Coffee & Tea
Fewer chemicalsA new plastic kettle can release billions of nanoplastics per cup on its first boil.
Our pick
Cosori glass kettle, no plastic contact
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Borosilicate glass or stainless steel, with a steel lid and filter so water never touches plastic.
Polypropylene kettles shed nanoplastics into boiling water. It drops with use but doesn’t stop.
General information, not medical advice. Ask your doctor, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing or have a health condition.
Many ‘stainless’ kettles still have plastic lids or water windows. ‘No plastic contact’ is the maker’s claim, and it doesn’t say whether a small seal sits where the glass meets the base.
Health and safety facts on this page come from this source. What a pick is made of comes from its maker's listing or website, as stated on the date we checked.
Yes, a 2025 study found polypropylene kettles shed nanoplastics into boiling water. It dropped with use but didn’t stop, even after 150 boils.
Many still have plastic lids or water windows. Our glass pick, the Cosori glass kettle, has a steel lid and filter, though its maker doesn’t say whether a small seal sits where the glass meets the base.
Water
Step one is free: check the water quality report EPA requires your supplier to send each year. If it lists PFAS, or your home may have lead pipes or older brass fixtures, pick a certified filter: one clips onto your tap with no tools, and one fits under the sink if you can install it.
Our pick
No tools, renter-friendly: PUR PLUS faucet filter, vertical (FM2500V)
Coffee & Tea
The simplest plastic-free coffee maker is a glass pour-over: hot water touches only glass and the paper filter, not the plastic parts of many drip machines.
Our pick
Chemex Classic 10-cup glass pour-over
Coffee & Tea
In a 2025 UK study, coffee brewed from plastic pods carried microplastics of the same kind of plastic as each pod, one of its authors reported. A steel refillable pod takes the plastic pod out of the brewer you already have.
Our pick
NESSUS 304 stainless steel refillable K-cups, Keurig 1.0, 4-pack
