Questions about Brita Marella XL

The BRITA MAXTRA+ water filter cartridge is the centrepiece of water filtration and fits in all BRITA filter jugs (except Classic jugs).

This is normal and the same for all models. The smallest particles are washed into the azf catcher with the filtered water, but they also remain there (although activated carbon is generally not harmful to health).

Yes, the earlier MAXTRA cartridges fit into the Marella carafe, as it was originally launched with the MAXTRA system. The new MAXTRA+ cartridges fit into any carafe in a backwards-compatible way.

I checked the Brita website but there are no differences except in appearance. The capacity is the same, they use the same filter and the system is the same. The only extra information you can find for Marella is that it can be washed in the dishwasher (without the lid) while for the Elemaris there is no indication.