Arabica Coffee Beans

Growing up as a kid, when my Italian grandparents had guests over they always made coffee in one of these Bialetti stove top espresso pots. More recently, on a trip to Italy every house we went to had one of these espresso makers; usually more than one (of different sizes). It seems if you’re Italian you have at least one of these in your home for daily use.

So, what’s the allure? Well, they make great espresso, they’re easy to use, and they’re very affordable. Several years ago I purchased my first moka pot. It was a 3 cup Bialetti. I took it out of the box, rinsed it, put in water and fresh ground espresso, and about 4 minutes later I had a great cup (well three) of espresso. I still have and still use the original pot, but over the years I’ve added a couple of other sizes to my collection, a 1 cup and a 6 cup version.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Easy to maintain
• Found in most kitchen stores and online stores such as Amazon
• Easy to product consistent results from one pot of coffee to the next

Cons:

• No crema

Conclusion: You just can’t beat it for the price. As mentioned above, it produces a great shot of espresso and it’s very easy to maintain. Simply rinse it out between uses… but don’t use soap, it’ll affect the taste of the coffee.

Buy it at Amazon

Have you used this espresso machine? Let me know. Add a comment below.

Filed under: Espresso machines on November 19th, 2007