Bialetti 6799 Moka Express 3-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker

Recently picked up a 3 cup Bialetti Moka Express while on holiday and couldn't wait to get it home and broken in. I've tried stove-top Italian coffee makers before, and this model has not disappointed.

Sturdy and well made, this unit only has about five parts, all of them metal or heavy-duty plastic so very little can go wrong. This should last ages if properly cared for.

Just remember to keep it simple; fresh, cold water in the lower chamber (stopping *before* you get to the brass outlet valve) and fill the grounds basket with an espresso grind coffee (good excuse to buy more coffee) without packing it too tightly. Place on your stovetop ring and don't go anywhere. Wait a few minutes, and you have an excellent espresso to start the day or to add to steamed milk after dinner. I can't wait to have some with a cigar this weekend. I've been trying some Cafe Bustello the last few mornings and it's been great. Yeah, I know it's canned, but so are most of the coffees in Italy and Latin America.

The only problem I can foresee is needing a larger one for company, but unless you need gallons of espresso each morning, this is great for two to share.

I bought this espresso maker while in Rome in 2004. It works great. Poe Boy is correct aluminum does not rust; it corrodes so he has E. McNair on a technicality. E. Mcnair is correct that the bottom of the coffee make will corrode and leave a white oxide inside. The solution is in proper care (I learned the hard way). Wash the coffee maker by hand, towel dry. Store unassembled. Water gets trapped in the filter and will drip into the base over time and start the corrosion. I have started doing this and the white oxide has not reappeared. So, take proper care of it.Bon Appetite

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Unless you are ready to be ruined for any other coffee, and the three cup size will not be big enough! Decades of my life wasted. I've discovered real coffee so late in life, my only lament about buying this espresso pot is the tears shed over all those mornings I *could* have had REAL coffee...

Easy to use, a little time consuming to clean, handsome enough to leave out as a decoration. Unscrew the bottom, fill the bottom half with cold water, fill the little filter cup with fine ground coffee (note that "espresso" is a grind, not a roast), screw it back together, and put it on the stove top. In five minutes or less, you have the most incredible coffee ever. With the internal parts, it is not hard to clean, but time consuming, especially given the time it takes to cool off enough to take apart (the other reason to get a bigger one, the little one is too slow to reload).

The styling is a little retro, but handsome enough to lend a kitchen a quirky flair. Oh, but that's trivia next to the coffee that comes out of it.

I've been using a couple of Tchibo coffees in it with super results, and look forward to trying other fine grinds in it.

Don't do it, don't get this monkey on your back, don't ruin yourself for all those lesser coffee makers, and don't touch my espresso pot (we need alone time).

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This is a beautifully designed device, but the marketing people misdescribe it. They say the "3 cup" Moka makes three 2-ounce "cups" of coffee. It fact it makes very precisely two 2-ounce "cups," not three.

When you fill the water chamber to the top (just below the coffee chamber) it holds exactly six ounces of water. But the water stops coming out as coffee when the water level in the chamber drops below the funnel mouth. This is when the machine "burbles" as people say. Then you have two ounces of water still in the water chamber, and four ounces of (quite good) coffee in the coffee chamber. That is all the coffee you will get in one brew. Two 2-ounce "cups," not three.

The engineers designed a very precise two "cup" model. But then marketing said "Hey, this takes six ounces of water! Let's tell people it makes that much coffee!" It does not.

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I researched a lot of different options before buying the Bialetti Moka 3 cup, considering the single serving pod brewers and $2000 espresso makers. I'm glad I went with this $20 option. I really, really love the coffee it makes. While its not quite a true espresso, it's not far off either I even get a wee bit of crema. And I'll take this "espresso" over most of the espresso you'll find in all but the very best coffee houses here in the States. For two weeks now, I've been enjoying consistently tasty, robust coffee, very flavorful coffee. (I use Lavazza's pre-ground espresso with it. I think I prefer it to Illy, and it's cheaper.) It tastes nearly as good as what I've enjoyed in Italy. The 3 cup makes about 1.6 espresso sized cups worth.

It's easy to use. Just make sure that you screw the top on tight; don't pack the grounds, just lump them; if you're on an electric stove go with something just north of medium heat (say 6-7); and just rinse it with water to wash. Oh, and after a bit of research, I dismissed any health concerns about using the aluminum voiced by other posters. Enjoy.