Moka pot | |
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![]() Bialetti Moka Express | |
Industry | Coffee in Italy |
Application | Coffee preparation |
Inventor | Samuel Parker |
Invented | 1833 |
Manufacturers | Bialetti |
The moka pot[1][2] is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that brews coffee by passing hot water driven by vapor pressure and heat-driven gas expansion through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was popularized by Italian aluminum vendor Alfonso Bialetti and his son Renato starting from 1933.[3][4][5] It quickly became one of the staples of Italian culture. Bialetti Industries continues to produce the original model under the trade name "Moka Express".
Spreading from Italy, the moka pot is today most commonly used in Europe, Latin America, and Australia. It has become an iconic design, displayed in modern industrial art and design museums including the Wolfsonian-FIU, the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Design Museum,[6] the London Science Museum, The Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art.[7] Moka pots come in different sizes, making from one to eighteen 50 ml (2 imp fl oz; 2 US fl oz) servings.[8]
The original design and many current models are made from aluminium with Bakelite handles, though they are sometimes made out of stainless steel or other alloys. Some designs feature an upper half made of heat-resistant glass.