Bialetti Brikka

A moka pot with a weighted pressure valve on the spout. Holds back the brew until pressure builds, so it comes out with a genuine foam cap - closer to espresso than any other stovetop.

Roast	Grind	Coffee	Water	Time
light	fine-medium	3.5 g	42 ml	4:40
medium	fine-medium	3.5 g	42 ml	4:30
dark	fine-medium	3.5 g	42 ml	4:10

Per 50 ml cup. Makes 4 at a time.

What goes wrong

Under-dosing the basket (pressure never builds, thin with no foam), a dirty or gummed weighted valve (releases early or not at all), high heat to force the release (violent eruption, scorched and bitter), pouring slowly and losing the foam

Care schedule

1 task for this machine.

Replace the gasket and filter plate

Yearly

The rubber gasket is what lets pressure build in the lower chamber. A hardened one leaks steam at the seam, the pot takes forever, and the coffee comes out weak. The perforated filter plate clogs at about the same rate.

What you need

A gasket and filter-plate set sized to your pot - 3-cup, 6-cup and 9-cup are all different. Hot water.

What goes wrong

Buying a gasket for the wrong cup size. Dishwashing an aluminium pot. Fitting a new gasket and reusing a clogged filter plate. Overtightening the chambers to stop a leak, which distorts the seat and makes it worse.

The procedure

Check the diagnosis: steam escaping at the join between the chambers while it brews, or a pot that has started taking noticeably longer, means the gasket has gone.

5 more steps

The full procedure is in the app, along with a reminder when this is next due. Add the Brikka to your shelf and it keeps track.

Get the app