Bialetti Brikka

A moka pot with a weighted valve on the spout. It holds the brew back until pressure builds. Out comes a real 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 and it pours thin, no foam. A gummed-up weighted valve releases early, or never at all. High heat to force the release erupts and scorches it bitter. Pouring slowly, which loses 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.

Moka gasket and filter plateAd

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 rest is in the app, with a reminder when it is next due.

Get the app