Why We Love the Bialetti Moka Pot

If you’re fussy about cleaning or have an induction cooktop, get a stainless steel moka pot like the Ilsa Turbo Express (Bialetti and Alessi also make stainless steel moka pots, but we haven’t tested them, and the Ilsa is the one we saw most frequently sold by specialty coffee purveyors such as Espresso Zone and Seattle Coffee Gear). Like the Moka Express, the Ilsa Turbo Express is made in Italy (the Alessi Moka is made in Vietnam; the Grosche Milano, in China). It has a flip-up lid like the Alessi, and it’s more curvaceous in shape than the other three pots. It’s also the only model we tested that comes with a fine, circular sieve to allow you to make a half pot of coffee. Stainless steel is stronger and more durable than aluminum, it’s an excellent conductor of heat, and (because it’s magnetic) it can work on an induction cooktop. However, stainless steel is heavier and more costly to produce. And, says Leporati, “It will take longer for the water to boil and for the coffee to rise,” a result that we confirmed in our testing. In my kitchen, the Ilsa took almost 10 minutes to make a pot of coffee, compared with just 8.5 minutes with the Alessi, 9 minutes with the Bialetti, and 9.5 minutes with the Grosche.