From Italy to the World: The Cultural Legacy of the Moka Pot
Sixty million Italians can't be wrong, right? Well, maybe. Don't dissect that question too much. However, most people would trust an Italian opinion when it comes to food and coffee. The more I think about this, you can add art, fashion, sports cars and defensive football to that list. And for legal reasons, I'll stop right there.
I've started out on this stereotype tightrope because I want to talk about a coffee brewer that adorns the shelves of nearly every kitchen in Italy. And countless others worldwide. The Moka Pot. A stovetop coffee brewer that is instantly recognisable and a truly iconic symbol of coffee culture. But how much do you know about this famous brewer?
Read on to find out more.
What is a Moka Pot?
The Moka Pot, also known as a Moka Express, is a stovetop coffee brewer consisting of three parts. A bottom chamber for the water. A removable middle cup for ground coffee featuring a funnel on the bottom. And a chamber on the top where the brewed coffee appears. The Moka pot uses steam pressure to force hot water up the middle funnel, through the bed of coffee and up into the top chamber for the brewed coffee. This makes it a percolation brewer, as opposed to an immersion brewer (if you're not sure what that means, click here).
The Moka pot is arguably the most iconic and instantly recognisable coffee brewer out there. A 2010 study by Bialetti concluded that 90% of Italian households own a stovetop coffee brewer. Although the number has dropped to around 75% of households in recent studies, thanks in part to the emergence of coffee capsules, it remains an incredibly high percentage. But what are the origins of the Moka pot?
What is the History of the Moka Pot?
The Bialetti Moka pot first appeared on Italian shelves in 1933, thanks mainly, but not exclusively to Alfonso Bialetti (more on him later). Like many things in history, there is seldom just one name to be mentioned. In reality, the Moka pot is what it is today thanks to the following three people.
Luigi di Ponti
Luigi di Ponti was an Italian engineer and designer credited with creating the original concept for the patent of what would become the Moka pot we know today. Very little is known about him or his connection to Alfonso Bialetti; however, they likely knew each other professionally. In 1933, Alfonso filed patent No. 345615, with Luigi di Ponti credited as the inventor. It featured the now-familiar three-chamber system, which uses steam pressure to force water up through the bed of coffee. Whatever their connection, that same year, Bialetti began production of the coffee brewer.
Alfonso Bialetti
Alfonso Bialetti was born in 1888 in Omegna, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Having initially trained as an engineer, he spent the early part of his career in France working in the aluminium industry, which, at the time, was still relatively new and cutting-edge. He returned to Italy in 1919, where he established his own workshop, Alfonso Bialetti & Co. When he encountered di Ponti's design, his intimate knowledge of aluminium combined with his mechanical ingenuity meant he was perfectly placed to seize upon this novel idea.
He immediately put the Moka pot into production, creating the iconic Art Deco octagonal design. By the end of 1933, the first Bialetti Moka pots were beginning to appear in the weekly markets of the Piedmont region. Reactions to it were good, and business was steady. However, with World War II on Europe's doorstep, the price of both coffee and aluminium rose considerably, effectively putting a stop to production. Although it was a very popular regional brewer in Piedmont, shifting around 70,000 units by 1940, it hadn't gained a national following, let alone an international one. It wouldn't be until after the war that Alfonso's son, Renato, would come on board before business would really take off.
Renato Bialetti
Renato Bialetti was born in 1923 and grew up learning about the family business and the craft of aluminium manufacturing. He was 16 years old at the outbreak of World War II and 18 when Italy entered the war in 1940. This means he would have been subject to mandatory conscription during the war years. Very little is known about Renato's personal wartime experience other than that he was captured by German forces in 1943 after Germany invaded Italy following the fall of the fascistic Mussolini regime. He remained a German POW until the war ended in 1945.
Upon his return to Italy, he took over the family business and made two pivotal decisions. Firstly, he decided that the Bialetti company would produce only one thing: the Moka pot. Secondly, he would invest heavily in advertising and marketing. It turns out that Renato was something of a visionary brand builder.
In 1953, to distinguish it from imitations, he helped create the brand's now-famous logo: "Omino con i baffi" (the little man with the moustache) - a caricature apparently based on Renato himself. He launched innovative advertising campaigns in print, radio, and cinema, including the company's beloved cartoons on "Carosello", a 10-minute advertising show which aired from 1950 to 1977. At the time, Italian laws required commercials to be entertaining rather than straightforward sales pitches. As a result, "Carosello" became one of the most popular TV shows, helping to create an entire generation of Italians who grew a fondness for the Moka pot.
Renato made the Moka pot not just a common household item but a symbol of Italian identity and modernity. When he passed away in 2016, his family honoured his memory by placing his ashes in a large model of a Moka pot before being interned in the family tomb in Omegna.
These three men gave the world the Moka pot. Luigi di Ponti created it, Alfonso brought it to life, and Renato gave it a soul.
Why Did the Moka Pot Become So Popular?
When the Bialetti Moka pot first appeared in 1933, espresso was already a staple of Italian daily life. However, machines at the time were large, cumbersome steam-powered devices only found in espresso bars. Home stovetop brewers did exist, with the Neapolitan flip coffee pot being a very popular choice; however, this was more of a pour-over filter brewer. Without the power of steam, it was unable to brew the intense coffee that Italians had grown fond of from their favourite local bar. The Moka pot promised to deliver cafe-style coffee at home when it was launched. With the approaching war, it was a good time for people to stay home, and having this new brewer there helped keep them happy.
Weirdly, the popularity of the Moka pot is connected to the proximity of World War II. Even though the war halted its production, it was perfectly positioned when Italy began rebuilding afterwards. The Moka pot fit the moment: it was affordable, durable, and matched the postwar ideal of modern domestic life. In addition, Italy, like many nations (certainly including Ireland), has a long history of emigration of its people and their culture. Before the war, many left to join the already large diaspora in North America; afterwards, they moved across Europe and as far and wide as Australia and Argentina, to name just a few. Where they went, their love for coffee went too, and the Moka pot was right there with them to remind them of home.
Another undeniable factor that contributed to its popularity was its excellent design. The Moka pots were, and still are, incredibly hardy. Many people inherited Moka pots from their parents or grandparents. Their longevity reinforced the brand's reputation and ingrained its position in the national psyche of Italians, wherever they were in the world.
What Kind of Coffee Does the Moka Pot Brew?
The Moka pot does not brew espresso. Let's just get that out of the way now. However, you'll often hear people refer to it as espresso-style coffee, and Bialetti certainly leaned into that description at first. And when the Moka pot was first released in the 1930's, they weren't wrong. Espresso at the time wasn't as we know it today.
As mentioned earlier, the machines in the 1930s were hefty steam-operated contraptions. They had big boilers that would create steam to force water through a bed of coffee quickly. Sounds close to what we know today, but they only produced around 1.5 to 2 bars of pressure. So, the coffee would have been a much coarser grind to allow the water to flow through more easily. Essentially, they were very fast filter brewers. The emphasis was on speed, and the name espresso originated as a play on the word "express," referring to its rapid preparation.
The Moka pot produces approximately 1 to 1.5 bars of pressure, depending on the grind size, heat, and fill level. This means the coffee it was brewing was very close to what was available in cafes at the time. Modern espresso machines emerged in the 1950s (also in Italy), thanks to Gaggia. These machines could reach up to 9 bars of pressure, and using a much finer grind size, they could create a golden creme and the espresso we know and love today (you can read about the history of espresso here).
So, if you hear someone say a Moka pot is a stovetop espresso maker, they're not a million miles off the mark. About 100 years off, yes, but we can forgive that. If you're not sure, the coffee you can expect from a Moka pot is a strong, full-bodied brew. It is not, however, an espresso. And that's fine. Espresso isn't the pinnacle of coffee; it's just a type of coffee.
Tips for Brewing the Perfect Moka Pot
For all of its global stature, iconic design, it's durability and popularity, the Moka can be perceived as a difficult brewer to make great coffee on. And this is wildly unfair. Like all brewers, they are best suited to certain types of roast levels (find out how to choose the best brewer for you here). And like all brewers, there are tips and tricks on how to get the best out of yours. Here are ours for the Moka pot.
Heat
The biggest challenge when brewing great coffee with a Moka pot is controlling heat. The more heat a brewer produces, the greater the chances of over-extraction, leading to a bitter coffee. Here are some tips to help.
- Start by filling the bottom chamber with freshly boiled water. Be sure to use a towel when screwing it in place, as it will be hot. This will speed up the brewing process and reduce the time the coffee is exposed to heat.
- Use medium heat on your stovetop. If you have an electric stovetop, be sure to preheat it before placing your pot on it.
- Keep your eyes, ears and the lid open when brewing. A watched pot actually works better in this case.
- Lower the heat on your stovetop once you see liquid coffee begin to pour.
- Avoid the angry hot sputtering. If this starts to happen, things have gotten too hot. Remove it from the heat straight away. If it's still doing it, you can pour cold water onto the bottom chamber to cool it down. Just be aware of the hot coffee in the top chamber!
You want to generate enough heat for the steam to steadily push the water through the bed of coffee. The speed at which the coffee first appears to flow is the speed you want to maintain. Managing the heat during the brewing process will result in a much better-extracted coffee.
Coffee type
The Moka pot is best suited to medium to dark roast coffees. However, light roast coffee can work really well, too. However, it's worth remembering that the lighter a coffee bean is roasted, the denser it is and the harder it is to extract. For this reason, when using a light roast coffee, use a finer grind compared to medium or dark roasts.
Grind Size
The best catch-all grind size for a Moka pot is a medium-fine size, similar to coarse sand, if you need a mental picture. This will work well for both medium and darker roasts. The size you can expect in any ground FiXX blend you see on a shelf is a medium grind. This will work best with a dark roast such as FiXX Cubano. The darker a coffee bean is roasted, the more porous it becomes, making it easier to extract (and also easier to over-extract). That's why you can use a coarser grind with a darker roast.
If you don't own a grinder, you can request we grind to your liking when ordering at fixxcoffee.com. Just leave us a note at checkout. You can learn more about grind size here and why it's crucial.
Ratio
Generally speaking, the ratio of water to coffee in a Moka pot is 10:1. For a standard 3-cup Moka pot, if you fill the bottom chamber with water to the pressure release value, you will get around 300ml of water. If you then grind 30g of coffee, it should fill the middle funnel perfectly.
Puck Prep
Once you've filled your centre funnel with coffee, tap it gently on a countertop to level it out. You don't want one side of the cup filled with more coffee than the other. Water will always follow the path of least resistance. Therefore, if one side has less coffee, more water will flow through it, leading to an uneven extraction. If you've got a needle distribution tool, they will work really well here, too. But if you own a needle distribution tool, you're already far enough down the coffee prep rabbit hole that you don't need any tips from me!
However, if you own an AeroPress, their filter papers make a great addition to a Moka pot. For any Moka pot size of 3 cups and upwards, you can place an AeroPress filter paper on the bottom filter plate of the top chamber. A little splash of water will hold it in place before you start to screw it on. This helps boost filtration and adds a wonderful little clarity to the mouthfeel.
Cleaning
Do not put it in the dishwasher. Ever! If you've ever done it, as I have, you'll know not to do it a second time. Due to the detergents and alkaline environment inside the dishwasher, the aluminium of the Moka pot will be darkened and dulled, and your pot will look like crap. The best option is to simply rinse and wipe it clean with warm water (once it has cooled). For cleaning tips for all your coffee brewers, check out this blog.
But, do clean it, for FiXX sake. You might hear people say that the brown layer around their brewer is seasoning from past coffees. Feel free to remind them that it's not a frying pan and that layer is just old, dirty coffee stains.
In Conclusion
Since the very first Moka Express appeared in a weekend market in Piedmont, Bialetti has sold over 300 million pots. You could take almost anyone from the streets, blindfold them, give them a Moka pot, and at the very least, they would be able to tell you it has something to do with coffee. So iconic is the design and functionality of the Moka pot that it can be found in museums around the world, including MoMA (New York), the Science Museum (London), and the Triennale Design Museum (Milan), to name a few.
Sales of the Moka pot have declined steadily over the past few decades as trends and tastes of how we brew change and evolve. And even though I seldom use mine these days, I wouldn't give it up in a million years. Partly because it would probably still work in a million years, but mainly because it makes me feel connected to coffee culture itself. Few things in my kitchen can command such respect. Whatever the future holds for the Moka pot, there is no doubt its history is cemented.
But don't take my word for it; I'm not Italian.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin
