Moka Pot | Stainless Steel VS Aluminum

[texh]

hello
so im thinking of buying a moka pot from china where stainless steel version and alumnium have almost same price..
now i need to know which to buy, which is better?
i heard about the health risks in aluminium but if we dont count health issues which one is better?
which type has better taste?
which type is more durable?

i saw people saying aluminum one shine disappears and blackish patches form everywhere.. is that true?

and does it make better coffee than frenchpress?(need to make cafe lattes)

pelase reply

thanks!

[Obnic]

Moka Pot | Stainless Steel VS Aluminum

Stainless will look better longer. Bialetta, the Italian manufacturer has been using aluminium for many year and it's worked fine. Stainless looks more attractive and works with induction. Personally, I doubt Chinese versions will be as good. It's little things that I'd be unsure about trusting, for example the height of the valve vs the size of the basket in Italian versions is designed for a specific brew ratio. They're not expensive. Buy from the manufacturers that have earned their place in the coffee canon.

[texh]

Stainless will look better longer. Bialetta, the Italian manufacturer has been using aluminium for many year and it's worked fine. Stainless looks more attractive and works with induction. Personally, I doubt Chinese versions will be as good. It's little things that I'd be unsure about trusting, for example the height of the valve vs the size of the basket in Italian versions is designed for a specific brew ratio. They're not expensive. Buy from the manufacturers that have earned their place in the coffee canon.

thanks for the reply mate
for me alumnium one looks much better.. but if you talk about taste profile.. which one makes better tastier coffee? SS or Alu?
and does all alu moka pots get blackish patches over time? anyway to prevent it?

[Obnic]

Moka Pot | Stainless Steel VS Aluminum

thanks for the reply mate
for me alumnium one looks much better.. but if you talk about taste profile.. which one makes better tastier coffee? SS or Alu?
and does all alu moka pots get blackish patches over time? anyway to prevent it?

I suspect the blackish spots are from people putting the pot into the dishwasher. Aluminum will degrade. you can get some beautiful enameled ones that look great and have a more durable finish.

Many Italians believe an aluminum pot should only be rinsed with warm water. Over time it acquires a layer of oils in both the base and the pot. I suspect this practice is about seasoning the pot to seal the aluminum. I have to say I find it quite counter-intuitive but since I have an induction hob it's not an issue of me.

Moka pots make a richer coffee that is closer to espresso than French press. It's a pressurized extraction (about 11 bar) rather than an immersion brew. I'd say it would be better for lattes. Italians tend to have them at home for breakfast coffee which is often taken with milk.

They are sufficiently different that I think it's worth having both in your coffee repertoire.

Do you know how to make a Moka pot coffee?

[Obnic]

Just found this resource. It may help you choose:

http://mokacoffeepots.com/category/moka_pot_reviews

The Cuisinox Liberta looks beautiful. Think I'll get one.

[texh]

yes i know how to use moka, have seem many videos and instructions on it.. the reason im asking are pretty much presale questions.. so when i get it i know its good for me..
and my extra concern towards it is because i dont neccesary need a espresso grade coffee but a strong coffee that i put milk in for lattes it should give me rich colour as it gives with espresso machines when we do latte art

so moka pots does give strong colour after adding milk? or any way to make colour more rich so latte art is v.distintive and look alike of some what espresso latte?

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

texh, a moka pot will not produce coffee with the same strength and viscosity as an espresso machine (i.e. you will not be producing a strong, gloopy 60ml coffee). You can certainly add steamed/frothed/plain milk and call it a latte, but the drink will still be quite different to an espresso-based latte. As the moka pot doesn't generate the same amount/form of crema, you are unlikely to find the latte art potential very satisfying. But.....you can make very nice coffees (including milk based coffees) with a Moka pot. I realise that you are convinced that you alread know how to use a moka pot based on viewing videos, but please prepare yourself for the possibility that there'll be a bit of a 'learning curve' as you adapt to your machine and your stovetop (and even your local water).

Cheers

[fg1972]

I don't use a Moka very often but when I do, I personally much prefer a stainless steel one over the aluminium for the following reasons,
* Easier to clean
* Doesn't stain or smell
* If not dried properly, a funky gunk may build up from the moisture and is difficult to remove completely
* I don't like the taste when new and not really a fan of the seasoned flavour that becomes
* I prefer the clean taste of the coffee without any other influences
Hope this help.

[Andy]

+1 for stainless.

I own plenty of both types and the stainless ones still look like the day they were built, the alloy ones (I suspect a mixture of random metals on some) do deteriorate over time.

[trentski]

What are the health issues with aluminium?

[artman]

What are the health issues with aluminium?

I have used aluminium cooking utensils all my life. I am sure I read about the associated health issues but can't remember what they were....

:-)

Cheers

[sprezzatura]

I have used aluminium cooking utensils all my life. I am sure I read about the associated health issues but can't remember what they were....

:-)

Cheers

I have too and ... what were we talking about anyway?

[speleomike]

Hi

There are quiet a few threads on this site which cover SS vs. Al. I have SS and Al Moka pots and prefer the Al ones as the SS ones taste "flatter". I do not have a definitive answer as to why. It might be the better thermal conductivity of Al or oils embedded in the surface porosity or some other reason.

As to heath effects - don't worry. Al is used in cooking a lot as the surface is always comprised of Al2O3 (aluminium oxide) as Al is so highly reactive it forms an oxide under air or water within microseconds. The oxide is not removed in cooking as you need a very high pH (strong alkaline) to remove it (like boiling in KOH of a few molar concentration).

Appearance wise - I just give my Moka pots a normal household wash like the plates. If you use gas the bottom might get discolored a bit. That just gives it character. You definitely want your dinner guests to see that its "used" :-)

Mike

[Rolley]

+ 1 for stainless steel from me.. I love the steel ones, MUCH more.

A note on Speleomike's comment, thermal conductivity, yes the Al will be much more conductive but a side effect of that is sometimes you get it too hot too quick if you're not careful. Sorry, maybe that's just me and the people I've seen who own an Al one.. The water then quickly rushes up insanely hot, and the coffee tastes awful. It's probably a personal preference thing, but I like my stainless steel one, heated up slowly, and watching the coffee gently start coming out at the top, slowly.. I drop the heat even as I smell it coming before I can see it. I found that was harder to do with an Al one that got so hot so fast.

I agree with the comments there about safety of eating with Al - the so called health effects are marketing-related, pseudo-evidence, or facts out-of-context. You'd be fine eating or drinking from Al. And yep I can confirm that a dishwasher is really bad for Al products that I own, they started getting pitted after a couple of years of dishwasher time. Although I haven't seen the pitting on a moka pot, just other Al cooking utensils. Actually I wonder then, did any of your pots and pans pit when washed for a couple of years in the dishwasher Sprezzatura? I suppose there are probably many different Al alloys used, might change factors huh.

R!

[Dimal]

Al definitely doesn't enjoy strong alkalis so maybe that has something to do with it...
Dishwasher cleaners may be quite strong...

Mal.