Jonathon Keats
Gear

The Iconic 80-Year-Old Italian Coffee Pot That Keeps on Brewing

In the early 1930s, Italian metalworker Alfonso Bialetti designed what has proven to be his country's all-time favorite stovetop coffee brewer.

Bialetti Moka Express | $25 AND UP Gregory Reid

“Better than an espresso at the café,” boasted this 1957 ad. COURTESY OF BIALETTI

The café was the hub of Italian social life a hundred years ago. But if you wanted an espresso at home like the one a 250-pound café machine produced, you were fuori di fortuna. Then, in the early 1930s, Italian metalworker Alfonso Bialetti found a solution: a three-tiered coffeepot system comprising a stove-top boiler on the bottom, a filtered funnel for grounds in the middle, and a receptacle to collect the hot brew on top. Aside from a few refinements—like design tweaks to the handle and top knob—the Bialetti has scarcely changed since. Today, nine out of 10 Italian households own a Moka. Equally important, it has spawned countless café debates on how to brew the best espresso in this simple device. Not surprisingly, 10 out of 10 Italians disagree.