The Italians Enter the Fray

The Moka Pot (worth shopping around for). Here's some history.

It seemed like the war was over after the Vietnamese fired the first shot a few posts ago, but this entry opened things back up. I was introduced to the Moka Pot several years ago, and with it Lavazza preground coffee (gasp!) packaged in bricks. Lavazza has changed things up a bit since then as far as their offerings go, but it's enough to mention that I had been devoted to the bricks in black packaging and that this is the first time I tried the blue/red brick. I don't know whether it's the new blend, or simply opening up a fresh brick (I don't use the Moka Pot nearly enough, so sometimes the preground leftovers from the brick sit around in the back of the fridge for a bit too long), but this stuff was great, incredibly smooth with a natural sweetness and a strength that will likely take care of me for the rest of the day.

As for technique, I filled the base of the Pot up to the line that's in there and filled the filter with grounds that I barely tapped down and smoothed over. The assembled Pot then went on the stove over pretty good heat, and once the coffee started filling the upper chamber I turned the heat down a bit. The Pot was removed from the stove once brewing stopped (If the coffee boils in the Pot it's not so good.). After pouring the coffee into the mug I added a little sugar--very little was necessary with the Lavazza.

Not true espresso, but very good strong coffee. For the time being, I'm leaving pulling shots to the pros. But for home use this little machine is perfect, even if it is a little bit of a pain to clean it up.

I had high expectations for Italy, and they were exceeded here. Next we'll see what the French have to offer.

Any thoughts on this design?