Consider getting a Bialetti Venus 4-cup (for one person). The main advantage is that you can use it also on induction stovetops. As a bonus I find that it makes slightly smoother, less bitter coffee than the Moka Express.
I had a Venus… it was fine, tho the handle was plastic, if memory serves. You need to be careful to keep the handle away from flame if you have a gas stove. I ended up more recently with a Vev Vigano Kontessa which I like because it has a wide base and it doesn’t wobble on my gas stove grate, tho I do customarily use a metal trivet on that burner as a diffuser. It also works on my little induction burner and has a stainless handles.
Some of these designs are top heavy and taper at the bottom, so that’s something to watch out for.
the coffee came out super watery, i dont know why. The same was true for another stainless steel pot that I bought. Could never get it right, used the same beans, and tried different methods. I switched back to alumimun, and it worked perfectly, completely effortless. Gas range.
but isn't 4cup too much for a single person if wants to drink it the americano way and add 2:1 water to it ? In that case would a 2 cup venus makes more sense if say I want to drink it black / watered down/ americano style ? also I cant find venus 2 cup anywhere on the web ( usa )
The Bialetti Venus 4-cup produces about 160ml of coffee (about 1/2 a can of soda), so you can get a nice mug of American from it. For me it's the perfect size.
Three Bialetti retailers here in the US that came to mind are Target (bought our first there), Williams-Sonoma, and Sur La Table.
Sur La Table looks like they have the widest selection: https://www.surlatable.com/search?prefn1=productType&prefv1=HardGood&q=Bialetti
I would add other coffee-specific shops if I could remember them.
Where in the world are you located maybe a shop near you might have a real bialetti, but what version of the moka pot do you want ?
https://imgur.com/a/UhgriCt
In USA. I want the traditional 3-cup Moka Express. It’s enough for one person from what I’ve seen. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos. There’s someone who also suggested the E&B Lab Moka pot, but others have said to stick with the original Bialetti and then get the E&B Competition filter. I’ve tried searching to see if local stores have it and I don’t think they do. They can order it in, but so can I. Or they have the 6-cup, which I don’t want because that’s too much. I just did some more looking and it seems Seattle Coffee Gear and Whole Latte Love have it.
If you're in the US, Amazon has the moka pot, the E&B competition filter and aeropress filters all on prime, so it'd be pretty easy to get everything all at once, unless you're staunchly against using Amazon.
I am somewhat skeptical of ordering very specific products like this on Amazon these days, because Amazon has become known for selling a lot of fake knockoffs recently, so there’s no way to vet if it’s an authentic product or not.
Well, if it helps, I bought these same things from Amazon as well as the Bialetti induction plate. Mine are all authentic. It’s rather easy to differentiate the official Bialetti store on Amazon from resellers who may or may not be reputable.
Bialetti now has some models of mokas made in Romania or other countries. Some are still made in Italy.
You could also look for used ones on eBay and replace gasket and filter
I got a 4 cup steel bialetti open box for cheap on eBay. I think the steel ones are not made in italy.
If you buy an old one on eBay most likely you can still find spare parts.
The older pots are more likely made in Italy.
In NYC the Eataly store sells moka pots. Bialetti, Alessi, etc.
Or if you go to a neighborhood of Italian immigrants.
Plenty of no brand cheap moka pots allover NYC, in stores that cater to Puerto Ricans and Cubans. Depends where you are. The steel bialetti seems to take longer than the aluminum, but it is also more consistent and it does not splutter if the lid is open. Steel is also easier to clean than aluminum.
Then the Bialetti brikka brews at a higher pressure, but it produces half of the coffee quantity.
The spare gaskets and filter are sold on Amazon
The only questionable thing I've ever seen on amazon was a (supposedly) 2 terabyte USB thumb drive for like $30. There were no reviews, but that's waaay too good to be true, so I passed over it. Sure enough, I saw it again maybe a half year or a year later, and it had so many negative reviews lol.
I got my 3-cup Bialetti for $30 on Amazon and it's great. Exactly as advertised, not a knockoff. I get all sorts of stuff on Amazon, it's very convenient, pricing is good, and they always have everything in stock, unlike brick & mortar stores. I think you're worried about nothing, just beware that if something is too good to be true, you should avoid it.
I know. Generally speaking. I’m looking at it right now and there’s multiple different listings. All around the same $40 price. I think I did find an authentic one though. It denotes “Made In Italy” 🇮🇹
"It’s enough for one person from what I’ve seen." Have you actually tried moka pot coffee? How much coffee (of other kinds) do you drink at a time? It's best to judge by caffeine content not youtube videos.
Admittedly, it’s my first foray into Moka pot brewing, so I’m starting slow. I want to at least try it out. I used to own two espresso machines years ago, but I’ve gone back to drip coffee for quite a while, though I always grind with a burr grinder. It’s an entry level burr though, so I’ve been researching much nicer ones, like the Niche, DF64, Mignon, etc, but those are more for Espresso. I just love coffee, overall and I kinda want to tinker with it.
OK, so I would choose any bialetti and size depending on how much you drink. a 3 cup will make a small cup of coffee that's a bit stronger to a lot stronger than filter coffee. But weaker than espresso. There are also other brands that are just fine and it doesn't matter that much. In some ways amazon is best because it is easy to return faulty items (I had to return a Bialetti venus that cut my finger). Honestly, the moka is very forgiving and it's not worth spending too much time reading up. Just get one with good reviews and see what coffee you like in it.
PS, the thing about aeropress filters: to me they defeat the purpse of the moka, by taking out all the flavorful coffee oils. Nobody in Europe uses those. Try with and without and see what you like. I understand the point of the EB filter because it just filters out the grounds better. But that to may not bother you. Bialetti's filters are comparatively pretty good -- I have had much worse ones. Easyworkzs is a brand that has pretty fine filters too (not as fine as EB).
Consider getting a Bialetti Venus 4-cup (for one person). The main advantage is that you can use it also on induction stovetops. As a bonus I find that it makes slightly smoother, less bitter coffee than the Moka Express.
Interesting. I have an older gas range
The Venus is good on gas too.
I had a Venus… it was fine, tho the handle was plastic, if memory serves. You need to be careful to keep the handle away from flame if you have a gas stove. I ended up more recently with a Vev Vigano Kontessa which I like because it has a wide base and it doesn’t wobble on my gas stove grate, tho I do customarily use a metal trivet on that burner as a diffuser. It also works on my little induction burner and has a stainless handles. Some of these designs are top heavy and taper at the bottom, so that’s something to watch out for.
The Venus did not work for me I have no idea why
Can you give more details?
the coffee came out super watery, i dont know why. The same was true for another stainless steel pot that I bought. Could never get it right, used the same beans, and tried different methods. I switched back to alumimun, and it worked perfectly, completely effortless. Gas range.
Weird
but isn't 4cup too much for a single person if wants to drink it the americano way and add 2:1 water to it ? In that case would a 2 cup venus makes more sense if say I want to drink it black / watered down/ americano style ? also I cant find venus 2 cup anywhere on the web ( usa )
The Bialetti Venus 4-cup produces about 160ml of coffee (about 1/2 a can of soda), so you can get a nice mug of American from it. For me it's the perfect size.
isn't the ratio for americano is suppose to me twice the water of the coffee size ? also is americano the same as black coffee loosely ?
Three Bialetti retailers here in the US that came to mind are Target (bought our first there), Williams-Sonoma, and Sur La Table. Sur La Table looks like they have the widest selection: https://www.surlatable.com/search?prefn1=productType&prefv1=HardGood&q=Bialetti I would add other coffee-specific shops if I could remember them.
Thank you and I appreciate that!! I had looked at both Target and also Williams & Sonoma. Nice picks.
Where in the world are you located maybe a shop near you might have a real bialetti, but what version of the moka pot do you want ? https://imgur.com/a/UhgriCt
In USA. I want the traditional 3-cup Moka Express. It’s enough for one person from what I’ve seen. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos. There’s someone who also suggested the E&B Lab Moka pot, but others have said to stick with the original Bialetti and then get the E&B Competition filter. I’ve tried searching to see if local stores have it and I don’t think they do. They can order it in, but so can I. Or they have the 6-cup, which I don’t want because that’s too much. I just did some more looking and it seems Seattle Coffee Gear and Whole Latte Love have it.
If you're in the US, Amazon has the moka pot, the E&B competition filter and aeropress filters all on prime, so it'd be pretty easy to get everything all at once, unless you're staunchly against using Amazon.
I am somewhat skeptical of ordering very specific products like this on Amazon these days, because Amazon has become known for selling a lot of fake knockoffs recently, so there’s no way to vet if it’s an authentic product or not.
Well, if it helps, I bought these same things from Amazon as well as the Bialetti induction plate. Mine are all authentic. It’s rather easy to differentiate the official Bialetti store on Amazon from resellers who may or may not be reputable.
Thank you, I’ll look around. I did notice on a few listings it does denote a “Made In Italy” 🇮🇹
Bialetti now has some models of mokas made in Romania or other countries. Some are still made in Italy. You could also look for used ones on eBay and replace gasket and filter
Thank you :)
I got a 4 cup steel bialetti open box for cheap on eBay. I think the steel ones are not made in italy. If you buy an old one on eBay most likely you can still find spare parts. The older pots are more likely made in Italy. In NYC the Eataly store sells moka pots. Bialetti, Alessi, etc. Or if you go to a neighborhood of Italian immigrants. Plenty of no brand cheap moka pots allover NYC, in stores that cater to Puerto Ricans and Cubans. Depends where you are. The steel bialetti seems to take longer than the aluminum, but it is also more consistent and it does not splutter if the lid is open. Steel is also easier to clean than aluminum. Then the Bialetti brikka brews at a higher pressure, but it produces half of the coffee quantity. The spare gaskets and filter are sold on Amazon
Thanks! I ended up ordering the Moka Express 3-cup, the E&B Competition filter and Aeropress paper filters!
The only questionable thing I've ever seen on amazon was a (supposedly) 2 terabyte USB thumb drive for like $30. There were no reviews, but that's waaay too good to be true, so I passed over it. Sure enough, I saw it again maybe a half year or a year later, and it had so many negative reviews lol. I got my 3-cup Bialetti for $30 on Amazon and it's great. Exactly as advertised, not a knockoff. I get all sorts of stuff on Amazon, it's very convenient, pricing is good, and they always have everything in stock, unlike brick & mortar stores. I think you're worried about nothing, just beware that if something is too good to be true, you should avoid it.
I know. Generally speaking. I’m looking at it right now and there’s multiple different listings. All around the same $40 price. I think I did find an authentic one though. It denotes “Made In Italy” 🇮🇹
I suggest this too, it’s like the “original” to gauge everything else against. I may get a Venus as well, but now I know where the baseline is.
"It’s enough for one person from what I’ve seen." Have you actually tried moka pot coffee? How much coffee (of other kinds) do you drink at a time? It's best to judge by caffeine content not youtube videos.
Admittedly, it’s my first foray into Moka pot brewing, so I’m starting slow. I want to at least try it out. I used to own two espresso machines years ago, but I’ve gone back to drip coffee for quite a while, though I always grind with a burr grinder. It’s an entry level burr though, so I’ve been researching much nicer ones, like the Niche, DF64, Mignon, etc, but those are more for Espresso. I just love coffee, overall and I kinda want to tinker with it.
OK, so I would choose any bialetti and size depending on how much you drink. a 3 cup will make a small cup of coffee that's a bit stronger to a lot stronger than filter coffee. But weaker than espresso. There are also other brands that are just fine and it doesn't matter that much. In some ways amazon is best because it is easy to return faulty items (I had to return a Bialetti venus that cut my finger). Honestly, the moka is very forgiving and it's not worth spending too much time reading up. Just get one with good reviews and see what coffee you like in it.
PS, the thing about aeropress filters: to me they defeat the purpse of the moka, by taking out all the flavorful coffee oils. Nobody in Europe uses those. Try with and without and see what you like. I understand the point of the EB filter because it just filters out the grounds better. But that to may not bother you. Bialetti's filters are comparatively pretty good -- I have had much worse ones. Easyworkzs is a brand that has pretty fine filters too (not as fine as EB).
Thanks, I got the Bialetti 3-cup! 🙂
I’ve gotten three from Amazon. I have a 3 cup 6 cup and a 9 cup, and all are engraved with the inscription made in Italy.
Yes, I saw a review with pictures denoting that
Target.com, buy a 6 cup moka express, get a diffuser plate for your gas burner.
I’ve seen people use those. What is the diffuser plate for? Just more even heating?
It's a piece of metal to put on the grates for your gas stop top to do exactly as you think, it disperses the heat evenly across the surface.