it is deliberately minimal: a single button, no menus, no clock and no programming. The brewer is built with a glass and metal body and a thermal or glass carafe depending on configuration, and is designed and assembled in Portland, Oregon. It targets the same buyer as a certified drip machine but prioritises the bloom-and-pulse profile over batch flexibility.

• Actually brews at the correct temperature, which is the whole point and where cheap drippers fail
• Half-carafe mode solves the usual problem of small batches tasting weak
• Fully repairable with available spare parts, so it is a long-term purchase
• Simple, durable design with nothing electronic to fail

• Bloom and pulse cycle genuinely produces a cleaner cup than conventional continuous drip
• One-button operation is about as simple as a coffee maker can be
• Glass and metal build looks and feels well above typical drip machines
• No menus, clock or settings to configure or forget

• Expensive for a machine that only makes drip coffee
• No clock, timer or programmable start, so you cannot wake up to brewed coffee
• No built-in grinder, so you still need a separate grinder for best results

• Expensive for a machine that only brews drip coffee
• No programmable start, so you cannot schedule a morning brew
• Limited batch flexibility compared to brewers with a dedicated half-carafe mode