Alfonso Bialetti is an inventor who lived between 1888-1970 as an engineer and earned his living by dealing with the engineering profession.
The Italian coffee machine, which Italians do not miss and cannot give up today, went down in history as the inventor of the Moka Express.
The Bialetti firm was founded by Alfonso in 1919.
Alfonso Bialetti with Luigi de Ponti invented the moka tool in 1933.
In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti, the owner of the Bialetti brand, invented the Moka Pot Express model. After that year, this brand would be known by everyone. Bialetti Moka pot is a brand well-known by coffee lovers with its octagonal bottom chamber, teapot part, and body made of cast aluminum.
So why the moka pot came out when there were monstrous steam engines out there?
The year is 1933. The pains of the First World War are still fresh. Empires have collapsed, nation-states have been established, and almost every country has a dictator. People are crushed by misery, the world is slowly boiling and preparing for the Second World War.
Since Italy suffered its share of the misery of the period, people do not have money in their pockets, and they cannot go and sit in cafes with friends and have coffee while chatting. Espresso can not be made at home because it needs pressure. Italians, obsessed with olive oil, wine, and coffee, are deprived of all three.
These are the times when intelligent people shine.
Here's a coffee-drinking engineer named Alfonso Bialetti in those days, thinking, pondering, and finding an easier way to make coffee with pressure. He designs a tiny gadget, he calls it the moka pot. Since coffee goes to Italy mostly from Yemen, the name of the device comes from the city of Yemen, which Europeans call Mocha.
Signor Alfonso's design fills such a gap in the market that the whole of Italy is starting to fight this device. At a time when everyone was starving, Alfonso deservedly earned the money and created the Bialetti brand, which continues today.
Then the Second World War begins and the war economy also benefits Alfonso. The man is lucky. Moka pots, which spread all over Europe in military bags, are starting to create their own markets in Russia, Argentina, and Finland. So much so that the Spaniards try to embrace the design by calling it a cafeteria.
Continuing on their way with invaders, captives, and loot, moka pots spread all over the world in a short time, from the USA to Japan. After the war, Moka pot manufacturers emerged in many countries, different societies started to use moka pots while preparing their traditional coffees.
So, what is this moka pot and what does it do?
The Moka pot is such a simple device, and it's its simplicity that makes it so valuable. It does not deteriorate easily and does not need service or maintenance. It's small and fits anywhere. It can be stored in a corner of the kitchen or office, as well as carried in a bag, car, or anywhere. Its parts are also simple, consisting of two chambers made of die-cast aluminum and three parts with a coffee chamber in between.
Alfonso Bialetti (17 June 1888– 4 March 1970) was an Italian engineer who became famous for the invention of the Moka Express coffeemaker. Designed in 1933, the coffee pot has been a style icon since the 1950s. While many variations of the Moka have been developed, including the Bialetti cow-printed Mukka Express (which makes cappuccino), the Moka Express is a time-honored classic. Bialetti was also the founder of Bialetti Industries, the now giant Italian kitchenware company.
Its use is as simple as itself. Water is filled into the lower chamber and coffee is filled into the chamber in between. When the water that is heated below starts to boil, it also exerts pressure on the coffee at the top, and the coffee and water combine, passing through the tiny pipe in between and filling the top coffee chamber. This is everything.
Moka pots are also easy to clean. When you're done, you just use water without using detergent, and it's done. Of course, as in all traditional products, there are various beliefs and understandings of the use of moka pots. For example, some Italians never wash the upper chamber. The oil of continuously brewed coffee forms a layer in the upper chamber after a while, and thanks to this layer, which thickens over time, everyone's moka pot has its own unique aroma.
This logic is also found in cowboy coffee in America. They can't wash the teapots in which they make cowboy coffee, so there is a mainstay of this business.
What coffees can be prepared with a moka pot?
The job of the moka pot is to make espresso. However, espresso machines use 9 bar pressure, while the moka pot can create 3 bar pressure. For this reason, the consistency of the coffee you will make with the moka pot will be slightly lighter than the machine. However, you can capture the closest taste to espresso with this device. Even for those who do not like the intense taste of espresso, the lightness of moka pot coffee is a big advantage.
Espresso, ristretto, americano, macchiato… You can make all espresso-based coffees wherever you want, I think this is the best part of the moka pot. In fact, cafe cubano, which Cubans love, can also be made with a moka pot.
Post Alfonso
Renato Bialetti, who took over the company in 1946, spread the tool both in Italy and around the world with his marketing tactics.
Renato Bialetti printed his own caricature on de mocha tools.
Most Moka models still feature the cartoon "little man with a Mustache" inspired by Renato Bialetti.
Millions of moka tools, one of the most well-known Italian design products, have been sold worldwide to date.
The Bialetti company was sold by Renato Bialetti to the Faema group in 1986 and was acquired by the Rondine Italia company in 1993.
When Alfonso's son, Renato Bialetti, died in February 2016, his ashes were placed in a coffee utensil.