My dad uses his Bialetti all the time to make coffee for family at gatherings. Of course, he's been making coffee on a stovetop pot for years. But it's actually quite easy and fast to do.

How do you know when it's done and ready to pour?

I use my 6 cup size during the week and the big 9 cup version on weekends - all for me. I love it. You can't miss when it is done, provided your are in the kitchen. I am guessing one cup in the moka translates to about 1 oz.

We got one at a white elephant party this past December, and my only complaint is that it takes ten years to cool down enough to open and clean out afterward, making it a mitted/toweled adventure if you want to make more coffee with it right away.

We have a small (2 cup?) version and use it for when we want to make just one or two cups. The latest issue of Bon Appetit, their Italian issue, has a nice little primer on how to use one of these. Who knew that I was supposed to keep the top lid open initially???

@GretaGrace: when the coffee has filled the top chamber and is no longer coming out the percolator in the middle is when you know its done.

I have a huge 12-cup one that gets used almost every day. You can tell it's done when you hear the coffee surge up and start bubbling - an unmistakeable sound once you've heard it. Then just turn the burner off and pour. And it truly is in essentially every home in Italy - there's one in every member of my family's homes, and I got mine as a housewarming gift from my Italian father when I moved out of his house.

I love the Moka Express. I own three different sizes depending if I want a cup just for me or to share. I am having trouble with one of my Mokas because the water is not being pressured to the top chamber. I have tried changing the rubber gasket and toying with the release valve (both which have helped in the past) but nothing seems to work this time. Help!

So, someone accidentally put my Moka Express in the dishwasher. Any suggestions on cleaning it up now that it is all scaly?

I use one of mine each day.

Mine was never the same after a sad encounter with a friend's dishwasher.

Hubs stepped up and bought me a "fancy" espresso machine, but, I tell you what, I still miss my Bialetti.

Having been a student in Italy, I can vouch for these being in every apartment that was rented for our programme. I even bought one to keep at my parents' house for when I visit there.

@kbedore I have a couple of different sizes as well for those same reasons.

I love my Moka pot, but there are some issues I have with them..

As one person above noted, dishwashers are bad for them .. it causes the aluminum to corrode quickly. Actually - almost anything causes them to corrode if you don't use them daily and make sure to hand dry them *completely* when washing. I have several that are heavily pitted, and getting the aluminum corrosion out of all the corners and such inside is very difficult.

Which, brings up a safety issue. ... there is a lot of debate about the safety of aluminum cookware. Especially with something like this that corrodes easily, I am concerned about the aluminum levels it puts into the coffee.

Has anyone ever tried the stainless steel type Moka pots? Do they work as well and hold up any better?

LongIslandFoodie: use Bon Ami to bring the shine back to your Moka Express...works great, no harsh chemicals and it's cheap!

Unless you can afford a high quality espreso machine, the Bialetti is the greatest coffee maker out there. And it's easy to use.

@ caseoftornados: You just have to put it under cool running water and it will be ready in no time for another pot.

@aelfwyne: I have both type and they both work well. The one made of stainless still looks brand new after many years of daily use.

http://www.bialettishop.com/ClassBlackMain.htm

Have used mine for years and bought one for my boyfriends house and now have him buying them for his siblings. Makes great little strong cups of coffee!

Around here, there is another very well known trade mark: Volturno. The design (except fot the handle) is the same, and it works like it was mentioned. I clean it by hand, and then try to dry it very well (I do not put it all together until it´s very dry). I own a 9 cup maker, and it´s great as at home we drink lattes and the like, never coffee without milk...

I had one for the 6 weeks I lived in Italy, and could never figure it out. Besides, the espresso bars made coffee better than I ever could, and it's such an important part of the culture.

I guess I'll stick with my $15 drip coffee maker at home.

I got a stainless steel moka pot from Ikea this last Christmas right when I decided my coffee was starting to take on a metallic taste. And I decided the Ikea one was actually better-- it has all the flavor from the method of that preparation, minus the metal taste from the aluminum. Plus, since it's from Ikea, it's not as expensive as some other stainless steel moka pots are out there. I guess one plus to buying Bialetti is it'd probably be easier to replace the rubber ring inside when you need to.

I've had one for a couple of years. It takes very little space, is easy and convinient to work with, produces decent espresso and doesn't require extensive cleaning. Oh, and it's really cheap compared to the other options. (Just gonna skip the crema) I'll definitely stick to it!

I have a small collection of Bialetti stovetop pots - all stainless steel - all found at a deep discount at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I don't cook anything in aluminum, as some say it may cause health problems. Also, you can thoroughly clean a stainless espresso pot on the inside. I think it's gross to let an oily (rancid) film of coffee develop on the inside to avoid the metallic taste. That's what Bialetti recommends with aluminum pots. I use medium roast coffee (not espresso), and fill the 6-cup to make a single mug of coffee, and a 12-cup to make 2 mugs. I'll never go back to drip coffee. In these pots coffee can be made very strong, but still smooth, and is less acidic, therefore easier on one's stomach. It's also the "greenest" option for coffee brewing: If you are careful to avoid pulling on the handle to open and close the pot, it will last for many years; there's no plastic (except the handle), no paper filters, just a rubber ring that needs to be replaced on rare occasion. Plus the pots are so cute!

PS: You can see my Bialetti coffee pot collection on the kitchen shelf in my Small Cool contest entry if you like: http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/smallcool/2011/entries/2287
:-)

If preparing coffee in an aluminum coffeemaker were bad for you, all Italians would be either dead or at least ill. Actually Italians, after the Japanese and the French, are one of the population with the longest life expectancy on Earth.

Mokas don't need to be washed! Just rinsed.

If you have a stove with electric plates, turn it off at the first sound of cooking water (before you see the actual coffee coming out in the beaker). The heat in the plate is enough to bring out the coffee without damaging the gummy ring.

If you have accidentally put the moka in the dish-washer you can try to clean it with toothpaste and a dry cloth.

I've got my own bialetti with milk frother and it makes the best coffee!!! you don't need any expensive coffee machines, bialetti is the way to go :-}

I froth my milk by first heating it up in the microwave in a large glass. Then I use my immersion mixer to create 'schiuma' (foam).

I'd up the statistic to 99% of Italian households having them.

I'm a little confused. I'm really interested in buying this product but does it make coffee or espresso? Or both? To make regular coffee (like drip coffee) do you just put less coffee grinds?

@ Hope S.

A moka pot doesn't make 'true' espresso, for that reason people sometimes call it "poor man's espresso" because it's cheaper than buying a really expensive espresso machine. You wouldn't want to use less coffee to create some sort of drip coffee, but always follow the instructions that came with your moka pot. The flavor/body/consistency/texture, whatever, would sort of be somewhere like if you crossed espresso with drip coffee in the first place. At the end of the day, it's a different coffee brewing method that yields a different end result than either true espresso or drip coffee though. I also think it's important to note that while most moka pots picture their product with espresso, with a beautiful crema on top, it can be difficult to achieve that using one. And if you use espresso blend, regular, whatever, you can get really different results from that.

A few tips for preparing different types of coffee drinks with the bialetta! If you want a cup of coffee try adding boiling water to your chosen ammt of espresso. This makes an Americano cup of coffee. I'm a heavy coffee drinker and when I used a whole 6 cup pot of espresso as a cup of coffee I REALLY felt wild after!!! I found adding water to about 2 shots makes a nice beautifully tasting cup. If you want a latte add warm frothy milk. You can get a coffee frother for about $2 at Ikea! A cappuccino usually just has the froth on top of an espresso shot.

Correction: for a latte you just add warm frothy milk to the espresso, not the Americano.