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: Perfection! We Use Ours Daily - Both On The Road & At Home!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Adds a touch of eclectic character! The Bialetti Moka Express . . . the Italian coffee maker which revolutionized the preparation of espresso coffee!! There is an elegant simplicity and a lasting durability to these innovative, classic stove top coffee makers which makes them a perfect addition to any kitchen. (We keep one in our fifth wheel and one in our sticks-and-bricks house!)
This coffee maker with its unique octagonal shape was first designed in Italy in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti. By the 1950s Bialetti was one of the most important companies in Italy and today more than 9 out of every 10 families in Italy have a Bialetti in their homes. Bialetti now makes over 16,000 coffee makers per day, 4 million per year. That over 250 million units have been sold is testimony to a product which does an extraordinary job of doing what it was designed to do.
The lasting appeal of the Moka Express is due at least in part to its being extremely simple to use. The model suggested here makes six 2-ounce espresso cups of coffee in just a few minutes. Fill the lower chamber with water to the line marked on the inside, fill the "funnel" with ground coffee, and place the pot on stove over medium to medium-low heat. A pressurizing process will drive the water through the coffee grounds and into the upper chamber - espresso ready to serve in about 4 or 5 minutes!
Cleanup? Just wash in warm soapy water and rinse clean.
Customer Review: Neat little coffee maker
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been wanting to try one of these Bialetti Moka pots for a while now. My house is solar powered so I am always looking for appliances that don't need to be plugged in. Percolated coffee tastes so bad that I have been drinking instant for way too long. This pot makes great tasting coffee right on my gas stove.
It may take a little trial and error to figure out how much ground coffee to use, everyone's taste is a little different but once you have it dialed in, you can't beat it.
If you have been researching, or using this kind of pot you probably already know that the 6 cup rating actually means 1 or 2 "American" size cups, perfect for my needs. If you really fill the funnel all the way with grounds, then, yes you could get six small very strong espresso cups of coffee out of it but I personally cut back on the amount of coffee to make it more of a -better than drip but not as strong as espresso- flavor. Be warned- if, like me, you are looking for a flavorful way to move away from instant or drip and you make a strong pot in this Bialetti, you will get a caffeine jolt. Other reviewers have said they don't get that jolt but they must be used to espresso already.
Bottom line - I like this little pot, it's perfect for one or two people, easy to clean, makes very flavorful coffee and uses no electricity.
Customer Review: Clever Little Coffee Maker
Summary: 5 Stars
I discovered this little device while looking for a simple stove top percolator to augment my other coffee making methods -- Melitta, Drip, Espresso and Senseo. This is the closest thing I've experienced to a good coffee shop espresso or latte. To make a latte you simply add milk to the upper reservoir before placing the pot onto the stove. I make several 10-12 oz lattes a day with my Bialetti Moka. Although described as a "6-cup" percolator, it only makes one American sized cup of coffee (8-12 oz). I imagine the 6-cup description refers to demitasse cups. I plan to buy a larger one. The coffee making methodology used by this device is quite ingenious. The bottom reservoir is filled with water and a metal filter in the middle holds the coffee. The water heats up and is forced through the coffee, percolates through a second filter and then out of a tube into the top reservoir. The result is brew very similar to espresso in taste but less concentrated. As others have stated, choice of coffee as well as quantity used make an enormous difference in the result. The closed system design results in a very efficient process that requires very little heat. The 'low' setting on my electric stove takes about 3-5 minutes. The process may sound complicated but it's no more involved than making a cup of coffee using the Melitta filter method.Customer Review: No more Starbucks for me!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok... this little Moka is AMAZING. I LOVE espresso, but I hate spending the money on Starbucks' specialty lattes. I wanted an espresso machine, and have been researching for months, but I just don't have the money for it. So I started looking into percolators, and soon found that this was the true Italian way to make espresso. I was intrigued. Then I realized, this thing is a pot - with no mechanical parts like an espresso machine. So all those problems that the espresso machines have I might avoid with the Moka. So I bought it. For $27 shipped, it was worth a shot. WOW. I am so glad that I did!
I also bought the aerolatte milk frother on Amazon for $17. I then researched how to make coffee syrups. So I made my ultimate craving today - the pumpkin spice latte. I am so ridiculously excited. No more $4.50 lattes for me! Seriously, don't hesitate to try it. I have never used a percolator and it was so easy. Just follow the directions and take care of it like you would anything else. I have never had an issue with an appliance or kitchen gadget I have purchased because I keep my things clean and taken care of, and follow directions! That is all it takes. Yes, you can be unlucky and just get a lemon, but that does not mean that the product itself is not fabulous. So just try it! You will not be disappointed!
Customer Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautifully designed machine.
It basically consists of 3 parts--the base, which you fill with water, a metal "filter basket" with a tube on the bottom through which the water is forced up from the base via steam pressure and through the coffee, and the top, where the finished product ends up.
The finished product is not quite as strong as espresso produced the traditional way, nor does it produce any significant crema, but it is much richer and fuller than using a drip-method.
You won't get as much flavor nuance as a french press, but if you want a quick way to get some seriously bold, strong morning fuel, this is the way to go. It's also ideal for Thai iced coffee and Americanos should you feel like something less intense.
Clean up is easy. No filters to buy. Eventually you may have to get the rubber o-ring seal replaced, but the rest of it will stand up to daily use longer than you'll be alive, barring any supervolcano eruptions in your neighborhood, an extraterrestrial extinction level event, or nuclear holocaust.
There is a reason these are used over ridiculous Mr. Coffee contraptions in the country that invented espresso.
If you are a coffee lover, you owe it to yourself to become a drinker of Moka.