Moka Express is forever.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Cheaper, simpler, more durable, and easier to clean than a machine. Faster than drip methods.

Cons: Longer set up time than a machine. Made of soft aluminum.

The Bottom Line: 
Lasts forever and makes a very good, but not perfect, cup of espresso.

Author's Review
I found my Moka Express pot stored in my mother's attic, and she let me keep it. It was stamped 1973. The rubber gasket was no longer flexible but I was able to purchase a genuine Bialetti replacement part at J and R in NYC for $3.50. After 35 years it worked fine. Searching the net I found that every part, including the pressure relief valve, was available. The pot is virtually indestructible, and you can replace any of the minor parts if they break or wear out. The cheaper espresso machines, and many of the expensive ones do not age well and often need to be replaced after a few years of intensive use. You do not buy a cheap espresso machine, you rent it. In comparison to the machines, Moka Express is forever.

Although the better (expensive) machines do produce a better result, IMO Moka Express is as good as most of the machines; And certainly the cheaper ones. Moka Express produces a less intense flavor than the best machines, and little if any foam (crema) on your espresso. See below for a suggestion on preserving the foam.

The machines do tell you when they are done and it is easier to produce multiple cups as the set up time to fill and screw the thing together is a bit longer than the machines. With Moka Express the whole process is about 5 min from start to finish on a high flame. Add a minute to rinse and wipe it down after it has cooled off. After a while you can tell by the steam and noises it makes at the end of the process it is done. You can not make espresso with the lid raised as it will splatter.

Also note:
6 2oz cups equal 12 oz, or about 1 1/4 bakers cups. The bottom half holds water at the start, and the top half holds coffee at the end of the process, so although it looks big you only get coffee in the top half.

The way it works is the bottom is a water tank. You heat the water which produces steam. To escape the water needs to travel to the top but as it does it forces the coffee against a screen between the upper part and the lower water tank. The coffee blocks the water. As the water cannot escape any more, the pressure and temperature build until the steam forces the water through the coffee. At the higher temperature you extract more of the coffee flavor yielding espresso. To do this you need a fine grind, but you can run regular coffee through a coffee grinder to make it finer.

I have not tested every possibility but it seems to me that if you only want 1 2oz cup you will need a smaller pot, which Bialetti makes, as if you put too little coffee in it pressure will not build up.

The pot is made of soft aluminum metal. If you insist on scrubbing everything, inside and out, with a steel wool pad until it is spotlessly clean, this pot is not for you. You will spend allot of time cleaning both the exterior and interior. You will scratch the aluminum leaving particles in the pot, affecting the taste, and causing you to ingest aluminum particles. Your coffee will taste of soap and metal. Some people like the look of a seasoned pot, others cannot tolerate it. One reason to buy a machine is the ugly metal interior parts are concealed so you will not feel the need to scrub them. Bialetti does make stainless steel pots which you might be better off with. There are also Pyrex glass percolator coffee pots. It is only easy to clean if by cleaning a coffee pot you mean rinsing it out and wiping it off with a cloth.

Although the pot is too tall for most kitchen shelves, you can unscrew it and store it in two shorter parts.

Special hint: Although the pot splatters when used with the lid up (so you can observe it fill), I found that if I put a shot glass over the central spigot the coffee does not splatter, and the foam (crema) is preserved.

For after diner conversation the Moka Express, and its inventor Alfonso Bialetti, have an interesting history. You can search on his name or the article “The Romance of Caffeine and Aluminum” which discusses how Moka Express was a logical product fascist Italy's politics, economic policies, and views of modernity. The 'Little Man' logo on the side of the pot is a caricature of the inventor. I am sure I saw Cheryl, Kima's partner, in the HBO series "The Wire" using a Moka Pot.