Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
by Bialetti
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List Price: Our Price: $23.95 You Save: $6.04 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
Customer Review: Careful !!! One cup means one OUNCE !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, make sure you purchase the correct size for your needs. When Bilatti says the unit is "6 cups" they mean "6 OUNCES."
That's because an expresso (or demi tasse) is a ONE ounce cup/shot. I bought the 6 cup version and I can get just barely over one 'real' cup of coffee out of it. If you want two regular 5 ounce cups of coffee, you'll need to buy the 12-cup flavor of the product.
Other than that, this gizmo is amazing. Matched to a can of Medaglia D'Oro grounds and filtered water this thing is consistently producing a flawless, excellent-tasting cup of expresso (or strong coffee, if you will) every time.
It couldn't be quicker or easier to use. Fill the base with water to the line, drop the basket into the base, fill the basket with grounds, tamp them down with the butt of the scoop, then screw on the top half of the unit. Apply medium/medium-high stove-top heat until you hear the coffee gurgling up into the top half of the unit, set off the stove to finish, then pour. Add some biscotti and ... mangia!
Also an easy quick & easy clean up, especially since it's all-aluminum. Dump the grounds out of the basket and rinse the basket. Rinse the base and give it a quick wipe out on the inside. Rinse top half of unit with a quick wipe of its bottom of where grounds gather. It all takes less than one minute. Set up to dry. And fuhgeddaboudit.
The Billati Moka is practically a little work of Italian art siting there on your stove. Due to its distinctive look, I remember it well from my childhood sitting on the stoves of all my Italian relatives. Little did I know why they all had one - - it makes a near-perfect tasting cup of joe every time!
My only regret (other than my choice of size) is that I didn't get the "classic" version, where the little man is etched directly into the aluminum (without any color). Now the little man is painted/stenciled on in black. The new version looks a little less classy, looks a little cheaper (that was surely a cost-cutting maneuver), and I figure that, over time, the paint/stencil will wear off.
Get one right now ... kapeesh?
UPDATE [May, 2009]. It's my fault. The directions clearly warn against high heat. Yet the other day, I set it on the stove on high heat to warm up the last couple of ounces of coffee. Then I forgot about it for a while. Big mistake. The black knob on top got soft and loosened from its mounting screw, never to fit tightly again. AND I turned the little circular seal inbetween the two parts into goo. Totally trashed. I ordered another one today because I was so durn satisfied with it. Actually it's all for the best, since I re-ordered the 9-cup sizer. That's the size it really takes to get a full 8-ounce cup o' java out of it. I ordered from a vendor that is showing pictures of the etched little man on it (instead of the black stenciled one). I think that will be more attractive and more durable. If I don't fry the thing, that is!
UPDATE: I got the black stenciled man. Oh, well.
Customer Review: Bellissimo! This little baby is what I'd been waiting for!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just wanted a good coffee. A rich, aromatic, smooth tasting, naturally sweet, rounded coffee that was not the pale, watery and bitter liquid that passes as coffee sometimes.
In my quest, I've been through several devices that make coffee. Drip machines of every type - with hot plate, with vacuum seal jug, with timer and self start, those that combine a burr grinder with drip, one person brew and go types, and combination espresso and drip machines. But I still waited for that decent cup of coffee.
If you ask me, drip machines do not extract the full flavor and aroma from the coffee. They make a watery version of coffee and I have to waste a lot of coffee in a drip machine to have one strong cup of coffee. I've also tried a french press - good results but messier and still not very satisfying. The non electric hand-pressed coffee maker from India was good but took 15-20 min to make coffee. A cheaper espresso maker just did not measure up either, it was not cheap enough as it involved a lot of cleanup and still produced a mediocre expresso.
I then tried the one shot makers, a Melitta One pod coffee maker - one pod makes only a 6 oz cup and is still a bit watery and good coffee pods are very expensive. Making your own is not only cumbersome but risky to use in the machine. I also tried a Keurig at a friend's place and a filter-pack coffee maker at work. They were ok but had the same limitations as the Melitta. The coffee was still not satisfying.
At last someone heard my plea for a decent cup of coffee and a friend recommended this little baby.
Enter the Bialetti Moka Express. This little baby is made of heavy aluminum (as are most pressure cookers) and is meant for your stove-top. The bottom is filled with water and put on the stove top. The pressure builds up and forces the water upwards through the grounds which sit in the middle in a little filter chamber. The coffee collects in the top portion and as soon as almost all the water has passed through the heat is turned off. The resulting brew has very little crema and is thick and a little oily. I am using Lavazza Italian Coffee, Caffe Espresso, 100% Premium Arabica Ground Coffee, 8-Ounce Cans (Pack of 4)which is a great coffee imported from Italy. I can now quickly brew a cup every morning - the 6 cup maker gives about 8 oz coffee. It is easy to clean too as you simply throw out the grounds and hand rinse the parts. The more coffee you make the better it tastes as the aluminum gets covered with a thin oily coating from the coffee.
This is finally the perfect solution for my taste, all I need now is a milk frother Aerolatte Frother, Satin Finishfor the perfect latte every morning.
After all these years, finally, coffee heaven!
Customer Review: Smooo---ooo----oooo--th!!
Summary: 5 Stars
***DO NOT OVERHEAT!***DO NOT OVERHEAT!***DO NOT OVERHEAT!***
There. I've done my good deed, and passed along the warning for the next person. Reading the translated-to-English directions, it's easy to miss this important cautionary note. In fact, it's not even IN the directions. It's written on the side of the box.
But fortunately, before my Moka Express ever arrived, I read another reviewer's cautionary note about avoiding HIGH heat (which can destroy the rubber gasket), so I didn't have any problem from the get-go.
And speaking of 'get-go' here's the deal. The FIRST time out (actually the second time, because the directions recommend that you dispose of the first batch), I had THE *BEST* ESPRESSO I EVER HAD. PERIOD. BAR NONE.
Using some Columbian coffee (that a friend had actually hand-carried from Columbia a few weeks ago), and setting my smallest burner (it's a ceramic-top stove) to just under "5" (10 being the hottest), the espresso that came out of this coffeemaker was INCREDIBLY smooth, and totally without the bitter taste that it can sometimes have.
If this is the result after using it ONCE, I'm looking forward to seeing how good it gets after I've had a chance to figure out the best combination of type of coffee/amount to use/fineness of grind/etc.
Also, for the price, it absolutely cannot be beat. The full pot yielded about six double-shots, so after just one use, it's almost half paid for!
I'm going to be drinking a lot more espresso. And cappuccino. And cafe-au-lait.
Oh well. Who needs sleep? It's overrated anyway! ;-)
-Jonathan Sabin
UPDATE... We put it in the dishwasher today.
DON'T make this mistake!
When we pulled it out at the end of the cycle, the shiny aluminum exterior had turned into a pretty ugly, uneven, dull finish. I'm sure it'll still work just fine, but it sure doesn't look as nice as it did before.
(ONE other review, among the 48 thusfar, mentions the dishwasher issue, but doesn't say why.)
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE... It's taken about 3 months, but a BUNCH of hand-cleaning has finally reverted our Bialetti to its former shiny state! It's STILL making the best espresso/cappucino I've ever had!
Customer Review: Where Has The Moka Express Been All My Life?
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been drinking coffee for about 35 years and there have been two "aha!" moments in my coffee drinking experience. The first one was the first time I had a capuccino at a geniune coffee house in Berkeley almost 30 years ago. It opened my eyes to how good coffee could really be. The second was when I first used the Moka Express. I have spent a fortune over the years trying to create a good cup of coffee - simply - in my own home. High end drip machines, espresso machines, french presses, pod machines, fancy superautomatic machines - they all had shortcomings, whether it be cost, convenience, the coffee's taste and/or strength, complexity, or the hassle factor. And all the time, this little machine was out there, unknown to me.
When paired with a decent burr grinder, this machine really is the best solution I have found. It is easy, convenient, cheap, and makes an excellent cup of coffee for my tastes (admittedly, I like a strong cup).
Some tips. ALWAYS hand wash it with only hot water and a cloth or sponge. No soap - and definitely do NOT put it in the dishwasher. Do not scrub it harshly - you want to leave a very thin residue or film on the metal surface so you can avoid the metallic taste of which some reviewers complain. Also, do not heat on high heat - I use the "5" setting on my stovetop (max is "9"). I find that a medium grind of a quality drak roasted bean works best for me. Experiment with it to find the taste and strength you prefer.
The only drawbacks are that it takes maybe 10 minutes to make coffee, and it requires a stovetop - which means I cannot use one at my office. Also, I imagine if you were making coffee for a large group, it might not be best because unlike an automatic drip machine with a warmer, it has no way to keep the coffee warm for long. You need to drink it right after you make it. Maybe a thermos would work?
Bottom Line: If you want to enjoy good tasting coffee at home, get rid of that automatic drip machine and buy yourself a decent burr grinder and a Moka Express.
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!