Bialetti Venus Induction 'R' Stovetop Coffee Maker (4 Cup), Silver [Energy Class A+]

This is a extremely well made and designed product. Yes, the handle is a little plastic and unergonomic, but come on, it's not like it's main function.I love great coffee, and most of the purchased coffee's let me down in comparison to what I can make from my bialetti.The coffee flavour is amazing!The reason I think a few people struggle is technique. There are so many conflicting views on how to use this device. And indeed it did take me a month or two of experimentation to get it perfect.The biggest factor is the size of the grind. In my opinion it should be a little coarse. Too fine, and you get a harsh taste. The coffee grains should be coarse enough to not maintain a heap, but have a BBC tendency to fall over each over and flatten naturally when poured into the filter. I slightly overfill the first too.In terms of cost and durability, this product is surely unrivalled also. For months on, and my bialetti still looks like new. It feels very solid, and people have said the aluminium ones lasted for decades, so I'm hopeful. I'm told there is a rubber filter that needs replacing every few years.The coffee machines have a tendency to break after a few years and have a huge initial outlay also.Lastly, I manually grind my coffee beans with the Hario grinder. It's also about twenty pounds. The glass container had a tendency to chip, so I think the wooden ones may have higher durability. It's nevertheless, an excellent grinder.

Well made.. An improvement over the aluminium moka pot.Purchased this because I wasn't impressed with the aluminium moka pot I received form amazon.. Boiling chamber corroded after first use, logo on bottom was half missing etc..Decided on this. Works wonderfully.. Easy to clean.. Easy to brew.. Definately an improvement on quality over the aluminium without the health risks too.Use it on a ceramic hob. Got the 4 cup and bug enough for 2 faux lattes or dry cappuccinos with a milk frother.I fill with hot water.. Place the base on a tea towel first so you can wrap it around to grip when tightening the top half on as it gets very hot very fast this way.Also usibg Rave pre ground for moka pots.. Tastes beautiful and as good as my espresso machine.

I've read with surprise that people are having problems with the Bialetti Venus on their induction hob as it's too small?I have a smeg hob which has rings of various sizes.I use the Venus on the small ring and when I first used it I was worried about melting the bottom of the handle, so I put it so it's at the edge, but still fully on the heat with the handle hanging over the unheated/cool part of the hob.It works perfectly and I'm sure I'm not doing it the most efficient way, but it works for me and so I keep doing it that way.I have an Italian client who made me my first home espresso on our first metting from his 2 cup Bialleti Mocha.On his advise, I've only washed it and wiped it with a cloth and after only 2 weeks of irregular use, it began to season nicely with the coffee coming out richer and smoother.He did tell me that I'd have to use it fairly regularly otherwise the 'seasoning' will turn bitter, so I brew a pot 3+ times a weekIf I'm short on sleep, I put the Bialetti on the hob in the morning and continue getting ready. 4 mins or so later it's coming to a finish and I tip it into a small thermos with a couple spoons of sugar.I take the thermos to work and ask for cups of hot milk (latte without the coffee), go back to my desk and tip in a single or double espresso. Delicious Illy at my desk while everyine else drinks the bitter coffee franchise crap that smells like ashtrays.My absolute favourite it to heat a pan of skimmed milk (sugar in the milk, not the coffee) and in the time it take to come to heat the Bialleti is finishing brewing. I let the milk cook some more and when it does it thickens and becomes much richer in texture (guess the sugar does some of thiat).Add the coffee and it's Latte heaven.

I purchased the 4 cup version of this mocca pot after upgrading my hob to induction. My purchase was based on the fact that there seems to be a very limited choice of small hob-top mocca pots that work on induction and even then was concerned that some people seem to have trouble getting them to work.I can say that the 4 cup works fine on my induction hob even though it's base is smaller than the recommended minimum size for my hob, which is a cheap Lamona hob as supplied by Holden with the kitchen. I love my coffee and it makes an acceptable mocca (psudo espresso), provided you don't leave the room. As soon as it starts to gurgle you have to switch off - if you don't, the coffee will immediately start to boil and you get that horrible 'cooked coffee' smell. Unfortunately it never seems to be able to steem the last cm of water in the base, which means you only get two generous portions out of it. If you need coffee for 4 people- buy the 6 cup version.If I didn't have an induction hob, I would never look beyond the classic aluminium style pots, which are cheap and easy to get hold of.It should also be noted that the handle is there to pick the pot up: It should not be used as a lever to twist the two sections apart as it is liable to break if misused. I have been using my pot two-to-three times a week for nearly two years without incident.