Bialetti "Brikka Elite Espresso Maker, Silver, 2 Cups

tl;dr if you want a good espresso shot from a stovetop maker, buy this coffee maker Let's get this out of the way: Aficionados will tell you that an espresso shot needs an espresso machine and 20bar pressure, a burr grinder set to accommodate the moisture content of the beans blah blah blah. Let's get this out of the way too: Nespresso will tell you that the purple capsule is a 9 out of 11 for intensity blah blah blah and, yeah, honestly all our single use aluminium capsules get recycled and there is no greater convenience than getting your capsules through the post and posting back the empties so that you can make an espresso by getting water in a jug from a tap, pouring it into the back of the machine, doing the capsule thing, twice a day emptying the too small hopper. Yeah, supermarket capsules. Single. Use. Plastic. If, like me, you have a small kitchen and don't want to give over any counter space to high visibility admission of your legal drug habit, the Bialetti Brikka is the ticket. I'm a serial Bialetti user. I was introduced to stovetop Bialetti style coffee 30 years ago with typically burnt, over-extracted disgusting dishwater which is what you get if you fill one of the larger Bialettis with water and coffee and leave it on the stove until you get the whoosh and steam. Took me a while to get wise to how good the potential is for stovetop coffee. My short recipe for great stovetop coffee with my previous Bialettis has been: - use a small stovetop coffee maker (in Bialetti terms I'd never go over a 4 cup model, which is really a double shot and a bit) - expect shots not a mug-full - don't leave unattended - moderate the heat so the shot flows for 10-20 seconds - don't hang on for the whoosh and steam - take it off the heat as soon as the shot is delivered and (preferable) cool the base under running cold water to stop any overextraction So now to review the Brikka itself which is a little bit different and brilliantly so. The Brikka is unique in the Bialetti range for having a pressure valve that holds back the shot until the pressure builds up. It then releases the shot in one sudden whoosh and you get a crema too. The shot seems to come out perfectly every time - no over or under extraction; lots of character from your chosen coffee. It really is nearasdammit the same shot as pulled by my nearest artisan coffee house and is a much shorter walk. Any negatives? The shot is really good for a single coffee. If you're making coffee for a bunch of friends you'll need something with a quicker turnaround. NOTE FOR INDUCTION COOKTOP OWNERS: The 2-cup Bialetti Brikka is NOT compatible with the stainless steel boiler of the 4 cup Bialetti Venus; the threads are different If you combine the two the Brikka may explode under pressure on your induction hob and you could get nasty burns. Definitely you get a mess on the ceiling to clean up. Don't ask me how I know

Nicely made and clearly different design to regular stove top pots which i have used for years, so it may be expected to do what it promises. The good news is it makes a tasty if subtly different- very smooth- brew but so far haven't managed much crema. Certainly not like my worktop espresso machine. And as it brews up on the cooker, you may be startled by a sudden gurgling gush as the pressurising valve releases. For little more than 1/2 the quantity, the trad. 6-cup pot becomes a 4-cup. Or 2 'English' demitasses perhaps. At the same time it seems to extract more for any given measure of ground coffee; the trad. espresso measure of 7g per cup may be substituted by 5g for a nicely strength drink. I am 'into coffee'. This adds to the fun.

I was a long time user of the bialetti dama 3 cup. I thought id get this one and I havent been disappointed. They both make great coffee. This one does seem to intensify the flavour of the coffee due to the higher pressure crated by the valve. Its very easy to use, just fill the water to the H2O gauge and pour into the base, grind and add (use good coffee, not supermarket stuff, I cant stress this enough) coffee then screw on top and place on cooker. I use a medium heat for best results. Let it do its thing and when its ready the valve will pop up and the coffee will pour. These things get better with more use and you should probably make 2/3 coffees with it first before drinking just to break it in and season the pot. If you have any doubts - DONT! This makes better coffee than Ive had from most machines. Buy organic fresh beans and get a grinder - you will thank yourself.

Great model this Brikka, much better than the standard ones! It’s very important to follow the instructions about how much water and coffee to put, but once done, the coffee comes out very tasty with an interesting froth on top (don’t expect coffee-shops-machines-froth as impossible to get on a stovetop machine). The froth is caused by the pressure created by gravity through the valv, that keeps the coffee trapped in the tube. That is why it’s important to put the right amount of water! A little “explosion” will indicate that coffee is ready, and froth is out in 2-3 secs. Turn off immediately after that and serve coffee right after! Enjoy

You pay a premium for this product because it has a device that is supposed to create a crema on top of your coffee. It simply doesn’t work, I have experimented with various coffees, volume and grind of coffee and amounts of hot and cold water and I get a very thin crema that dissipates immediately. Save your money and buy a standard version for half the price.

Takes a bit of practice to get right, need to use medium-fine freshly ground coffee (will take a few attempts to find the right setting on your grinder) and tepid water, not cold from the tap and a medium heat. I was making such sour horrible coffee to start due to mainly using too cold water... now though the cremá is nice and tastes rich, if you can't afford a great espresso machine like La Marzocco go for one of these... will be used every day.

Returned before using. 3 stars given because the large size was quite unexpected when it arrived. It was too big for my single morning brew and the next size down was too small. Couldn't fault the quality but unable to comment on performance.

Love my Bialetti! Bought it after finding it too difficult to make 2 cups off the smaller units. While it does advertise that it makes Crema... its not really but still enjoy it none the less!

ブシュウゥゥゥゥウ！！と結構半端ない音を発してスチームが出てくるところは迫力があり、商品としても味としてもかなり良い。 クレマが出ることが触れ込みではあるが、おそらく期待しているほどはでない。しかし家庭では十分だと思うし、商品に問題もありあませんでした。デザインも高級感があり、インテリアとしても良いと思われます。 ４年ほど使い、パッキンは１度定期交換したていど、ほぼ毎日使っていて洗浄は水のみで、一切問題なく使えている。 いうほどクレマが出ないとはかいたものの、ないわけではなく、実際他の圧力がかからないタイプのモカとは一味違う味が楽しめる。

J'avoue avoir hésité à la renvoyer... En fait il faut attendre 3 ou 4 cafés pour que la machine "se fasse". Je l'utilise sur une plaque électrique à 5 (6 étant le maximum). Pour compléter j'ai investi dans un moulin à café. Ainsi équipé le résultat n'a rien a envier au meilleur des expressos. Cette machine ravira ceux qui aiment la saveur à l'italienne. Pour vos amis qui aiment le café plus léger et dosé, la célèbre Moka reste indispensable.

Have an older model Bialetti espresso maker, which has served us well for years. Wanted to try out this new model, but I’m afraid that quality control has slipped. Brewed my first pot and went to use the flip up tab on the lid, but it fell off and the screw that held it in place ended up in my espresso.

Faz um excelente café

da questa caffettiera esce un caffe' perfetto, cremoso e corposo. Si riempe d'acqua la parte superiore in cui vi e' una tacca con scritta H2O (io la riempio fino a bordo basso del cappuccio di uscita caffe' perche' mi piace abbondare. Poi si travasa l'acqua nella parte inferiore della caffettiera . Si mette il filtro a imbuto e il caffe' fino a bordo senza pressare . Si chude e si mette a fiamma medio bassa , meglio bassa senza far uscire òa fiamma di fuori dai bordi . il caffe' esce tipo bar perche' l'acqua non esce subito come le normali caffettiere ma viene rallentata dal tappo che di peso frena l'uscita . cosi' esce un caffe' molto piu' forte e saporito come bar . la schiuma a seconda dell acqua che si mette o rimane o si diluisce nel caffe' ma in entrambi i casi il caffe' e' super saporito e forte . . la fiamma e' importante perche' se messa forte l'acqua esce prima e il caffe' e' piu' leggero. se la fiamma e' lenta l'acqua esce lentamente e il caffe' e' piu' forte e saporito . ....Voto 10 anzi meglio 11