Found myself looking at these yesterday & feeling that i needed one in my life. 
I already have a caffettiera & coffee machine both of which make ok coffee but i am led to believe that these stove top ones take coffee to the next level.
I use a decent freshly ground coffee so am sure its not that.
So opinions please. Are they worth the £20 - £30 they cost or are they a case of the emperors new clothes?
Absolutely. Best coffee ever.
what 'coffee machine' do you use? not sure why you think a stove top would be better?
I use a bog standard Bialetti 4-5 x day, and would like a Bialetti Brikka for some crema.
What 40dd said ^^
+1 They make great coffee, and they're easy and quick to use.
Nice for long coffees and I find 'lazy Sunday' coffee by Taylor's is very good in mine. I prefer my Gaggia most of the time though.
Use the bialetti one cup here, makes nice coffee without the faff of a machine. Get a grinder and do your own beans, much better. Hmm must check out the brikka...
Great for camping.
Mine has well earned it's keep. I take a flask to work most days too, saving me stacks of money. Of course, the raging OCD of checking I have turned the gas element off at least 17 times before leaving the house, is a drawback.
(I had a plug-in one for a while that worked on the same principle of heating the bottom and forcing the water up throught the coffee, but a cut-out switch. Was safer, but not as tasty, and I eventually wrecked it)
... just don't put it in the dishwasher!
Got mine for 4 quid from Asda, generally get a good one for 10-15 quid.
Definitely worth it.
I had one of these fellas for when I was working away from home.
Just been checking out the brikka. Tempted. Anyone got one? Recommended?
Don't just plump for a Bialetti, a lot of the half price copies come out of the same factory, Whittards own being one.
Also, don't do as I did and forget to fill it full of water! I could smell the coffee, but was wondering why it was taking so long, so kept whacking up the gas until I was greeted with the smell of the rubber gasket melting...
try TK Max they usually have a few in for around a tenner
Just been checking out the brikka. Tempted. Anyone got one? Recommended?
Are the gas reducer rings worth it as i assume they help distribute the heat
I have had a brikka for a couple of years. It's okay, the coffee doesn't blow me away though. Maybe I'm doing it wrong; is there some technique involved?
Edit: I picked it up while on holiday in Sardinia, it was less than a tenner.
Apart from saying "I've got more money than sense", why would you want to fork out that sort of money when you could get exactly the same for less than half?
Already got a couple of the Moka pots, just wondering if the coffee is much better from the Brikka, special valve and all. Are there copies of the Brikka about too then?
I'm quite sure the benefits will be both noticable and far outweigh any extra expenditure rather than just being marketing claptrap.
The Bialetti Brikka Stove-top Espresso Maker has all the features of the traditional Moka Express, except for one important difference - it produces a crema! With its uniquely designed valve system, the Brikka generates higher pressure than any other stove-top espresso maker, for greater coffee extraction. Every cup of coffee has a fuller, more complex flavour and richer texture. This is the closest you'll get to true espresso from a stove-top espresso maker.
Yes to the pot and no to the gas reducer rims.
TK Maxx is your friend.
(or Amazon if you HAVE to hane a Bialette (sp?)
I’ve been using a mokka pot for quite a while and love it. There is a little knack (to do with the heat) to a good cup but it's not hard.
In the last couple of weeks I've been using a Pavoni lever machine picked up on ebay. It’s in another league of quality of coffee. It's also in another league of faff. The mokka pot is now reserved for use in the van - I now realise the stove top coffee is very nice but nothing like a good espresso. It's a slippery slope though - now find myself wondering about the grind, how old the beans are and being far too critical of the fare you get at Costa et al. Not sure my enjoyment levels are any higher - I'd imagine it’s similar to becoming a singlespeed rigid riding messiah!
FWIW the inhabitants of coffeegeek.com(and they are!) and the like seem to favour the aeropress when unshackled from their espresso machines.
I'm told by the Italians I work with that a lever operated one is the true path to good coffee. I'm not sure I could handle the faff early morning though.
does anyone else here make "Turkish" coffee using a briki/djezve?
does anyone else here make "Turkish" coffee using a briki/djezve?
I bought a 6 shot bialetti from a hardware shop in Sestriere in about 1998. Cost a few thousand Lire. dunno how much that was in english but not a lot. still going strong. Does the job. And has classic looks....
I may be a little cynical about this but I think you need to
1. buy one of the cheaper versions
2. find it doesn't make coffee any better than your existing collection of coffee makers
3. buy the genuine bialetti version with the special valve
4. find it is no better than the cheaper version
5. wonder why your coffee still just tastes like coffee....
I like coffee but can't believe how some people turn it into some flippin ritual where making it is more important than drinking it. The last coffee maker I bought was an aerobie aeropress and I think it is brilliant not because it makes coffee so much better than a cafetiere but because it is so quick and easy to use and clean ready to use again. The coffee it makes is good though, by my standards anyhow.
Whilst the coffee-ists are all in one place...
I got a bean grinder and roasted beans for xmas, can I buy unroasted beans and do them myself or is this best left to people who know what they're doing?
I like the idea of roasting/grinding my own if possible.
Now that is the next level Ivan.
Found a little coffee shop in Norwich last summer called Mustard (outside was painted in Colmans Mustard Yellow) and they served the best coffee i have ever had. They put it down to roasting their own beans so they are always as fresh as they can be.
Can you roast beans in a normal oven?
Just google Home Coffee Roasting. There are some enthusiasts out there who will go to extreme lengths.
Few hundred for a roaster, and you can buy green beans.
Alternatively, you can normally find a small coffee specialist who will roast to your specifications.
I've just retrieved the brikka from the cupboard, googled some instructions and had a go. My initial underwhelmed feeling about it hasn't changed. It's okay.
It did have some crema on it, but this dissipated after a few seconds - before I could get it from pot to cup. I may need to fiddle with different grinds to get the best from it, but honestly can't be arsed. It'll do for camping, domestic coffee duties are still the reserve of my gaggia.
I've just had a look at how expensive they are - I'm flabbergasted, £35! Definitely not worth the cash. If you like the coffee produced by moka pots, stick to the cheap jobbies.
pfft, go new skool and get an Aeropress instead
Cafetiere much better tasting imo
Moka pots make bitter coffee in my opinion ive tried slow heat fast heat medium heat different beans the whole lot - perhaps my taste buds just work different !
This little beauty goes with me on my two wheeled adventures
www.vimeo.com/26021302
Oh and konabunny
I had coffee made in one of those by a man with a blow torch on the street in dubai - was lovely !
Why does this thread appear after I got a Bialetti for Christmas? Ah well I didn't pay for it so I'll cope, I can also deal with the coffee from it rather than from a Gaggia - I'm no snob and it's easier to clean/maintain!
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