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: The only drawback? You'll need a larger one for company...
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently picked up a 3 cup Bialetti Moka Express while on holiday and couldn't wait to get it home and broken in. I've tried stove-top Italian coffee makers before, and this model has not disappointed.
Sturdy and well made, this unit only has about five parts, all of them metal or heavy-duty plastic so very little can go wrong. This should last ages if properly cared for.
Just remember to keep it simple; fresh, cold water in the lower chamber (stopping *before* you get to the brass outlet valve) and fill the grounds basket with an espresso grind coffee (good excuse to buy more coffee) without packing it too tightly. Place on your stovetop ring and don't go anywhere. Wait a few minutes, and you have an excellent espresso to start the day or to add to steamed milk after dinner. I can't wait to have some with a cigar this weekend. I've been trying some Cafe Bustello the last few mornings and it's been great. Yeah, I know it's canned, but so are most of the coffees in Italy and Latin America.
The only problem I can foresee is needing a larger one for company, but unless you need gallons of espresso each morning, this is great for two to share.
Customer Review: It works, it makes good coffe, and it is easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
The moka works all the times. The definition of number of cups can be confusing. It refer to serving cups of the size of 1-1/2 oz. The apparent corrosion is not due to the aluminun. Bialetti started to built his coffee machines with aluminum because it does not corrode. The aluminun can still form an oxide that is self passivating, very stable, and it is only a few hundred Angstoms thick. The stuff that you can find in the lower part of the moka is sediments from the water that you use. The harder the water the more the sediments. However, they can be easily removed by soaking the whole moka in a winegar solution. This cleaning procedure is important in presence of hard water because after years the sediments could clog the safety valve and drastically reduce the safety of the whole operation. The relation of aluminum to Alzheimer disease is hearsay. It has been proposed in the mid 90's but no definitive clinical evidence has been shown. It is also important to note that since the 1930's 9 out of 10 families in Italy have been using the aluminum moka by Bialetti and no higher incidence of Alzheimer has observed.Customer Review: Love it
Summary: 5 Stars
I researched a lot of different options before buying the Bialetti Moka 3 cup, considering the single serving pod brewers and $2000 espresso makers. I'm glad I went with this $20 option. I really, really love the coffee it makes. While its not quite a true espresso, it's not far off either - I even get a wee bit of crema. And I'll take this "espresso" over most of the espresso you'll find in all but the very best coffee houses here in the States. For two weeks now, I've been enjoying consistently tasty, robust coffee, very flavorful coffee. (I use Lavazza's pre-ground espresso with it. I think I prefer it to Illy, and it's cheaper.) It tastes nearly as good as what I've enjoyed in Italy. The 3 cup makes about 1.6 espresso sized cups worth.
It's easy to use. Just make sure that you screw the top on tight; don't pack the grounds, just lump them; if you're on an electric stove go with something just north of medium heat (say 6-7); and just rinse it with water to wash. Oh, and after a bit of research, I dismissed any health concerns about using the aluminum voiced by other posters. Enjoy.
Customer Review: Excellent, but be careful about corrosion...
Summary: 5 Stars
While I highly recommend these guys, there are some words of wisdom (largely mentioned by those below and summed up here). I have a counter-top machine, but I bought one of these to take with me on a trip. Since trips were the only time I used it, I kept it stored in my cupboard most of the year. Not thinking, I stored it assembled. When I recently decided to start using it at work, I brought it down to rinse it out and noticed corrosion on the inside of the water vessel. The espresso wound up tasting pretty bitter, so when I contacted Bialetti, they said I could try boiling a half in half vinegar/water solution to clean it. If that didn't work, I'd need to buy a new one. I did this, I even tried boiling a full vinegar solution, but to no avail (I thought about using a mild HCl solution since I work in a lab, but honesty and common sense got the better of me). At any rate, I'm opting to buy a new one and just be a lot more diligent about drying and storing it. I also hadn't heard about using it on medium heat as opposed to med-hi or high heats, so I'll be sure to heed that advice too!Customer Review: How to make the perfect cup of Cuban coffee.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used this model of Bialetti coffee maker for years; this is the exact model my Dad used when he showed me how to make Cuban coffee. Both La Llave and Pilon are good brands of coffee to use with this machine. The manufacturer includes an instruction booklet but if you've never made coffee before it could be a little confusing at first. Buy yourself a stainless steel creamer and a set of espresso cups. Add four heaping teaspoons of sugar to the creamer. Follow the instructions in the booklet to make the coffee. When the coffee finishes brewing, add two teaspoons to the creamer. Stir the coffee and sugar together until it forms a consistency similar to mousse (it will be dark at first but will lighten as you mix it). Now add the rest of your coffee to the creamer and stir until all the sugar dissolves. Pour immediately into the cups and serve (you should have enough to fill at least three cups). The coffee will form a nice, thick head on it just like a pint of Guinness. Enjoy!