Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
Customer Review: One Fantastic Product
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, full-disclosure: I haven't used more than 2 or 3 other home espresso machines, and my knowledge of coffee products is farily limited. However, I do have the luxury of working for Peet's Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, CA, and this product came overwhelmingly recomended to me by a number of my coffee-fiend co-workers.
Overall, the espresso produced by this machine certainly rivals the taste of the $3k machine that we have at the office, and it's both quick and easy to maintain. The directions were impossible to decipher given the poor Italian-to-English translation, but the machine is simple enough to figure out by looking at the few pictures provided in the manual. I've been using Peet's Espresso Forte beans, which have an excellent flavor but which is often too strong for me when produced through more traditional espresso machines. In general, the Moka Express does produce a more mellow flavor, and this lends it to brewing stronger beans. In general, I find that the machine really does a great job of extracting the full-spectrum of flavors without overpowering you with the acidity that can upset your stomach.
A few tips for operating the machine:
1) Don't overheat the coffee when cooking - I find that the low setting really helps maintain the flavor better, while preventing damage to the Moka Express' rubber seal.
2) Don't pack the coffee too tightly - you can really control the strength and taste by varying how densely the beans are packed in the chamber. However, I would start by not packing it at all, and slowly increasing the density until the desired strength is found.
3) Use great beans - the Moka does a great job of extracting all of the flavors out of the beans.
One last note - I've had great success in replacing the water with milk. Although my co-workers would kill me for saying this, I actually prefer this to adding steamed milk to water-based espresso. Drop in a square of dark chocolate, and you have an amazing mocha!
Cheers!
Customer Review: Fantastic Espresso. I will never purchase storebought agian. A real moneysaver!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Elegant and simple to use. The end result is FANTASTIC espresso. I have purchased a few different espresso/cappuccino machines over the years. Each time the espresso just never tasted good, and it turned out to be a waste of money. After seeing all of the wonderful reviews for this product and the low cost, I just had to try it. Boy am I glad. Due to a shipping mix up with Amazon I had to wait almost 3 weeks for this product, and it was well worth the wait. It is a simple little pot. You unscrew the top half from the bottom half, fill water up to the line inside the bottom pot. You then put the coffee cone/filter in and fill it to the top with coffee. Don't pack the coffee in like other espesso makers. Screw the bottom piece to the top piece TIGHTLY and put it on the burner over medium heat. Wait a few minutes. When the water in the bottom gets hot enough it forces the water up through the filter into the top chamber in a percolator fashion. Once the espresso has been brewed, don't let it sit too long or boil, otherwise it might get bitter. As soon as it is done, you have fantastic espresso. I heat up a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk in the microwave for 1 minute, put in a tablespoon of flavored creamer (like International Delights Carmel Macchiato)and add my espresso. It tastes better than anything I can get at a specialty coffee shop. (For all of you watching your figures, for 75 calories and 6 carbs) No special kind of coffee is required. I used Tim Horton's coffee because I love it, but it is just a normal medium coffee ground for drip coffee makers. My only concern is that it is made of aluminum. I may purchase a stainless steel option down the road.
I always thought you had to pay about $1000 to get a machine to make espresso that tastes really good. Who knew you could do it the old fashioned way for less than $30.00. I will never buy expensive lattes again. This little machine has saved me tons of money! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!
Customer Review: Excellent old fashion way for espresso
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the espresso maker that we have been using in my house since my great grandmother was alive. I think it is the best way anybody can enjoy a really nice coffee. This product is very very old and finally is available online. I own one and every time any of my friends comes over I used it to brew fresh coffee many of them haven't seen one like this before. This is the coffee machine maker that is use in Dominican Republic as well.
Good tips for this product will be:
1. never wash the machine with detergent just rinse with clear water.
2. when not using the machine everyday let it stand open to storage, that will prevent the machine from getting black inside or get oxidation with time, however I have mine since 2000 used it once or twice a month and not problem with oxidation.
3. an excellent coffee brand is the Cafe Bustelo, this coffee is one of the best for espresso coffee.
4. for strong or weak coffee taste use more or less coffee, never press the powder down.
5. When opening the top to check if coffee is ready be carefully not to get burn with the pressure of the coffee heat usually coffee will comes up with rush.
6. for a nice, really, spongy, bubbling coffee, when the first liquid brew take it off from the stove, and batter profusely until you see is thick then and place it back to the stove and let the rest of the water brew.
7. if you notice that with time the filter is not working well, place it in hot boiling water for a couple of minutes, this will clean the filter.
8. from time to time you may need to change the ring that is place between top and bottom.
Anyway this espresso maker is one of the best, they are available in many sizes 2, 4, 6 and 12 cups. (don't know if Amazon has it all) I think the product is really overprice, but if you have the money, invest in it, you really are going to enjoy it.
Customer Review: What's the catch?
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first searched Amazon for home espresso makers, I braced myself for a list of monstrous machines requiring a bank loan to afford. I certainly wasn't expecting to find a tiny stove-top pot for under 30 dollars. And look at all the five-star reviews! "The best", "The standard", "easy to use", "delicious", "affordable". I must have been missing something. Could this dinky Italian pot really brew an espresso comparable to the overpriced work of the baristas at Starbucks et al.?
The answer is yes. The espresso that the Moka makes obviously isn't quite the same product that a professional high-pressure machine puts out, but the taste and extraction process are very similar. I've had my 6-cup Moka pot for a few months now and I use it daily. My drip coffee maker worked fine but the results were mostly uninspiring, my French press was a pain to clean, and I needed a bigger caffeine jolt in the morning anyway. The Moka fits the bill. I'm consistently amazed at the amount of flavor this machine extracts from even the lousiest coffee grinds - I had only a can of pre-ground store brand coffee when my Moka arrived, so I figured I'd test it with that before buying some better beans. To my shock, it made a great cup of coffee. I ended up finishing off the can that week! And with fresh beans ground just before you brew, the results are superlative. It's also true that the pot makes better coffee the more you use it.
The fact that Bialetti has been producing this very model of espresso maker since the '30s, and that nearly every Italian household owns one, says something about its quality. If you're looking to make your own good home espresso, check out the Moka before plunking down cash for one of the all-in-one machines. It really does live up to the praise.
Customer Review: A how-to, for the curious
Summary: 5 Stars
I got my Bialetti 6-cup about a week and a half ago. It took me a while to learn all the tricks of the trade, so I thought I'd piece it together here.
1. Rinse out the pot, preferably with warm water and not with any abrasive cloth.
2. Fill the bottom of the pot with water to the line. If you go over it, the pot might explode. Seriously.
3. Fill the middle filter with ground espresso roast (dark) beans. Grind them a little bit finer then auto drip grind, to about the grain of fine sand. Level off the filter, and put it in the pot.
4. Screw on the top hard. Don't use the handle to screw it, because it could snap off.
5. My stove goes LO, 1, 2, ... 8, 9, HI; I usually set it between 3 and 5. It takes 5-ish minutes to finish. Take it off the stove when you hear it gurgling and sputtering.
Things I've learned:
*If it's going to be mainly you drinking the espresso, consider a 3-cup. I usually make a double cappuccino in the morning, and the rest of my family uses no more than 3 shots total. I stick the left-over in a Tupperware container and refrigerate it (a practice sure to make Italians shudder) to mix with milk and sugar when I come home from work.
*You can open the top to watch the espresso come out, because it is really cool. Just be sure to close it before it starts sputtering, because it goes all over.
*Read an article in a magazine or something while you wait--just don't wander off, because the time between when it first comes out and when it's finished is brief.
Moka pots make great 'espresso,' plus they're cheap and quick. From what I've gathered, Bialetti's the best maker. So I definitely recommend this.