Bialetti 6799 Moka Express 3-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
by Bialetti
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List Price: Our Price: $20.95 You Save: $4.04 (16%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.04 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Bialetti 6799 Moka Express 3-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
Customer Review: Italians got it right
Summary: 5 Stars
This thing is so good that I bought a second one after just a few weeks of use, planning to bring it with me when I travel. I can't believe I was even considering buying an espresso machine that would cost at least a few hundred dollars (I tried the cheap ones but they didn't last), and about at least 10 times in size.
Completely mechanical and does not use electricity. And the design is so elegant and simple that it is hard to imagine anything would have a chance to break from normal use, except for the sealing rubber rings which would require periodical replacement. But it does require an external heating device such as a stove. [NOTE: use a stove with caution! If you leave it on and forget about the Moka, or any other cooking utensil for that matter, you would burn it. It already happened to us once just within a few weeks of use, so I'm getting a replacement right away. And I'm just blaming myself, not the Moka.]
As far as coffee making is concerned, Italians got it right, likely many years ago. Just quit trying other complicated methods, both consumers and manufacturers. I think they're making a fool of themselves by inventing more electric coffeemakers. I am a high-tech enthusiast by even the highest standard, but this simple and elegant coffee maker is it for me.
With an Aerolatte Milk Frother, you could make seriously good latte. It was a success for me on the first try even though I had never used this kind of coffee makers before.
They should not call it a 3-cup. It's a single cup service. The entire thing is so tiny (pleasantly so in fact), it took me by surprise. You could travel with this with absolutely no problem.
It's a bit more involved than an automatic coffeemaker, but this is fun and so functional. The design is elegant and requires no electricity and has no complex mechanical parts. You get a feeling that this is going to last for a long time. I had two Mr. Coffee espresso makers in a roll in the last 15 months. Both broke when the pressure pump failed, the first in 12 months, the second in just a bit over a month. This led me to believe that cheap pressure-based espresso makers simply don't work. And they are bulky and noisy even if they do work. This Moka Express is a much better concept (and even a better lifestyle I would argue).
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.
Customer Review: Finally
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tried a couple of the 'espresso' machines from box stores and first few brews seem good. But the machines are so cheap they can't take the pressure and what you get then isn't even close. Figured would have to spend a lot more money if wanted a real one that worked.
Just happened upon this on a forum post somewhere, while looking up why Starbucks employees can't make real cappuccino. They either make you something with espresso and hard foam on top or tell you that what you got in Italy is wrong. The smaller coffee shops usually do it right.
Anyway, another person having the same issues with the same store, said this is usually what most households in Italy use to get stovetop espresso. They said it is about as close as your going to get without buying a real espresso machine. They were right! I really like it, not perfect, but pretty close.
So if you want to try something as close as you can get without busting the bank get one of these. You do have to watch it closely. There isn't any whistles or other sounds telling you that it is done. So rather than burn/melt the o-ring you have to be ready to remove it from heat source. That is the only bad thing about this product. You also have to make a few runs in order to 'coat' the metal or you will get a metal taste.
I have heard the 2-3 cup models make a better stovetop espresso than the larger models, but have no proof myself this is true, just putting it out there.
Customer Review: This thing is awful! Don't buy it
Summary: 5 Stars
Unless you are ready to be ruined for any other coffee, and the three cup size will not be big enough! Decades of my life wasted. I've discovered real coffee so late in life, my only lament about buying this espresso pot is the tears shed over all those mornings I *could* have had REAL coffee...
Easy to use, a little time consuming to clean, handsome enough to leave out as a decoration. Unscrew the bottom, fill the bottom half with cold water, fill the little filter cup with fine ground coffee (note that "espresso" is a grind, not a roast), screw it back together, and put it on the stove top. In five minutes or less, you have the most incredible coffee ever. With the internal parts, it is not hard to clean, but time consuming, especially given the time it takes to cool off enough to take apart (the other reason to get a bigger one, the little one is too slow to reload).
The styling is a little retro, but handsome enough to lend a kitchen a quirky flair. Oh, but that's trivia next to the coffee that comes out of it.
I've been using a couple of Tchibo coffees in it with super results, and look forward to trying other fine grinds in it.
Don't do it, don't get this monkey on your back, don't ruin yourself for all those lesser coffee makers, and don't touch my espresso pot (we need alone time).
Customer Review: Express Espresso
Summary: 5 Stars
I do not like the taste of coffee. Bitter. Icky. But oddly, smells great. Still, after 42 years, I decided to try and get a hankering for the stuff.
Starbucks just opened in our little town and I really like the caramel machiattos but only with a single shot and iced with whip cream though they are very very bad for a diabetic like me and sometimes extremely bitter..bleck...
What to do. What to do?
I went on line to amazon.com and found a tiny espresso maker that can be used on the stove, even for camping and decided, why not try this?
The little box came today. After reading the reviews on the amazon website, I rushed to the store and bought a small bag of freshly ground not less than 10% Kona coffee beans since light roast is not as strong as the darker roasts.
Brewed up the espresso in three minutes, heated whole organic milk with Kortja cinnamon and sugar free vanilla syrup in the microwaves, added half of the coffee and taste..
Wow! No bitterness, extremely creamy, very tasty cappucino! And cheap!!
Hubby actually liked it as well as my coffee loving mother in law who lives next door. I am very impressed with this little coffee pot and the fresh coffee grounds.
Who knows? I may become a coffee drinker yet!