bialetti safety valve quotation

The devil is in the details. It is often the smallest things, the particularities, that make all the difference. This is also the case in regards to the preparation of a good coffee, a ritual in which all the steps and every single component play a fundamental role. Among all, one of the most important elements is the Moka valve. Often ignored, it is vital not only for the quality of the coffee, but also for the safety of those who prepare it.

The valve was born with the invention of the Moka Express in 1933. It is a safety valve positioned on the bottom chamber. To better understand the importance of the valve and its use, we need to take a step back and illustrate step by step

This is where the valve of the Moka comes into play. It must open when the pressure is too high. By doing so, it allows the steam to escape regularly, without causing any damage. In short, the Moka’s safety valve provides security. Hence, it should only intervene when the coffee maker is used under abnormal operating conditions.

A long-standing and debated question: how far can you fill the bottom chamber for a state-of-the-art coffee? The Moka valve can come in handy to answer this dilemma. Another important role of the valve is that it acts as a "measuring cup". Its position on the bottom chamber is not accidental. Rather, it indicates to those who prepare the coffee the correct amount of water to use. The only exception is for some special coffee pots that are already equipped with a measuring cup. Ideally the water should reach just below the safety valve.

The Moka valve, therefore, is not a decoration or a mere design element. Rather, it is a very important component for the correct functioning of the coffee maker. It guarantees safety and plays a part in the making of an excellent coffee.

Consequently, it is necessary to keep it clean and maintain it regularly. For example, using tap water to make coffee brings with it the risk of limescale deposits obstructing the hole in the valve. The resulting danger is that it could get clogged.

We have seen that one can simply use hot water to clean the Moka valve. To avoid limescale obstructions, simply move the piston that comes out of the valve along its axis when washing it. To ensure the Moka functions correctly, it is recommended to repeat this checkup periodically.

The Moka Express Italia is a new icon of Italian design from Bialetti (the world"s number 1 with over 200 million machines sold). The classic Moka Express is the most popular household coffee maker for an excellent cup of Italian "caffè".

It guarantees the highest quality paired with absolute safety. More Italians use Bialetti than any other brand to prepare their coffee on the stovetop.

The moka pot is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was invented by Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 and quickly became one of the staples of Italian culture.Bialetti Industries continues to produce the same model under the trade name "Moka Express".

The boiler (marked A in the diagram) is filled with water almost up to the safety release valve (some models have an etched water level sign) and the funnel-shaped metal filter (B) is inserted. Italians generally do not preheat the water used, though established baristas such as James Hoffmann and Tristan Stephenson recommend using preheated water in the base.

A gasket ensures a tightly closed unit and allows for pressure to safely build up in the lower section, where a safety valve provides a necessary release in case this pressure should get too high.

Moka pots require periodic replacement of the rubber seal and the filters, and a check that the safety release valve is not blocked. When the rubber seal is new, it might alter the coffee taste, so a couple of "dry runs" can be made, without coffee or with used coffee grounds to "prime" it. It is an urban myth that leaving coffee stains in a moka pot is preferable – the rancid coffee should be scrubbed out of all parts of the pot. Moka pots are generally not dishwasher safe.

The moka pot comes in various sizes based on the number of 50 ml (2 imp fl oz; 2 US fl oz) espresso cups they produce. The following table are the standard sizes for the Bialetti Moka Express.

A few companies have introduced variations to the Moka pot design. One such design has incorporated a weighted valve called Cremator or Cremavent as a pressure regulator on top of the nozzle that allows pressure to build up inside the water tank in a manner similar to a pressure cooker. As pressure builds up more quickly in this method (since there is much less leakage of vapour) compared to the standard moka pot, it reaches the level required for water to rise through the ground coffee in a shorter time. The result is coffee brewed at a higher pressure and temperature than the standard pot, making it more similar to espresso and therefore with more visible crema.

The Bialetti Brikka Stovetop Coffee Maker is an aluminum Moka Pot that utilizes an innovative "Brikka-System" system to consistently deliver delicious, rich stovetop coffee with a wonderful aroma. Bialetti’s patented dual safety valve ensures perfect froth every time by regulating the pressure of water flowing through grounds for a richer-tasting coffee.

In 1933, Italian inventor Luigi De Ponti created a patent for Alfonso Bialetti. Bialetti is a household name in Italy to this day and the company still uses the same basic design from 1933. The Moka pot is humble, sturdy, and reliable. They are easy to use, require minimal cleanup, and they are very low-maintenance.

If you’ve had your stovetop coffee maker for a long time (they can really last decades if well cared for), check the wear on the safety valve on the side of the lower chamber. For safety reasons, this screw should be tightened and not too worn. Remember, these coffee makers use pressurized steam, so a worn safety valve could be dangerous.

The Bialetti Moka Stove Top Coffee Maker is a tried and true favorite since 1933. This classic, Italian-made Moka pot (or macchinetta del caffè, as it’s called in Italy) is a dependable little coffee-making gadget. It’s known for making a fine cup of coffee.

This machine is a 6-cup stovetop espresso maker, which, to be clear, is 9.2 ounces of strong coffee if used to capacity. Bialetti makes a range of coffee pots that brew anywhere from 1 to 12 cups. This Bialetti is made from high-quality aluminum and has a patented safety valve.

If you want a stainless steel Moka pot that doesn’t break the bank, the BialettiKitty is a top pick. This coffee pot is made with high-quality stainless steel, making it both attractive and sturdy. This Bialetti is elegant and sleek compared to the octagon-shaped Moka pots.

Bialetti is a company that invented moka pots. However, today many other brands offer Italian stove top coffee makers for 2 or even 3 times lower price. Is there any real difference between them except the famous ‘little man with the mustache’ logo, which Bialetti proudly put on its models? (Spoiler: yes)

I decided to compare stainless steel versions, since my new kitchen is equipped with a induction stove (classic aluminium moka pots like Moka Express or Brikka can’t work with it). I choose a Bialetti Venus by Bialetti (‘Made in India according to Bialetti’s quality standarts’ was written on the box) and a similar moka pot by some unknown brand from China (almost 3 times cheaper). Both are for 4 cups, which equals to 160ml. Here they are:

So let’s investigate the differences between cheap Chinese moka pot made of steel vs original Bialetti Venus.I will not describe the unboxing process (though Bialetti packaging was better) and focus on the materials, construction, coffee taste and temperature:

Both coffee makers are made of stainless steel. However the thickness of the metal is different, Chinese one definetly has more slim edges (hereinafter on photos the Bialetti is on left while the Chinese one is on right):

The fact that Bialetti uses a lot more metal while producing their stove top espresso makers is also proven by the weight. According to my kitchen scale it’s 544 grams (19.2 ounces) in the case of Bialetti vs 330 grams (11.6 ounces) in the case of its counterpart. Both measurements are made without boxes:

❕ The main thing, that dissapointed me was the weirdly coated bottom section in Chinese moka pot. While the Bialetti has a equaly shiny polished steel both outside and inside, the bottom chamber of the second coffee maker has a layer of some strange material:

My last observation is about emergency valve that is located one the side of the bottom chamber and that is used to lower the pressure if the funnel would be clogged. They are different:

The Bialetti inspection valve is a patented valve, which has been designed to guarantee the use of the coffee maker in complete safety. Using the coffee maker with drinking water entails the risk of formation of lime scale in the hole of the safety valve, causing the clogging of the valve itself and the malfunctioning of the product.

With the Bialetti inspection valve, it is very simple to avoid clogging arising from lime scale: just move the small piston coming out of the valve along its axis when washing the coffee maker.

As I mentioned above the fact that Chinese has thinner metal body affects the brewing proccess. Bialetti’s upper chamber stays cools longer, while all parts of Chinese coffee maker becomes hot very soon. That means that temperature of extraction is higher on Chinese one. It’s generally condidered to be bad for the coffee taste (because it may become bitter), however it’s better for lovers of hot coffee.

Here are photos of coffee temperature measurement in Bialetti Venus and in ATWFS moka pot just after brewing on gas cooker (photos kindly provided by my reader kroleg-m):

The Bialetti Brikka is a modern alternative to the Bialetti Moka Express, the famed coffee maker. Moka Express has been popular in Italy and around the world for generations. With the addition of a pressure valve, Bialetti Brikka promises to yield the expected rich, espresso-like coffee AND a frothy layer of crema.

We dug deep into how this stovetop espresso maker works, the quality of coffee, its longevity, and its value for money. Read this Bialetti Brikka review to determine if it’s worth adding to your coffee arsenal.

The Bialetti Moka Express is an iconic symbol of Italian coffee making (1). First devised in 1933 and named for the historical coffee center of Mocha, Yemen, the simple but effective design has changed very little in the nearly 100 years since (2). Moka pots are far away from Italy’s most famous at-home brewing method, and the Bialetti company produces some of the top stovetop espresso makers.

So why mess with a good thing? Is the new Bialetti Brikka an improvement on the original Moka Express? Or has the company set out to solve a problem that never really existed? That’s what we decided to find out in this Bialetti Brikka review.

Using a Moka pot is not as simple as using a drip coffee machine; it’s more hands-on. You can’t just set a timer and have your coffee waiting when you wake up in the morning. But using the Bialetti Brikka is on par with any other manual method of making coffee, like a French press or pour-over dripper – and far easier than a real espresso machine.

First, fill the bottom chamber with water to below the level of the pressure release valve. This safety valve ensures that the excess water pressure vents as harmless steam if you overfill your Moka pot. The alternative would be an exploding coffee maker!

Finally, screw on the upper chamber and set it on a heat source, like an electric or gas stove. The Bialetti Brikka won’t work as sold if you have an induction cooktop. However, Bialetti does sell an induction adaptor for this purpose. Just make sure you make room for it in the budget.

The brewing capacity distinguishes the Bialetti Brikka from a standard stovetop espresso maker, so we will take our time and go in-depth in this section.

The Brikka includes a pressure valve system that ensures it will produce a foamy layer of crema on your excellent cup of coffee, something resembling a proper espresso. The valve system is designed to stay closed until a certain pressure level builds up, and excellent coffee then bursts through the valve, creating a rich and frothy brew. This is the same concept used in pressurized filter baskets for espresso machines.

The original Bialetti Brikka worked on the same principle but had a different valve design. Many reviewers declared this system flawed, and Bialetti agreed because they completely reworked the valve in 2020. So if you’ve been reading older reviews of the Brikka, take them with a grain of salt.

The new model is much better from a design standpoint, and it’s simpler, cleaner, and cheaper to manufacture. But it still suffers from an inherent flaw in the concept: it is challenging to create great-tasting coffee and a foamy crema using a stovetop espresso maker. It takes about 1 to 1.5 bars of pressure to open the valve in the Brikka. As pressure builds up behind the valve, some of the waiting coffee is inevitably becoming over-extracted.

That doesn’t mean no one should buy a Bialetti Brikka. As always, coffee is a personal taste, and it just depends on what you enjoy. For one thing, it delivers on its promise of a frothier coffee. Though not as long-lasting as the better crema you’ll find on a proper shot of espresso pulled at 9 bars of pressure, if you enjoy the texture and mouthfeel of a foamy coffee experience, the Brikka will not disappoint (3).

Given that Bialetti was originally an aluminum manufacturer and not a coffee company, it should be no surprise that the Brikka is very well made. Combine that with its simple and functional design with very few parts, and you can expect many years of loyal service from a Moka pot.

Brikka’s silicone valve is another point of failure compared with the Moka Express, but this has yet to be a problem in the years since its introduction.

The Bialetti Brikka has a few aesthetic differences from the Moka Express. It lacks the classic octagonal base, replaced by the round bottom. But don’t worry, this impacts only the appearance, not the function. The Brikka keeps the iconic Bialetti logo, the instantly recognizable mustachioed man (5).

Stovetop espresso makers have an unfounded reputation of being difficult to clean. An experienced coffee lover would argue that they are easier to clean than a French press and certainly easier than an espresso machine. They take a few seconds longer than making coffee with methods that use a paper filter because you can’t just lift the filter out of the machine and toss it. With the Bialetti Brikka, you’ll have to knock the wet finely ground coffee out of the filter basket into a knock box or the compost before cleaning. That’s it, and a knock is the only extra step. So don’t let fear of clean-up dissuade you from this great style of a brewer!

The Bialetti Brikka does require a bit more care than the Moka Express because of the added valve. Every few weeks, it’s worth taking the two valve pieces apart to give them a quick clean and make sure no coffee grounds stuck in the silicone.

When it was first released, the Bialetti Brikka was significantly more expensive than the Moka Express, and many falsely believe this continues to be the case. In fact, with the less expensive valve design, the price of the Brikka has come down. At this point, a Bialetti Brikka 2-cup is almost the same price as a 3-cup Moka Express. So if you want extra froth in your coffee or want to make milky drinks, there is no reason the price should dissuade you.

You don’t need foam atop your coffee:If the airy foam promised by the Brikka holds no appeal, you can save some cash by opting for a classic stovetop espresso maker. Check out our Bialetti Moka Express review to stick with the Bialetti brand. For a classy-looking alternative in larger sizes, read the Cuisinox Roma stovetop espresso maker review.

This Bialetti Brikka review promised to tell you if the Brikka was better than the Moka Express. The verdict is no; it’s not inherently better. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t the better choice for some coffee lovers.

Mills, T. (2022, January 7). The Bialetti Moka Express: The History of Italy’s Iconic Coffee Maker, and How to Use It the Right Way. Retrieved from https://www.openculture.com/2022/01/the-bialetti-moka-express.html

The well-known Bialetti espresso maker in a new design. The one from "Brikka" is an aluminum coffee pot with a unique system invented by the manufacturer Biialetti, which allows you to make your favorite coffee in a wonderful consistency easily and quickly. With a special valve, it produces an espresso-like crema, which makes it our favorite of the Bialetti espresso makers.

The Brikka retains the cult factor through the unmistakable classic shape of the Bialetti Moka Express, made in Italy in 1933, and since 2020 its new sweeping design effortlessly adapts to any modern kitchen.

Put the ground coffee beans into the filter, pour the water into the lower container up to the bottom of the safety valve and close all the elements together.