let's talk coffee- stovetop espresso makers specifically

19 years ago

Who's got what?

I have the traditional Italian demitasse pot (where the boiling water filters through the grounds producing coffee in the pot below) and a beautiful Guzzini espresso pot that makes perfectly adequate espresso in the usual water on the bottom & forced upward through the grounds producing coffee in the top of the pot. I also have some unidentified contraption that has a knob on top & an electrical cord of dubious age & integrity but I have no idea what it's supposed to do & am certainly not plugging it in!

But as I mentioned in an earlier thread I've become infatuated with the Bialetti Mukka stovetop cappucino maker & as a result have started looking at the other pots that Bialetti offers. In a step up from the traditional stovetop espresso pot they make something called the Brikka that actually produces crema on the espresso due to Bialetti's patented valve. The Guzzini is beautiful but it's a little temperamental. The Brikka is calling to me with it's simplicity & it's promise of crema.

I love black coffee & all of it's trappings. Maybe it was a result of growing up in an Italian household with the ever present pot of demitasse (always demitasse) on the table, maybe it's the line up of things that you can add to the coffee so that every cup is different, maybe it's just the tiny cups that it gets served in.

So what do you brew in?

Nina

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Comments (7)

chitownfifi
19 years ago
If you like crema, try Nespresso. I have an espresso/cap maker by Nespresso (not stovetop) and all of their flavors are incredible. Thev have over 10 types of varied strength. Their machines use "pods", so you can only brew one cup at a time...and are also required to use their coffee. Both are fine for me - the crema is thick and excellent.
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Lynne_SJO
19 years ago
surf over to coffeegeek.com and take a look. Lots of great products, reviews, and discussion boards for coffee lovers.

-or perhaps you have already been there and are just looking for more opinions...

L
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We had, and loved, our Technivorm Moccamaster CD. Unfortunately its reliability was terrible. The rocker switches froze and the wires got so hot they burned through the insulation eventually causing the machine to quit. This happened twice, on the original 1.5 year old machine, then about a year after that on the replacement. We did a refurb swap two times, with both of those machines also quitting. That was the end of the road for us with Technivorm. It may have just been this particular model; other TV models seem to last much longer. We did French Press for about a year, and now we're using a Bunn Phase Brew (8 cup, thermal carafe, although I use the TV glass pot). The coffee's not quite as good as the TV but it'll do, and it was 1/3 the price.
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I can comment on the single serve Hamilton Beach that was linked. I don't drink coffee, but dh does. For years, he's used a regular Mr. Coffee coffee maker with filter which just seemed like overkill b/c he only drinks one cup per day, if that. When the carafe about a year ago, he replaced it with a another cheap Mr. Coffee machine to hold him over while we looked at nice machines. I had always wanted to get him a single-serve machine, but after researching the Keurig machines, decided against them - seemed like too many people complained that the coffee wasn't strong enough, plus I hated the idea of all that plastic going to the landfill. During the holidays, GMA recommended the Hamilton Beach during one of their segments and had a "special buy" where it was only $30 w/free shipping. I decided to get it for dh for Christmas. Since it was so cheap, it wouldn't be a big deal if dh didn't like it. Let me preface this part by saying that dh likes very strong black coffee. He doesn't like the flavored kinds, just plain dark coffee. His first reaction was that it wasn't as strong as he liked. He continued to use it despite me telling him that I wouldn't be offended if he wanted to go back to his cheap old Mr. Coffee! However, he said it's not a big deal and that he'll continue to use it. From what I gathered from him (and I haven't investigated nor tested since I'm not a coffee drinker), there is always a little bit of leftover water in the dispenser so when he makes a new cup, somehow it waters it down too much for his preference. He said he can't make the coffee any stronger b/c he already puts as many grinds as he can in the little basket. I have to admit that he hasn't really seemed to fool around with it to see if he can "fix" it so that it makes a stronger cup. Aside from that, the machine works well. No mess to clean up (love not having drippy coffee filters that dh is sometimes careless with), no plastic k-cups or whatever they are called, and a very easy machine to use. It takes up very little room on the counter and has a sleek and updated look, especially compared to the Mr. Coffee machine we had. I wish I could have given a personal review but hope that my husband's comments were helpful. If you have any specific questions, I can ask him. (One of these days I'm going to actually read the directions and make a cup for him to see if I get better results!)
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Thanks again everyone. I'll let you all know if/when I decide or what I get. You all have certainly given me a lot of food for thought. Cherryfizz, no you didn't get off topic at all, since I'm looking for whatever it takes for a good cup of coffee. I 'had' a coffee press, (got it used in a box from an auction) and gave it away without even trying it. Maybe I need another one, even if it is just for those rare occasions when the power is out, yet I can still heat things because I have a gas range. Maybe before getting a grinder I'll try some various coffees freshly ground in the store and invest in a vacuum sealing coffee canister. hmmmm.............
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I have the 8 cup version of this one at the link. Best feature: it drips into a thermal carafe. Keeps it hot for at least an hour or two, but I usually have consumed it before it gets cold. Thermal carafes don't overheat the coffee like coffee makers with a heating element under the pot. Plus, it turns off when it's done brewing so you never have to worry that you didn't turn off the coffeepot. I'll never go back to a coffee pot with a heater under the pot; the thermal carafe is THE way to go. Seriously. Plus you can take the pot anywhere you want in the house--back porch, bedroom, wherever--and the carafe will keep it hot for a good while. This pot has worked fine for five years or so, and when I have to replace it, it will be another pot with a thermal carafe. Maybe the Technivorm Moccamaster. Here is a link that might be useful: coffee maker
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kbuzbee
19 years ago
My wife got me a La Pavoni last year. Best coffee maker ever! It's the old lever style, not some auto-everything push the putton and walk away thing. You control the brew time, pressure, temp etc. It's fantastic. Not a store top as you'd indicated but I don't think any of those build up enough pressure to really make espresso, does yours??

Ken
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sigh
Original Author
19 years ago
I haven't been able to find a Brikka in the flesh, only the regular Bialetti pots. I have to say that the Mukka (cappuccino pot), for a stovetop machine, pushes the water through the grounds with such force that the un-tamped grounds always end up as a solid little puck. Supposedly the Brikka will do the same as a result of the Bialetti valve.

OMG, how cool is the La Pavoni?! I'm certain that no stovetop machine can come close to that.

Lynne- I found out about the Brikka on coffeegeek. I just enjoy this forum so much & wanted to stir up some coffee talk :). Plus I'd enjoy hearing what you folks have rather than solely from the coffee obsessed.

Nina (coffee obsessed but rarely has more than 1 cup a day).
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TACHE
19 years ago
I have an Estro Vapore that I got at Starbuck's about ten years ago. It makes really great espresso and it is very easy to foam the milk for either capichino or latte. Starbuck's sells it under its own label now as Barrista. Our kids had one a few years earlier and my sister has one a few years younger and they have all been super, If you have any problem at all with them you just call the starbuks repair place and they sort it out for you. I'm pretty fussy about my espresso and I love it.
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TACHE
19 years ago
Sorry, I didn't finish before I hit the submit button. I have two of those old Italian stovetop makeres where the water is expressed thru the coffee from the sided. They are very picuresque but this coffee is much better. I don't think I will ever go back to those old ones but I don't think I will ever bring myself to part with them either.
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kbuzbee
19 years ago
Sigh, you are right, the La Pavoni is, for me, the perfect coffee machine. Mine is brass and copper, the smaller one without the gauge. Just using it feels like a throw back to simpler times. (I also have a Zassenhaus grinder, blue windmill on white ceramic bowl holds the coffee and you set the grind and turn the crank).

Mornings are just wonderful. I grind up enough to fill the portafilter twice while the machine is warming up. Fill and tamp the portafilter and return it to the machine. Raising the lever allows hot water under pressure access to the coffee. lowering the handle adds pressure and forces the water down through the coffee. The more pressure you apply to the lever, the more pressure you put the water under. This is totally hands on coffee making. Not for the set it and forget it crowd.

It took a while (2 weeks) to get the grind right but now every cup is somewhere between wonderful and fantastic. The key is you control the process all the way through.

Ken
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let's talk coffee- stovetop espresso makers specifically

Comments (7)

chitownfifi

Lynne_SJO

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let's talk coffee- stovetop espresso makers specifically

Comments (7)

chitownfifi

Lynne_SJO

Related Discussions

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kbuzbee

sighOriginal Author

TACHE

TACHE

kbuzbee

COMPANY

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sigh
Original Author