Bialetti - New Venus Induction, Stovetop Coffee Maker, Suitable for all Types of Hobs, Stainless Steel, 10 Cups (15.5 Oz), Silver

a year or so ago i tried getting into moka pot and used what everyone thinks of as the default moka pot coffee, which is cafe bustelo. i didn't have a good time, even the 100% arabica version is nasty and super bitter. at the time i thought the problem was moka pot and i wrote it off back then. cafe cubano uses a lot of sugar and sweetened condensed milk to make it drinkable. this is just my own opinion that probably makes me sound like a coffee snob but if you have to do all of that to make coffee palatable then it isn't good unless you absolutely love drinking that style of coffee specifically. good coffee should be drinkable black as a baseline in my opinion and anything you add to it can make it better, but if it's undrinkable while black then the coffee is bad or you're doing something very wrong with its preparation. with all this said, if you get a moka pot and get cafe bustelo and you hate it, the coffee is the problem, not the moka pot, and you'll get out of it what you put in it.this time around i finally have a proper grinder and am using my own whole bean specialty coffee that i like drinking as filter coffee and it comes out great in a moka pot. as many others have said it's not a substitute for espresso but it is somewhere between that and filter coffee or something like french press. to me it tastes like french press but like 50% stronger than i can get from actual french press. i've been using a 1zpresso ZP6 special which i got for pour over and it works well. you don't have to spend this much, you can get cheap affordable grinders like the cheaper kingrinder models and they'll also work well.anyways onto the title of the review, there are a bunch of reviews saying the filter is cheap and collapses. read the manual and use it as instructed, not as you see random people on youtube telling you how to use it or how their italian grandma always used it. "Insert the funnel and fill it with ground coffee (do not tamp). Remove any coffee grounds on the edge of the funnel." this is from the manual. it's left a little vague but i see people online using the aluminum moka express and instructing other by putting a heaping mound of coffee in the basket and then flattening it with the back of a spoon (this is tamping) or screwing the top onto the heaping mound (this is functionally the same as tamping. tamping is forced compression). i don't know why people do this, if they want it to be stronger or they're trying to increase pressure to make it more like espresso. look on youtube or anywhere on the internet for how to use a moka pot and you will quickly come across a lot of people saying to use it like that. however the filter for the moka express is built different, it does seem to be durable enough to handle that but it's still going against the manufacturers instructions. i've tried it with 3 different coffees now and haven't seen any signs yet of it collapsing like it has in negative reviews on here.if you're using whole beans, you can fill the basket level with beans for an easy volumetric measurement, grind them, and then fill the basket with those. the basket will be overfilled because coffee grounds are fluffy but you can tamp that in if you want. any beans that fit level in the basket prior to grinding can fit in the basket after grinding and won't collapse the filter. i 3d printed a dosing funnel (you can also make one easily out of the top of a soda bottle if you cut it right), i WDT, and then i just tap it to settle it with the basket either in the base without water or sitting in an empty shot glass which also makes for a good basket holder as long as the tapered underside of the basket is supported and it's not tapping directly on the bottom of the spout part that goes down into the tank, then i level it off with the flat back side of a butter knife held at an angle to gently compress it level until it all sit in the basket level.if you're using pre ground coffee, fill the basket loosely with a spoon, tap the side or tap it down in the base or something like a shot glass if you want to settle it, and then level it off by scraping the extra off the top with something like the back side of a knife or credit card or anything like this. if you have a mound of coffee, scrape it off level before putting it together to brew. this is how it was designed to be used and you will never collapse the filter using it like this. if you want to brew with a mound of coffee tamped into the basket, get an aluminum moka express because those ones can handle this misuse.

First off, I did extensive research on this and other moka pots before my purchase. It is frustrating to see so many off-the-cuff questions from people who clearly didn't do their homework regarding this amazing product. Following are my thoughts.1. The inside of the lower boiler appears to be sandblasted to aid in a more rapid boil. It is NOT coated with any other material; ie Teflon, nor is it carcinogenic. It is bare stainless metal. Holy heck, people — let it go. Comments like this are very damaging regarding the perception of this company’s product.2. Be very careful when washing and drying the inside lip of the lower boiler. It has a very sharp edge that easily cut my finger. I’m going to take some 1500-grit sandpaper and carefully knock this edge off so it doesn’t happen again.3. The inner gasket and screen are very secure. The overall fit and finish (and YES it is made in China) are top notch. I’m very impressed with the quality. The design is very appealing and the unit is compact; it will be a constant companion on my counter.4. The valve is solid - no issues. Some people have complained about a whistling noise; i can state that if you follow the instructions you will not have a problem. The valve itself is manufactured in Italy.5. Contrary to what many are saying about initial use, i did wash the individual parts in very hot soapy dishwater and rinsed carefully before i used it for the first time. To be blunt — not following through on this step is just plain gross. You have no idea what this unit went through during the manufacturing process, or how many people handled it and under what conditions. Wash the damn thing in soapy water before you use it. After that, it requires minimal maintenance.6. I have a package of premium Lavazza Crema e Gusto on order. For now i used Peet’s Big Bang® whole bean coffee ground fine in my spice grinder. The taste was a bit sour but that’s the fault of the beans, not the pot. A VERY strong full mug of espresso. I’m glad i purchased the 6 cup for this purpose. One mug is all i need to get started with my morning.7. This unit blows my French press away. I tired of having to wait for water to boil and then steep for four minutes before i could have a cup using the French press. The Bialetti Venus is so quick. It’s a game changer. I most likely will not be using my wife’s Keurig either.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND A GREAT PRICE. Read the instruction sheet before use.UPDATE - December 15, 2022: After using this every day and carefully reviewing YouTube techniques for getting the most out of this pot, I determined that the first "sour" cup of coffee i referenced above was the result of a too coarse grind and brewing it too quickly, so the extraction process could not get the full, smooth body out of the grind. (From what i recall, the actual brew time was a little over one minute.) If your cup is sour, ensure you have fresh, quality beans ground finely for use in a Moka. The percolation "sweet spot" time for this brewer is between 2 and 3 minutes once the coffee enters the top chamber. I have a Maytag gas range with a small burner at the back right of the unit. This burner is PERFECT for this use because you can dial it down to an absolute minimum for the optimal brew time. (See photo.)If your beans are ground more finely, the brew time will take a bit longer because the steam extraction is forced through a more dense grind. DO NOT TAMP THE COFFEE OR RUSH THE BREW PROCESS. 2-3 minutes actual brew time once the coffee starts percolating out of the top chamber port is key. Espresso grind may be too fine for this pot. It should be a bit more coarse but still finely ground. Experiment and take notes on the settings for your particular grinder.Finally, watch the gush of steam and froth at the end of the brew time — if it is too aggressive you risk turning the coffee bitter. Both Peet's® Big Bang whole bean and Lavazza Crema e Gusto (espresso grind) work wonderfully in this unit. In fact, I was surprised that the Peet's gives Lavazza a run for its money, price-wise. Simply a wonderful cup of coffee to look forward to every morning!1/16/23 UPDATE: I am posting this to help others with finding replacement gaskets for their Bialetti Venus 6-cup moka pot. I wanted to plan ahead and have a couple gaskets on hand when my gasket eventually fails. After researching, i selected this product which, as stated in their description, is a genuine Bialetti replacement — although the gaskets are made of RUBBER, not silicone as was supplied in my original Venus moka pot.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KG8FT2?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k0_1_27&amp=&crid=37RHY9D1CB4VZ&sprefix=bialetti%2B6%2Bcup%2Bvenus%2Bgasket&th=1After testing, I must report it was nothing short of a disaster. The rubber replacement gaskets (you get three in the pack) are not to spec and fit much tighter than the original silicone one - being about a millimeter in diameter smaller, and noticeably thicker. As a result, the coffee, when brewed, spurted out in a thick tar-like sludge and there was a hissing noise in the boiler that had never happened before. The brewed cup was bitter and unusable — i drank only half and poured the rest out. I can only deduce that due to the much tighter gasket tolerances, the extraction process was too hot, even at the lowest gas setting on my small burner. I tried to remove the rubber gasket and found it was so tight i had to cut it out in sections using an x-acto knife. The gasket on inspection was stained and deformed after only one use. The average life, I’m told is only five months, on average.This is why the original silicone is far superior.On a side note the replacement filter screen that comes with the gaskets is a cheap aluminum facsimile of the original stainless steel one. AVOID THIS REPLACEMENT PRODUCT. It states it is made in Italy but looks Chinese. You will be disappointed.Lastly, after contacting Bialetti’s American office in New Jersey regarding these issues and my request to secure an original silicone replacement gasket, i never got a response back, after two followups. Really frustrated by their lack of response.So, where can i find an alternative gasket replacement?After extensive reviews, i found a YouTube video regarding this product made by LitOrange (China.) They are silicone and are exactly the same dimensional specs. For all i know, they supplied the original gasket for the Venus, since the pot is also manufactured in China.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VM8QBK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1They are arriving today and I will be reviewing this week. I hope this helps others in securing a quality replacement gasket for their Venus brewer.

I was debating between the classic Moka aluminum version versus the stainless steel. I’m glad I picked this one. I find stainless steel easier to clean and doesn’t add any of putting flavor to the coffee which the aluminum version can.. few basic rules . I add barely boiling water to the base right under the valve. Coffee ground fine same for espresso machine 30 g exactly. You can tamper slightly, but don’t press. The silicone gasket requires a bit more pressure to ensure that there’s no steam escaping. Being around unlike the aluminum version you have to be careful getting a good grip to ensure tight seal, especially once hot water is added. The 6 cup version yield an average size mug worth of strong espresso coffee.

You might think they could never improve on the original, but you'd be wrong. Bialetti did it. If you know how to use it (I recommend James Hoffman's YouTube video on the subject) then this will make the best coffee you've ever had. We use it to make Americano style. The new tube design is less prone to sputtering, and the heavy bottom vessel is easier to control the temperature just below boiling. I do wish they had made the gasket the same size as the old design because I have a pack of extras, but no biggie. It's also a little hard to grip the bottom without having the flat sides. Love the fact that this is 100% stainless steel, so no leaching aluminum into my coffee. Oh yeah, and the first pour doesn't drip down the spout now, comes out perfectly into the cup where before it would tend to drip a bit. Worth every penny.