Moka Express Review: Is This The Best Espresso Maker Ever?

We LOVE our Bialetti Mokas, but which is the best? Our Moka Express review will explain why you need more than just one Moka for different times of the day.

We have been fans of the Bialetti Moka Express lines for a long time. It is a fixture in Italian kitchens and their popularity continues to grow word wide. It probably isn’t a surprise that we like our new 1-Cup moka pot, but the question is why and why now.

As an excellent example of Art Deco design, the Moka Express has become an icon and symbol of Made in Italy and is included in the permanent collection of the Milan Triennale and the MoMA in New York.

We already own at least one of the following: a 2 cup, 3 cup, 6 cup and 9 cup Moka pot, so why did we feel the need for the smallest one cup? As they say, Stay Tuned And Find Out! We’ll try to help you understand how different settings, times of day and style of consumption dictate the need for a different size moka. 

Moka Express First Impressions And Unboxing

The box we purchased at the Bialetti store contained only the moka pot and instructions in multiple languages. I reviewed the instructions to confirm nothing has changed with how you need to prepage the moka for usage.

One note about buying a moka in the Bialetti store. We had done this not long ago, and confirmed it was a good price. It did depend on which location you were shopping at (Termini is cheaper than Largo Chigi), but we felt OK about the previous purchase. 

This one, however, seemed to be around 10€ too high, but the clerk (commessa) assured us it was the right price. After comparing prices online, I’m not sure we paid a fair price. Let’s move on to the more positive aspects of this moka. 

There were no surprises with the design, size or build quality of the moka because it was consistent with all the others we have purchased. I believe there was some type of lubricant near the gasket, which is typically used to prevent it from drying out and cracking too soon.

Moka Pot Preparation

Again, no surprises here. After rinsing the pot with hot water (No Soap!) I brewed one pot of plain water, and then three pots of coffee to “season” the pot. All 4 of the pots were discarded and the fifth pot was my first taste.

Bialetti Moka Express Features And Specifications

This model makes 1 tazzina of stovetop espresso coffee. This is not a large quantity, but it has more coffee and caffeine than a typical espresso shot made commercially. 

How Much Caffeine is in Moka Pot Coffee?

Moka Pot Size	Coffee Brewed (oz)	Caffeine Content (mg)
1-cup Moka Pot	2	80–120
3-cup Moka Pot	6	240–360
6-cup Moka Pot	12	480–720

Ease Of Maintenance

One of the hallmarks of the Bialetti Moka Express coffee makers is the ease of maintenance and usage. There is nothing disposable, like with capsule coffees, and no “hand-holding” is needed, like with a pourover coffee maker.

Cleanup is simply: disassemble all the pieces and handwash in warm water with no dishsoap. Once it is cleaned, let it air-dry and it should be ready the next morning. These are durable machines, but one piece that is supposed to wear out is the silicon gasket. Once it becomes too brittle, buy a replacement online and discard the old one. While it depends on how much coffee you drink, my gaskets seem to last between 9 and 12 months. 

Moka Performance And Coffee Quality

No surprises here. Because it is a smaller reservoir of water, the brewing time was noticeably shorter. Other than that, it was consistent with my positive experience with the other sized pots.

Moka Express Review Pros And Cons

• The Positives:
  • Even including capsule machines, I still believe that using a Moka will result in a high quality brew that can only be exceeded if you go to a proper commercial coffee shop.
  • As mentioned, the surprise was how quickly a pot brewed. You might as well just stand at the stove and wait, because it will be done in short order.
  • Classic and enduring stylish Italian design.
  • Low maintenance and low waste. These things last forever!
• Only Negative:
  • The only real negative is that you are limited to only brewing a full pot every time, which then requires that you buy different sized moka pots when you have different needs. This is the same with other Moka pots as well.

Review Results: Should You Buy One?

Here is where I wanted to explain our specific use case for buying this 1-cup moka pot. It was my experience in the US that when it was time for your daily ”cup” of coffee, it was consumed mostly in the morning, and in large quantities.

One or two large coffees every morning was my process, but after moving to Italy, I’m better understanding the culture and specifically how they drink an espresso. While there is a morning coffee, it is much smaller than a typical American coffee in both size and caffeine quantities. However, they might also enjoy one espresso shot later in the morning, after lunch, with an afternoon snack and after dinner.

Trying to emulate my adopted culture, I’ve been trying to embrace that afternoon espresso, but my daily 3-cup moka was too much. It gave me a little too much energy and messed up my sleep schedule. The 1-cup model seemed like a perfect solution for the both of us.

If having a small afternoon coffee is something you do, then I would recommend buying one as well. If your lifestyle and coffee consumption is different, there is no real benefit to this model as compared to the others.

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