Is it safe to make coffee in an aluminum coffee maker?

by Mark B.
(Ottawa)

Aluminum Moka coffee maker.

Aluminum Moka coffee maker.


QUESTION:

I have a fairly old coffee percolator, and I’m pretty sure the inside basket, that holds the coffee, is made from aluminum. I also have a stovetop moka coffee maker, and I think the whole thing is made from aluminum.

The point is, I read somewhere that it’s dangerous to cook or make hot drinks with aluminum. If I remember right, there was even a reference to a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease.

Is this true or an urban myth? Is it OK to keep brewing with my trusty aluminum brewers?

Mark


ANSWER:


Mark...excellent question.

Like you say, there has been plenty of talk over the years about aluminum being connected with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

But when you dig a little deeper you’ll find there is very little science backing those claims.

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, “Although initial studies linked aluminium toxicity with Alzheimer's disease, the link has not been proven despite continuing investigation. Importantly, there is no evidence to suggest that aluminium exposure increases your risk of dementia.”

In addition, it’s worth knowing a few facts about aluminum and our exposure to it.

First off, it is the third most common element on Earth. It’s everywhere...in the soil and in the water, and in the fruits and vegetables we eat every day, albeit in small quantities.

As for exposure in the home, it is found in buffered aspirin, some antacids, antiperspirants, and even in pickled and processed foods.

And yes, if you make coffee in an aluminum brewer, you’ll likely be exposed to a very small amount of the metal.

But let’s put this in perspective.

According to Cook’s Illustrated (January 2012), after lab tests were conducted on tomato sauce cooked in aluminum for two hours – tomato is very acidic - and then stored in the same pot for several hours, the sauce contained only .0024 milligrams of aluminum per cup.

That’s really not very much when you consider that a single antacid tablet may contain more than 200 milligrams.

If you are super-cautious, stick to stainless steel. But if you follow the science, it looks like there is pretty much no risk to brewing your coffee in aluminium.

Nick

Comments for Is it safe to make coffee in an aluminum coffee maker?

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Aluminum slowly accumulates in your body
by: Anonymous

Aluminum is the cause of Alzheimer's. Check out the writings of Dennis N Crouse who in his 1st book uses Bradford Hills criteria for causation to prove aluminum is the cause of Alzheimer's and in his recent book (2022) uses Causal Inference and proves aluminum is the cause of all the biomarkers of Alzheimer's. This coffee pot is only one source of aluminum we are exposed to. The number of sources is increasing. Pots and Pans, treated drinking water, baking powder, antacids, antiperspirants, food dyes, most drip style coffee makers (an aluminum heating element) and more. Dennis has a website where you can find a list of sources of aluminum. Dennis has tested drip style coffee makers, aluminum pots for how much aluminum is released. At the website there is a list of things that contain aluminum and safer alternatives. The good news is drinking silica rich mineral water removes aluminum from the body and brain. http://prevent-alzheimers-autism-stroke.com/
SS CONTAINS CHROMIUM AND OTHER NASTIES.
by: Bruce Perry, Ph.D.

SS, especially cheap SS from China contains far more dangerous elements that can keach from the SS.
GLASSWARE does not.
lol
by: William

Heres what I think
Aluminum pots and pans have been around for generations...and yet somehow dementia and Alzheimers are a FAR more common thing today than 30-50 years ago.
Granted there is a portion of the population that is older now, but duh...thats the point More elderly, more dementia, aluminum or no..

But here the rub.
Way back when....100 years ago....uncoated pressure cookers, coffee pots, pots and pans were getting more and more use...more popular.
So if it was the pots and pans and old coffee pots causing dementia, the math says around 1950 or so...up thru maybe the 80s, there should have been an explosion of elderly, and even younger, getting dementia.

and then as we've started using less uncoated aluminum, the cases per capita SHOULD be DECREASING as we're not cooking in uncoated aluminum as much thru the late 80s, 90s and forward.

Sorry but I dont see thats the case. It seems like dementia per capita is INCREASING now, even without the bare aluminum cookware.

I just went out into the house here and TWO of TWO products I looked at have aluminum in them.
Baking Soda and Deodorant.
MY guess is THAT is the sort of thing that is the culprit here.
You eat food made with baking powder/soda?
There you go.

$1000 says a couple cups of coffee a day made in an aluminum coffee pot arent even a blip on the radar compared to all those baked goods ALL of us eat that are made with Baking powder/soda, let along the hundreds or even thousands of other items around our houses that we're shoving into our bodies with aluminum in them, lol
Aluminum coffee pot
by: Renee

I have an old 1960s comet coffee pot from my late grandmother. She and my grandfather used this for years, as a child I remember her brewing this pot. She lived to be 90 years old, and she did not have Alzheimer's nor dementia, thankfully, from using the aluminum pot.
Age of Al
by: Anonymous

See Dr Exley’s research , he was the leading researcher into ecological hazards of aluminum starting in the 79sxand 80s investigating acid rain. He found that it was actually aluminum in the water killing fish. It is in pharmaceuticals and many many things. Al is so useful for so many industries that it will never be banned, so do your due diligence.

From fish he decided to investigate human brains and found Alzheimer’s brains had extremely high levels of aluminum and with familial Alzheimer’s, there was a genetic susceptibility to accumulate Al in the brains. He also sampled healthy brains and found they did not accumulate Al. He was asked to investigate the brains of autistic children and found they had even more Al accumulation then Alzheimer’s! Al hydroxide is used as vaccine adjuvant where Al gets taken up by macrophages and lymphocytes and transported all over the body. In some people this can accumulate more than others, causing all kinds of disease.
ALUMINUM IS GREAT
by: Pistachio

For Spaceships & Airplanes . . . . . .

In the kitchen No....

Why even test the question.... if it is even remotely possible that aluminum is dangerous... pass

Aluminum is soft, does dull, corrode and blemish. Why even bother....

Certainly - It is Not - Aluminum or nothing

Go SS -- Stainless Steel INOX

Costs?,, one time a little bit more....

and you will have it forever and ever...
donc wash coffe pot in washing machine
by: Anonymous

aluminium italian coffee pot should not be washed with soap, actualy the coffee oil that stick in it is protecting the alu from oxydation, remove this layer of old cofee oil and it will corrode,

dont forget too long ur cofee pot on the heat after the cofee being done otherwise this oil layer gona burn give bad smel and not protect anymore ur aluminium,


if its badly corroded dispose of it, or re pour the aluminium in other alu project
NO IT IS NOT SAFE
by: Laurie

Aluminum is a neurotoxin and is not needed for any process in our bodies. In fact aluminum interferes with over 200 processes in our body. Research has reached a tipping point and aluminum is a causal factor of Alzheimer's and Autism. My husband Dennis N Crouse who is a chemist has tested drip style coffee makers for the amount of aluminum added to the water.
Aluminum is EVERYWHERE in nature line
by: Anonymous

Aluminum is commonly found in the natural world, but never in 'free form'. In nature, aluminum is always found bound to other elements. Aluminum in free form has to be mined, refined and distributed. This, in fact (the literature is so overwhelming at this point, anyone using the words may, might or maybe harmful or more research needed, is either misinformed or deliberately disinforming you), is the single greatest contributor to alzeimer's pandemic (global problem). Full stop
Too easy
by: pistachio

avoid any controversy

no aluminum

Stainless only

there! you're done.
The debate goes on
by: Anonymous

I just had this discussion with my spouse regarding the safety of aluminum percolators, versus our drip coffee maker, which does not make a very tasty cup of Joe.

Like the previous poster, I recall past debates over aluminum
coffee makers possibly linked to dementia, and specifically
Alzheimer’s disease.

This discussion was initially sparked by the use of aluminum foil as a possible culprit to this debilitating disease, along with the use of baking powder that has aluminum as an active ingredient within when making waffles, or pancakes.

I am not too sure what the actual scientific consensus is at this point, and I am almost certain there is an ongoing debate over the pros and cons regarding aluminum, and its use in percolators, foil paper, baking powder, and the like, versus its correlate to Alzheimer’s disease, or other forms of dementia.

We are now over 60 years of age, still healthy, so a cup of Joe
is what we are concerned with.

Dan unConclude
by: pistachio

why?

go to Amazon

Swarch: Campfire Coffee Pots


you will find numerous choices.
Thanks and My Conclusion
by: Dan

Thank you all for the posts.

We got rid of Aluminum cookware about 5 years ago. Perhaps that was not necessary, but its done.

Looking for a campfire coffee pot. After reading all of these posts I feel reasonably safe getting an aluminum pot.

We only camp about once a year and I'll only rinse the pot out, no scrubbing or soap.

I'll try to get an anodized pot.

Generally, I love cast iron, but Aluminum is way lighter!

Thanks
Safe or not.....
by: pistachio

I don't like aluminum

For cooking or brewing


it cannot compare to

Stainless Steel

Carbon Steel

Cast Iron
Link to studies
by: dk

There are a series of 3 papers published in the journal Environmental Science Europe which address this and related topics. "Migration of aluminum from food contact materials to food—a health risk for consumers?" , Stahl T et al. The links:

Part 1: "exposure to aluminum, release of aluminum, tolerable weekly intake (TWI), toxicological effects of aluminum, study design, and methods."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388732/

Part 2: "migration of aluminum from drinking bottles and moka pots made of aluminum to beverages."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388725/

Part 3: "migration of aluminum to food from camping dishes and utensils made of aluminum."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388722/

Part 2 is most relevant to this moka pot discussion. The abstract's Conclusions section states: "In a systematic study of aluminum drinking bottles, it has been shown that drinking a mixture of apple juice and mineral water in an aluminum bottle may reach 86.6% of the total weekly intake (TWI) for adults, and drinking tea from an aluminum bottle may exceed the TWI (145%) for a child weighing 15 kg. In contrast, preparing coffee in an aluminum moka pot results in a maximum of 4% to TWI, if an average of 3.17 L coffee is consumed per week, even if the pots are washed in the dishwasher, against the explicit instructions of the manufacturer."

So this sounds like relatively good news for aluminum moka pots.

The other thing I was curious about was, what's the big deal with running stuff in the dishwasher? They tested that too, and show that leached aluminum levels jump considerably in the batch following dishwashing. Presumably the dishwasher probably strips off the passivation layer (oxidation), exposing reactive aluminum. Like others have said, letting the baked-on "coffee crud" layers pile up is likely also protective as a further barrier between the aluminum and the hot acidic coffee.

On a side note, it never occurred to me that my everyday aluminum water bottle (or a canteen) could be such a source of leached aluminum. And I'd forgotten about aluminum in anti-perspirants; it's interesting that there is some correlation between aluminum anti-perspirant use and incidence in females of cancer of the upper outer quadrant of the breast (closest to the armpit.)

Anyways, I just wanted to share these research articles, to help others form a more well-rounded opinion.
for Brennen's question of Jun 3, 2019.....
by: Dr. Watson

"Aluminum rusts White [a normal chemical reaction with oxygen]. It will look like there is a white powdery dust on the surface."
Jul 28, 2015 stated by: pistachio

"I just don't scrub the mokka pot. Over time it's built up a dark-colored coating of cooked-on oils and proteins. This is the lazy man's way to keep the coffee away from the soluble metal."
stated by Jeff Jul 25, 2015

But the amount of aluminum that might desolve in the coffee is very low and doubtful if it can cause a health risk.
Avoid aluminium!
by: french-windowsdotblog

My mother died of Alzheimers after suffering from indigestion and taking a spoonful of antacid each day before meals -Aludrox. I now avoid all aluminium.
Forget the pot!
by: Dickie D

Forget the pot... it's the coffee that'll kill you! Saying that... I do love a brew.
Aluminum espresso maker
by: Brennen

I’ve been noticing when I wash and dry my little aluminum 6 cup espresso maker a silver dust residue when drying the inside parts of the espresso maker after I’ve washed it. 10/10 times I see this stuff. It’s semi shiny and silver in color. It’s not coffee residue. Especially the inside of the aluminum base that hosts the water to brew from. Is this in fact the aluminum? The little drop down espresso powder holder shakes and rattles around when brewing, rubbing metal to metal (aluminum to aluminum) causing it to happen. Does anyone else have this issue? That’s my main concern. I don’t believe they do this when they’re brand new. But after so many uses I see it happening. I am certain without being able to test the coffee itself after it’s final brewing moments, there is a good amount of aluminum in my coffee that makes its way up through the grinds into the little aluminum coffee pot where the espresso lands. Over the course of time, 20-30-40 years, aka elderly, one would or could end up with dementia or Alzheimers with this amount of aluminum exposure. My opinion of course. Anyone else share this unfortunate happening?
Alum. Coffee pot safety
by: David

I’m 72, I grew up with my family, and friends using aluminum percolators. My mother lived to 102 in her own apartment until the week she died, she was sharp, and kept an immaculate home. Coffee tastes best in an aluminum percolator, I’ve tried them all, (the worst tasting is in glass), and for my tastes, aluminum is king as far as percolators is concerned. The amount of aluminum one would get from a new percolator is far, far less one would get from foods, antiperspirants, antacids etc. If the percolator is old having a coating of oils from the coffee, you will be getting less aluminum than perhaps in the air one breathes. Don’t believe everything read online as most people are merely parrots using the "repetition principle" to "know" that which is absurd. Enjoy your aluminum percolator, it makes the best tasting coffee.
Aluminum is a know neurotoxin - avoid it!
by: Laurie

Research has reached a tipping point and Aluminum is a cause of Alzheimer's. 7 Pieces of Evidence Linking Aluminum to Alzheimer’s https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/memory/aluminum-linked-to-alzheimers-disease/

Check out this video Brain Fitness in the Aluminum Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGmYsFPHguA

Here are 2 aluminum free coffee makers, Krups Moka Brew and Capresso's MG 900
Aluminium/dementia
by: RichardH

From my observations: My in laws cooked only with aluminium pots. My father in law had dementia but mother in law did not and lived to 86.
Both my parents had dementia in their late 60's and 70's and used only stainless pots and a cast iron frypan.
I'm making my judgements from that.
Check your numbers on the aluminum
by: Anonymous

Check your numbers on the amount of aluminum. http://ow.ly/oU8S30e2yVS
I Wonder
by: Anonymous

My mother used to always use a little aluminum coffee pot. What's more, she would never throw out old coffee, so she just left it in there until she drank it all. And she did get dementia in her later years. I'll always wonder if this could have caused some of her problem.
Aluminum [ at your own risk ]
by: pistachio

Question: I've seen Asktreehugger articles on Treehugger.com and I'm very glad that you're doing this. I have a question about aluminum. I know the health risk aluminum can create for the body if one takes in too much as well as it's link to Alzheimers disease. I know that aluminum cookware, cans, and that antiperspirant can pose health risks. My question is about aluminum "cookware". I've heard cooking acidic foods in aluminum cookware can cause the aluminum to leach out of the pan so I've avoided them. However, I've found a high quality cast aluminum manual juicer by Ra Chand and I'm wondering if this all aluminum juicer will pose a significant risk to my health. Do you think the risk to my health will be high if I use it daily to squeeze oranges and other citrus fruits-especially because of their acidity? Could they cause enough leaching of aluminum for it to be a health risk? Or does the aluminum have to be exposed for a relative time period to the citrus for leaching to occur. What would you recommend?

Response: Aluminum, a soft metal, is found nearly everywhere in the environment. Most exposures to aluminum occur through ingestion or eating and drinking, with daily intakes generally low, averaging between 30-50 mg. For the typical person, drinking water, medicines and other pharmaceuticals (such as antacids and antiperspirants) are the biggest contributors to aluminum exposures; however, aluminum cookware is also a potential source. As you note, aluminum exposures have raised some health concerns due to the effects of aluminum on the human nervous system and the much discussed (but inconclusive) linkages between aluminum exposures and Alzheimer's disease.
Aluminum exposures from cookware, of which more than half is made of aluminum, is not well studied, but is thought to be a relatively minor source of aluminum exposures. Exposures to aluminum through food can occur when aluminum leaches or otherwise dissolves from the cookware into the food. Leaching is most likely when the foods being cooked or stored are highly basic (like baking soda) or highly acidic (like tomato sauce, lemon juice, oranges, or vinegar). For example, tomato sauce has been shown to contain 3-6 mg aluminum (per 100 g serving) after cooking in aluminum pans, which translates into about one-tenth of the typical daily intake. This leaching of aluminum with acidic foods does not happen with aluminum cookware that is anodized, or electro-chemically processed to seal the aluminum in the cookware. Clemson University Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center tested different cookware types, and found anodized aluminum cookware to be safe. Regardless, it would probably be wise to store tomato sauce and other acidic foods in something other than an aluminum pot.

As for the juicer that you mention, I did a quick and non-exhaustive check of various websites, none of which said that the juicer is made of anodized aluminum. One site did say that it was made of acid-resistant aluminum and chrome, suggesting that the aluminum is somehow sealed and that leaching of aluminum will not occur during the juicing process. An easy way to check for this is to look at the juicer and see whether the aluminum becomes pitted or pock-marked after several uses. Since leaching takes time and juicing is a relatively quick process, this pitting would not occur immediately but would rather occur over time. As a result, you should probably continue to check your juicer for pitting over time.
coursework writing services uk
by: Anonymous

Its safe definitely i use aluminum coffee maker from Kenwood from last 4 years and nothing happen its just a myth that its not safe be happy and use you coffee maker
aluminum versus Anything else....
by: pistachio

I don't like Aluminum Cookware of ANY KIND - for any purpose.

The Alzheimer issue aside:

Aluminum is light yes,,, soft -----> very.

It has been said Aluminum does not rust.

Of course it rusts,, it oxidizes like any metal but we all usually think of 'rust' as a red orange color. This coloration of Rust is for Iron or ferrous metals... and Iron rusts Reddish Orange.

Aluminum rusts White. It will look like there is a white powdery dust on the surface.

Italians [ like myself ] all have a few of these stovetop espresso pots. However we are immune to Alzheimers because we are all born with it from the beginning,,, ha!,,kidding...

Don't put Anything Aluminum in the Dishwasher / it will discolor and look horrible. It will still work but it is not so pleasing.

Suggestion,,, Overall,, cooking,,, CAST IRON it the only way to go.
[ not to mention OLIVE OIL is the Only oil you will ever need to cook Anything ! ]

for COFFEE,,,, the most pleasing thing in my life,, the way to go is Stainless Steel... or Glass Perc....

Aluminum - put on the shelf as a conversation piece!
Yes, but...
by: Jeff

If I substituted "atomic radiation" for "aluminum" and argued that radon in your basement doesn't matter because you fly often and get annual medical x-rays... would you be convinced?

Total impact on specific bodily systems is what matters, so larger doses could actually make smaller doses more critical.

Nothing shows aluminum to be dangerous! But it's not a nutrient, and it does concentrate in bone, lung, and brain tissue. Limiting exposure to aluminum in medications and cooking isn't exactly crazy.

I just don't scrub the mokka pot. Over time it's built up a dark-colored coating of cooked-on oils and proteins. This is the lazy man's way to keep the coffee away from the soluble metal.

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