One of the best artifacts I found among the Italian architecture was the Bialetti espresso maker, or moka pot.The one at the villa we stayed at was old and well seasoned, and made the best espresso ever. So when I got home, I ordered one for myself. They are cheap and easy to use, and although you don't get the coveted crema, as you do from an automatic espresso machine, it's yummy. Or yum-o, if you prefer.
So when Crate and Barrel e-mailed me offering a Bialetti cappuccino maker, on sale, of all things, I jumped. Like the espresso pot, you just put the prescribed amount of water in the base, add fine-ground espresso to the middle section and screw on the top. In the top pot, you add some milk -- milk only, the directions say, and believe me, they are right because you do NOT want to use half & half -- and press a button if you want foam or leave the button up if you want latte.
Sounds simple, right? No.
You're supposed to make and throw away the first three pots of coffee, so I figured that would be the time to make sure I knew how the thing worked.
For the first pot, I didn't get the top screwed on right, so hot coffee went all over my stove. I believe it is still burned on to the surface of at least one burner. Second pot, too much water. Third pot, too much milk.
Plus, getting the top pot off again is not that easy, and cleaning the thing is a bitch. So far, I've had exactly four cappuccinos from it, and it's been here for six weeks. I'm going to keep practicing, though.
Anyone else have one? Any tips?
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