BialettiNew Venus Induction, Stovetop Coffee Maker, Suitable for all Types of Hobs, Stainless Steel, 6 Cups (7.9 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.

I’m a big fan of Bialetti, and this espresso maker did not disappoint. I love starting my day with a latte, and this size is just right—it brews the perfect amount for an 8oz cup with milk. Super easy to use, quick to clean, and the coffee flavor is rich and smooth every time. If you enjoy a single morning latte, this is the perfect size and quality you need!

Works perfectly with our induction cooktop and potable cooktop for camping. Great quality coffee, great quality device. Easy to clean.

My spouse loves the way this looks. It's just for me as she doesn't drink coffee. There is a learning curve to using it. Some videos prepared me in that regard. I just wish I didn't feel compelled to keep it so clean. Filling the basket is not too hard with the right size or shape of spoon/measure. On an induction range (GE Profile 3 yrs. old) using the smallest "hob" with the unit seated within the inner ring there is no problem with heating on medium high. There's plenty of room to spare within the ring. It's really fast. This makes just enough for a decently strong single cup of coffee. Adjust the amount of coffee to taste. After brewing one must cool down the base under running water. Detach the base from the top being careful not to use the handle to twist it off so the handle doesn't break. Clear the basket of the grinds which I do over a trash can since our building discourages dumping grinds into the sink. Wipe out the basket. Get the rubber ring off the metal filter. (You Tube showed me that the tip of a teaspoon works well to pop the ring out.) Rinse off all parts (no soap). Towel dry and then leave disassembled to air dry. Whew. Now, if I wanted a second cup out of this size Moka, I'd have to repeat all of that and the cleaning process discourages it. I've now used both the Illy coffee and Starbucks Pike Place Roast (Medium Fine Grind). I think the coffee is good, but I am not a coffee aficionado. So I wonder if all that work on the Moka is worth it. But, on a quiet morning with time to spare, it's a nice ritual and my wife says that if I give up using it she'll put it on a kitchen shelf as a designer item. The stainless steel does look awesome once you dry it off entirely and put it back together. If you are not intent on an espresso type brew, I would opt for the larger size but with our space limitations and lack of consumption this filled the bill at a great price.