[Closed] Tell me about stove top coffee pots please

Bought a Bialatti on holiday this summer when I accidentally broke the glass on our cafetiere while camping. I like the coffee from it so much that I now use it back home in preference to our Gaggia.

Takes a little bit of trial and error to decide how much coffee/how firmly packed down, but once you've got it how you like it, it's a great bit of kit.

Planning on buying a single cup version to take wild camping over winter.

You only need a cheap one, I think we paid about £10 for ours and it works fine and makes nice coffee. We got ours from Robert Dyas.

Almost any of them - they mostly use the same filter screen and rubber seals. Don't wash it when you use it - just rinse it out. Do a couple of brews in it first to 'season' the metal, then just rinse.

I lived in Italy for 2 years - most all Italian households use these several times a day. Almost none of them are a 'big brand'.

Any old one will do.

If you like shoyte coffee. 🙂

I'm going to totally disagree with jon above just to muddy the water! I have a bialatti which I love but bought my father a cheapy £10 one (reduced to £5) from Robert Dyas as an extra xmas pressie last year. It's absolute pants in comparison to mine. With mine you can turn the heat right down as the coffee rises but if you do that with cheapy one it just does not come through - I have to keep the heat on high to get it working. And it just feels thin and low rent to use.

One other thought - work out how much coffee you want at a time - you can't do half quantities so a big one is not always best.

Bialletti dama, I've had dozens of em, and that's the best one

Any old one will do.

If you [s]like shoyte coffee[/s] are a complete biff you may as well knacker a cheap one.

Still shite. Passable enough shite. But if that's good enough for you, then go for it.

I pop mine on a low light while I have a shower in the morning and that is normally enough time for it to brew. Don't pack it down too firm and leave it on a low heat to brew.

deadly, you've just used the wrong coffee/water/heat/tampon/stove/candle

deadly, you've just used the wrong coffee/water/heat/tampon/stove/candle

That's a much nicer way of calling me a "complete biff". Cheers iDave. Did the repo men come for the Pink Ferrari? I was hiding all week in Manchester from them.

Don't boil the water in it, that's basically it. You can get mega strong coffee if you turn it super down or even off as it starts to rise.

Paid the repo men off with a Rapha espresso machine and a beige Maserati. You're safe to return to Brizzle, Ferrari keys are in my mung bean jar.

I have to agree with too tall, I've lived in Spain a lot and have to say that they also use cheap ones.
There is another issue; there are murmurings about Alzheimer's being related to aluminium cooking utensils so if you want to avoid that then get a more expensive stainless steel one.

flamejob - Member

I have to agree with too tall, I've lived in Spain a lot and have to say that they also use cheap ones.
There is another issue; there are murmurings about Alzheimer's being related to aluminium cooking utensils so if you want to avoid that then get a more expensive stainless steel one.

Alzheimer's is also thought to be held at bay by drinking six cups of coffee a day so if you get an aluminium one use it a lot.

I use one from ikea, coffee from it is fine. clearly i don't have deadly's delicate tastes

i find the coffee from moka pots terribly bitter - no matter what brand/type of coffee i try - yet the same coffee in a caffetiere is nectar !

I've got a cheap aluminium moka pot and love the strong coffee it produces (currently using Percol Black & Beyond ground coffee). Would recommend a 3 cup version as this produces just enough for a large single serving double espresso (1 cup would be too little and 6 cup would be way too much).

I'm currently looking at getting the Bialetti Brikka as its supposed to produce a good crema.

you've got to fill the middle bit with ground coffee, or the water just pushes the 'grounds' out of the way, and all you get is water in the top.

but don't pack it in tight* - there's a knack that only you can teach yourself.

(*the coffee expands a bit, and if it's already tightly packed, the expanding coffee forms a seal, and the pressure-vent lets all the steam out, and you're left with a tiny dribble of coffee in the top)

i find the coffee from moka pots terribly bitter - no matter what brand/type of coffee i try - yet the same coffee in a caffetiere is nectar !

That's because you are burning your coffee - too much heat. Turn the heat right down as the coffee starts to rise and make sure it does not boil in the top pot. Hence my comment above about using a decent quality one where you can use minimum heat to dribble the coffee up so its nice and strong yet not burnt or boiled.

so they are supposed to take longer than 10 minutes to make coffee .....

ill be sticking to my press then ! - ive got a bialatti and even with my stove on the minimum setting its not to my taste.

maybe fine if you have a gas stove but i have a glass top electric hob

Glass top electric here also - done in circa 4mins I guess (for a 2 shot job).

High heat to get it going then when the coffee starts to rise turn the heat right down for the last 45secs then get it off the heat completely as soon as it makes that familiar frothing noise as the water runs out.

so they are supposed to take longer than 10 minutes to make coffee .....

I don't find it takes as long as 10 minutes, and I'm normally pottering around doing stuff in the kitchen in the morning anyway. I find that the little ritual of cleaning out the previous 'makings', filling the lower pot, adding the coffee and carefully bedding it down, setting the flame on the cooker and balancing the pot on the ring is like my own little 'tea ceremony' - and adds to the pleasure of drinking a rich, smooth mug of coffee.

I drink significantly less coffee that I use to when I used a cafetiere - often just one mug in the morning now, but I find I enjoy it far more than when I necked down endless cups of coffee almost without thinking.

I have to agree with too tall, I've lived in Spain a lot and have to say that they also use cheap ones.
There is another issue; there are murmurings about Alzheimer's being related to aluminium cooking utensils so if you want to avoid that then get a more expensive stainless steel one.

I thought they changed their mind about this?

I use one from ikea, coffee from it is fine. clearly i don't have deadly's delicate tastes

LOLz.

there's a knack that only you can teach yourself

Last time this came up I went on about how it was a fine art to get the coffee how you wanted it, and I got flamed to a crisp. Flamed so much in fact that I received too much heat and became bitter.

Fine art. Yes. That's it.

Hence my comment above about using a decent quality one where you can use minimum heat to dribble the coffee up so its nice and strong yet not burnt or boiled.

Hmmm, interesting. I've got a cheapy one that came in a coffee gift box one Christmas and I always have to set a fairly big flame (gas hob) to get it to do anything, but I do get very variable coffee from it: sometimes burnt, sometimes lovely, sometimes rocket fuel.

Might look at getting a "proper" one.

trail_rat - Member

i find the coffee from moka pots terribly bitter - no matter what brand/type of coffee i try - yet the same coffee in a caffetiere is nectar !

I am not saying this applies to you Trail Rat but it is a common complaint. A stove top is designed to make an 'Espresso' shot but I know a lot of people who make a full cup of coffee in them like they would in a caffetiere (they usually buy a 6 cup machine because the 2 cup ones are too small). The results can be variable to be polite when you do this. If you want an Americano style coffee make the espresson in the stove top and top it up in the cup with boiling water this will make a very consistent coffee.

Yours for around £260 Gee...

[img] [/img]

Almost worth it for the shiny gorgeousness of it - but I really don't take my coffee [i]that[/i] seriously TBH.

I drink Douwe Egberts instant most days - the stove pot is reserved for lazy Sundays.

I drink Douwe Egberts instant most days

Get thee self off this thread then. 😉