How is this different from traditional stove-top espresso maker? Could I just pour milk in the top half of my espresso pot and have the same thing?
97981
This is substantially different. The mukka has a pressure valve on it and a spring-loaded filter basket. When enough pressure has built up in the device, the valve opens, and the coffee is released along with a steady flow of steam. The steam goes into the milk, creating foam. It's a pretty complicated system, but works pretty well. The result is a very milky coffee, somewhere between latte and cappuccino. It's milky like a latte, but has a cap's foam head.
1500835
Danielle--I have the smallest size Bialetti, but the coffee is so easy to make and tastes great! My electric stove is a flat-top, and I just make sure the handle is off to the side a bit. I have had no trouble with the handle getting hot and pick it up right from the burner with the handle. Turn the burner to about medium heat, and within a few minutes the coffee starts to bubble out of the spout inside the top half of the coffee maker. It only takes a minute or so from this point, so watch it a bit, then when the top half is full, remove it from the heat. I even heat the milk on the same burner in a stainless steel Turkish coffee pot/pan thing (Pradeep brand) I got at an Indian market. Both fit just fine. Also, I saw a video on Youtube about making Cuban coffee. Put sugar into your mug, then put a few drops of the just-brewed coffee on top, and stir it for a minute or two until it looks like a paste. Pour the hot milk onto this, then the coffee. Oh my! It's just amazing!!
1743274
Oh yes, you can. There are three settings for concentration of beans and three more settings for how much water. And you can match those six buttons up any which way you want. A cup of ristretto would be made by using the most concentrated beans and the least amount of water. An espresso would be made by using the little bit larger amount of water. A "regular cup of coffee" would use the largest volume of water. The largest amount of pre-programmed water is about 6 ounces. You can easily re-program the machine to give you even more water. (We've not tried to do that, but I just checked it out in the instruction booklet.) Besides the six settings on the machine, you can also change the strength of the coffee by your choice of coffee bean. Where we buy our beans--Peet's--they offer a complete range of "strengths": More robust, less robust, milder, medium, etc. (you get the picture). But, bottom line: The fact that you can pour in ONE kind of bean and each person can immediately create their own preference by hitting one button from the grind category and one other button from the water volume category, is the reason our family loves this machine. I can pour in some beans, then make a single shot of espresso, then my husband can follow me immediately and make a "regular" cup of joe. I totally understand your concerns: Because you might not always want an espresso; you might want a cup of coffee to go along with your bacon, eggs and toast. And, very definitely, you can have both with this machine. Just comment to my review if you have any other questions; I do read comments to my reviews and I'm always happy to answer any questions.
410918
you might find you get better results overall if you use a small pitcher for the espresso and then add it into the cup after you have your milk in there (I don't have these cups, I just love coffee :D )
1713586
There is a cut out on the top of the pot, so you no longer have to leave the lid open, but the big difference is that it doesn't make the crema on the espresso.
255259
By the way, an electric or a stovetop Italian coffee maker (moka) is not a real espresso machine. The coffee that they make, depending on the brand of coffee, is rich and "thick", akin to the crema one gets with an nice cup of espresso, and should not be at all transparent. A six cup Italian coffee maker means six little espresso cups, not six American cups. Best to use coffee roasted and ground for these devices, like Lavazza.
1330815
You can froth cold milk in the aeroccino but you can't make a cold espresso shot. All the shots are brewed hot.
707546
It is designed to make espresso and lattes. I haven't tried it, but I imagine you could insert one espresso pod and give it two shots of hot water. I'm totally hooked on espresso and really don't drink regular coffee anymore.
2080395
Hi, I bought this coffee pot, it is not an espresso maker. the coffee comes out as regular coffee, not espresso. It is more of a percolator than an espresso maker. It takes about 15 min. to make coffee. I have since purchased a real espresso maker. I was trying to save some money but ended up having to buy a real espresso maker, so spend the extra and get exactly what you want.
1077621
Upon reading other answers, I see that one person received a frother in a box that said do NOT heat the pot on the stove. My box didn't have any instructions. To be safe, heat the milk in the microwave first.
895130
Well yes and no. If you pull cup out before it puts the espresso in the mix you might be able to pull it off. You might even be able to avoid wasting coffee by tricking it to think you are using already ground coffee (not sure). However the milk is foamed milk not just warm milk so you get about 1/2 cup of milk and its not super hot.
1821930
More than likely your milk is not hot and cools off the espresso. I have had that problem too. You need to keep steaming for almost 2 mins to get it hot. Also if you turn on the steamer just before you brew it will be hotter.
2237461
i think you can use whatever beans you want--i use decaf espresso so that i can use our coffeemaker for caffeinated. i think the manual said how fine, but i can't remember. i know it's not the super fine, like an espresso machine and it's not the really coarse grind, so it's in between. just start with a middle setting and if you start to get sludge in the bottom, it's too fine.
2237463
I use espresso grind, not the finest. It depends on how strong you wish your coffee to be, you can use any kind but the finer grinds give you a stronger coffee. Also, the milk does not get hot in the top, just warm unless you start with warm milk.
1794649
I believe so, as it is espresso. I use a stove top espresso maker from biliatti. Hope this helps.
508822
I see the previous 2 answers and agree, it's not really a coffee machine, it's for espresso or cappuccino... I use 2 shots and fill to the first milk line and that gives me a pretty good amount. Again, it more potent and robust depending on the flavor pod you prefer. Otherwise you need a Keurig or something of this style.... I hope this helps?
1705599
A bottomless portafilter can be used to improve espresso tamping technique (you can see if there is any channeling when your shot is pulling, i.e. if the brew is mostly coming from certain spots at the bottom rather than consistently and pooling at the center). Also, there is less cleanup, and crema isn't lost in the spouts (meaning more in the cup and therefore more flavorful shots).