At one time or another, it seems like we’re told just about everything is both good and bad for us. Do this, no, do that. I remember years ago they, the all-knowing mysterious ‘they’, were saying lettuce caused cancer. Of course, obstinate me postured of course it does, everything can, because for example, if we don’t eat that offending lettuce, don’t eat anything at all, we won’t die of cancer, we’ll die of starvation. See? No cancer. The experts were right.

Just like in Weeding the Internet we each face the challenge of weeding the available information, and deciding what makes sense to us, what we agree with, and what we do not. All open to change when circumstances warrant, like when they do finally conclusively prove that thing about lettuce…

One thing however that I really do try to avoid contact with, and in particular, consumption of, is aluminum. Not easy to do given it’s the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. There are differing views in the scientific community about aluminum’s toxicity and the dangers to our health. But for me? I’ve chosen to avoid it where I can. Just like I see no point in mercury amalgam fillings in my mouth in case they leach, I see no benefit chancing the aluminum in deodorants/antiperspirants breast cancer connection, or the aluminum exposure/consumption Alzheimer’s connection.

Back to that ol’ balance thing. I don’t want to be consumed by fear of everything around me, that would be paralyzing, but so too, if there’s a way to improve the odds without major restriction or inconvenience, then why not? As for the aluminum thing? I buy aluminum free baking powder and deodorant, stainless steel baking pans, and try to avoid aluminum cans for soft drinks. That leads to other concerns of course with plastic alternatives…as does the BPA lining of those food tins…you just can’t win can you?

One thing that didn’t occur to me until after many years of using an old espresso machine, was that a lot of the boilers are made out of aluminum. Somehow the idea of water I’m going to drink being pressurized and heated while surrounded by aluminum, did not sound so good. Sure enough, that Braun one I’d so enjoyed, was aluminum. So began my search for one with a stainless steel boiler. The search was not easy then, so I thought I’d share a few products I’ve come across. I can’t believe how many espresso/cappuccino machines still have aluminum boilers, and how many stove-top espresso makers are all aluminum. Fortunately, one site that does have some stainless products is Cooking.com (Currently not shipping to Canada unfortunately, but may again.)

A found a few that I thought were especially worth noting:
(post concludes below)

Here’s that stainless stove-top espresso maker.

And a snazzy stainless French press.

Just one example of an espresso/cappuccino maker with a stainless steel boiler.

The more familiar glass and stainless steel French press.

While not related to aluminum or plastic concerns, lead and other toxic ingredients potentially in glazes from China and other countries, lead me to favour glass over ceramic, unless I trust the source. For espresso cups that can be a bit challenging to find. So I was happy to see these.

And last but not least, a fun new take on the classic picnic set, a cafe set. It even comes with containers for cream and sugar, and it’s all nice and stainless.

Good thing the consensus these days is that moderate coffee consumption is not only OK, but may actually be good for you. Phew.