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I agree, stainless steel definitely had the better flavour, there was also the conception of aluminium poisoning which may have contributed to it’s demise, just my 2c.
I don’t mind coffe pods thou, some actually taste quite good. Still I wouldn’t give up my current setup.
In the late '50's / early '60's my dad noticed that it didn't matter what beans you put in, the taste coming out didn't vary much. After a very heated discussion with his "fellow engineer" brother in law (my uncle) where they actually eventually agreed (think seismic shift in the universe) they blamed the aluminium. My uncle bought a Lavazza Carmencita (which is a stainless steel version of the same technology). No looking back - within a few months every one in the near "highly multi cultural neighbourhood" had Carmencitas.
I reckon there are two main coffee markets - those that really do not care what it tastes like as long as they get their caffeine hit and those who are really persnickety about flavour.
Some of the former have slowly graduated from instant to percolators or to pourover technologies (plunger, aeropress, dripolater) or even those cheap "espresso machines" and now mostly to pods. I suspect the majority have stayed with instant or use supermarket ground coffee. Keeping a moka pot clean is way beyond their convenient wants.
The flavour fanatics (think most CS's) worked out how to get better coffee from mocha pots by moving to stainless variants* or possibly via nailing various pourover technologies and then to the more upmarket espresso machines. At the same time, their beans probably shifted from supermarket to "boutique roasters". "In store coffee grinders" shifted to home / cafe grinder models. Also no looking back.
So nowadays a Bialetti has had to compete with clear winners in all markets.
Enjoy your cuppa, whichever form it takes (written whilst enjoying a Turkish from my ibrik - THAT is how you get a caffeine hit...).
TampIt
Stainless variants*: These days even Carmencitas are no longer made by Lavazza. Anyone who really wants to push that technology to its limit these days would have a Rommelsbacher (or a clone, if any exist) which is a microprocessor controlled version. Rommelsbacher's are almost as simple as making an instant coffee. It is also incredibly tolerant to different grinding textures, which makes it (almost) idiot proof. Mine are not for sale, and they have relegated a few Carmencita originals, Vev's and my "Chinese clones" (better than my other "manuals" by a wide margin - they are using 316 grade stainless) to obsolescence.
What if all CoffeeSnobs around the world purchase another moka pot each, then to company might survive a little longer.
Just a thought!
Already bought one years ago. Perhaps I should have made our daughter buy her own rather than passing on ours.
I still have an early Atomic to pass on as well.
Excellent read, Thank you. Having been brought up in an Italian family the Bialetti was always on the stove top, day and night. Having said all that, I can never go back to it. I've been totally spoilt by my Rancilio.
Thanks Coolie, interesting little article.
I am a member of a very big international forum with predominately American members.
There are a couple of permanent coffee threads and Mocha Pots, Dripolators and Pod systems are more popular than Espresso machines.
Over the last decade or so, I have sensed that the Americans are becoming more aware of the role of good bean in producing good coffee (regardless of what means is employed).
Likewise they are more aware of Espresso coffee as opposed to all the other types.
One might have thought that the long historical influence of the Italian culture would have been the key determinate of American coffee-culture but seemingly not.
I have a Mocha Pot, Plunger and a Dripolator which all get used occasionally but a Pod system will never be part of the game.
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