Fantastic stove-top espresso or coffee maker. Brews quickly and coffee tastes great --the only way I now make a cup of coffee because the taste is superior. I like that the handle is not plastic and the 12-cup (i.e. 12-espresso cups) capacity is much more convenient. Well made from stainless steel. It is a bit more expensive than other brands, but well worth it --you definitely get what you pay for.
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The acid test of any product is how successful it is at doing what it's supposed to. This coffee maker makes very good coffee. A bonus is that it looks good doing it. Mission accomplished, right? Not quite. In no particular order, here are the "lows" from my perspective after two weeks of almost daily use:1) The brass "vent" seems to not function at all: no steam escapes from it -ever. This feature (or, rather, lack of one) produces two sub-drawbacks: (a) no visual sign that the water in the bottom reservoir has been exhausted (that is, that the brewing process is all-but-completed); and, (b) no audible signal of the same status (no whistling at all to cue you that the brewing process is underway, and no absence of whistling to cue you that your coffee is ready);
2) The lid thumb lifter gets very hot mostly, from what I can tell, because the only steam produced during the brewing process escapes through the lid -mostly in the area of the lid lifter. This, again, relates to another two drawbacks: first, since you really have no clue when the entire pot of coffee is finished brewing, the only way for one to be sure is to lift the lid. Doing that with your bare thumb can produce a scalding injury, especially if the brewing is still underway; and, the instruction sheet advises you to stir the coffee before serving -ostensibly to more evenly distribute the earlier brewed with the last brewed coffee. Fair enough. But, you still have to lift the lid which, as mentioned, is very hot by this point; and
3) Finally, the edge (or, rim) of the lid is made of thin steel which can produce a mild to potentially severe laceration if not handled carefully.
As mentioned, the Vev Vigano makes pretty darned good coffee. The bad news is that the drawbacks mentioned above would most likely deter me from buying another one.
I STAND CORRECTED. After reading and thinking about some of the replies to my original post, I decided to write to Bialetti, describing the issues. (Granted: this unit is not a Bialetti, but the principles should be the same.) Here is the response I received:
"There should be no steam coming out of the safety valve all the time. Only if there is a clog or pressure build up that could become dangerous. Make sure you take out the gasket and filter plate from under the upper unit and hold the filter plate up to the light to check for any clogs. You should be able to see through all the holes in the plate, especially right in the center where the coffee brews up. Do not tamp down the coffee, only fill loosely as it will expand. Use a courser grind of coffee if what you are using is too fine. Don't bang the coffee funnel against anything to get grounds out or it could dent or get out of round causing a problem or whistling."
Sorry for my erroneous assumptions about the function and purpose of the pressure valves reflected in my first point. The "cure" I have implemented is this: I do not prepare the coffee at the burner's highest setting, but at about 3/4 heat. Takes longer, but there is no excess pressure. The brewer works fine, now. (I have 3 other similar makers -all Bialetti brand -and will follow the same procedure with those. That stated, the rest are, I think, still valid. It would be safer if the lid lifter were coated or if the lid itself has an insulated knob, as do the Bialettis.
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We have a Bialetti Venus Stainless Steel Espresso Maker which we have used and loved for years. But it doesn't make enough espresso for more than two people really (even though it's for four cups, I guess our cups are bigger than theirs).So we wanted one that would help when we have more coffee drinkers over and we bought this one.
I have no complaints but definitely feel the coffee made by the Bialetti Venus Stainless Steel Espresso Maker tastes better. It's possible that this is just due to the size and the amount of coffee being made, not the design. I've tried, per other reviews, brewing the coffee on lower heat. And then I tried high heat. It just doesn't taste as smooth as the coffee made by my smaller pot. But it is still okay as espresso and I am not regretting the purchase, as I really did need a bigger one! (Based on other Amazon reviews I think the taste issue may be a common issue among larger stove-top espresso makers and is not brand or model specific).
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I have used a Bialetti 12cup every morning for the past 10 years until it died. I replaced every part possible and still no luck. Suffice it to say that I had mastered all the elements of a perfect cup of espresso/coffee, and now none of my fine tuning tricks worked.After months of frustration and trouble shooting, I gave up and bought this incredible pot. It did take some adjusting to get that perfect cup....1) plan on at least 3-4 practice runs with bad coffee. I was about to get worried I was never going to get the cup I longed for but hang in there... 2) unlike the Bialetti, which I always made on super high heat, you HAVE to brew this on low. It's the only way it will work.
Enjoy! I strongly, enthusiastically recommend!
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