The bold geometric planes in dull aluminium have since become a ubiquitous design (well, in Italy, anyway. And elsewhere: even my childhood home had one).
In the moka express, a fine film of coffee residue is left behind after use which coats the aluminium wall. Providing the pot is not washed in detergents, the film is supposed to protect the coffee from being contaminated by the aluminium (which, in aluminium saucepans, is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease).
On that cheery thought, Bialetti's market dominance has been surprisingly well maintained. The biggest competition seems to come from Alessi -- and here's the moka pot I use each morning:
Very clean lines and a delightful bakelite handle make this a real pleasure, although the espresso seems very slightly weaker than that produced by the equivalent Bialetti. Which led me to consider whether there might be another pot which is "perfect" -- this Alessi designer design, for instance:
Or this one?
This Alessi design is by Richard Sapper and is celebrated by design luvvies everywhere, but I am not at all convinced by the spout. Does that really pour without drips?
On the other hand it's made of stainless steel, which appeals to my lingering Alzheimer's-related hypochondria.
Any tips, suggestions or recommendations? Or should I just stop whining and enjoy my lovely Alessi?
* PS: In a nice example of the evolution of language, I noticed that "stove top espresso makers" are, in some stores, now being described as "hob top espresso makers".
8 comments:
I hope you are enjoying your coffee!
The classic octagonal? design pot is ubiquitous in Spain too - Barcelona anyway. I watched the simplicity of use as my Spanish 'landlord' made delicious coffee quickly and mess-free. I never managed it and ended up with coffee liquid and sludge everywhere and it didn't taste too good either. Ah well. But the aluminium-Alzheimer's link, I thought, had been disproved. Anyway, aluminium ... do you really want me to lapse into science-teacher mode? I'd carry on using your pot anyway as it's steel and worry-free, especially if it works. And it looks good.
One of my pet-hates is 'pouring' pots which singularly fail to pour without ending up with liquid on the table, clothing, in the saucers, anywhere but in the target cup/mug. Those dreadful mass catering stainless steel things. However pretty it looks, surely function must override form at some point?
I couldn't agree more with Sticks. Those preposterous jugs which let the milk go everywhere as well as its intended destination first hit us in the late 1950s if I remember aright and were heralded as "Danish design" and thought of as madly "contemporary" - and ever since then function has played a very quiet second fiddle to form. Amazing how we fall for it! Every motorway services repugnorama must have what ought to be a museumful.
It's ironic, really, since the Danish/Bauhaus design was meant to emphasise function over form -- to strip away pointless decoration and twiddles leaving only the most perfectly functioning object which would, by virtue of its honesty, have a simple, robust beauty.
While the masters did just that, loads of cheap copies were then churned out by others to cash in, but they adopted the form without paying any attention to the function. Thus the functionalist designs got a bad name.
Go back to the originals: I use Walter Gropius crockery and it's as delightful as it is functional.
I've used a Richard Sapper coffee pot for almost 20 years and it has always performed well and the spout though small never drips. I thought you'd find the small spout an attractive feature. The way you open the pot by pulling the handle away from the body of the pot is clever.
That's exactly what I wanted -- a performance report from someone who has one!
Am very pleased the Sapper is drip-free. Am now very, very tempted by one (I also rather like the handle lock feature).
Thanks for the feedback!
I trust your tableware comes from Staffordshire: up here we discreetly but without fail turn it upside down to check upon its provenance
It does not. I hate all those frilly Victorian-style flower patterns that English potters seem to insist are plastered over tableware, so mine comes from Germany (mostly) and Japan (for a bit of abstract traditionalism in blue).
Sorry.
Oh my dear LeDuc, you can't have seen our finest and most elegant. I'm quite shocked that an aesthete like yourself should think that floral stuff is all we turn out. Come and see for yourself, and as we're not so far north of Lynn I trust you won't need smelling salts to protect you whilst passing among the heathen!
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