Which Zass, which Moka - coffee in the open air.

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Which Zass, which Moka - coffee in the open air.

Postby steves » Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:22 pm

Okay. I know a few of us have been mulling over this one in the past (like the thread directly below this one) but I'd like to ask for views on a couple of specific questions, as well as opening up the debate generally.

So, in general terms, any views on the best way(s) to produce coffee in the open air? (A gas-fired lever machine isn't the sort of thing I'm looking for really - as much as that would meet my needs I don't think Sarah would appreciate that being the only thing we were taking with us (no, no, you can't take your washbag - the the tampers are going in that space...) So I'm looking for something portable and relatively unbreakable.

I had got as far as thinking a Zass and moka pot may be the best option (and I know I'm not the first to suggest this) but does anyone have any alternative / additional / complementary suggestions? (I'm planning to be able to use it whilst camping so will have access to little more than water and a gas / petrol stove.)

If I do go down the Zass / moka road:

1. Which Zassenhaus grinder should I go for? Do some / all of them have the same burrs (I know the 175 is different - how are you getting on with it now Mats?) I'm currently thinking of the 156 - it looks reasonably compact.

2. What's the best moka pot to get? (Also, I know very little about them and it is ages since I've used one.) Is there anywhere I can look to get the rundown on how much liquid to how much coffee etc? Are any / all of them capable of making different quantities (Mrs S is sometimes partial and sometimes not, so something which could make 1 or 2 cups would be ideal.)

3. Phil - what's the best thing to use to clean a Zass? Rice? :twisted:
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Re: Which Zass, which Moka - coffee in the open air.

Postby zix » Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:21 pm

steves wrote:(I know the 175 is different - how are you getting on with it now Mats?)
All in all, I like it a lot. It seems that it only needed a run-in period, and, obviously, so did I. I have started using the Brikka/175 combo now, the last message in the thread you mention is about that.

Answer to question 2: usually, moka pots only make good moka coffee with a fixed amount of water and coffee. On all the moka pots I have tried, water is always filled up to wherever the safety valve is, never above it. The coffee basket is always filled to the brim, and only very lightly (or not at all) tamped. On the larger moka pots you may find an extra circular plate which fits in the coffee basket about half way down, which allows you to make half as much coffee (of course with half of the usual amount of water).

Are there any Napoletana users out there? I am a bit curious as to how that coffee tastes, and the Napoletana pot would also qualify as a good coffee pot for travelling.
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Postby steves » Mon Jun 06, 2005 10:39 pm

zix wrote:the last message in the thread you mention is about that.


And I thought I'd been keeping an eye on that one. So, you reckon the 175 and a Brikka is the combo then? Hmm - it's €39.96 including P&P. How quickly did it arrive - I'm going away soon! So, yours is a two cup? How much volume do you get and for what weight of coffee?

Yes, I wonder about the Napoletana too. Come on, own up, whoever you are :P
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Postby zix » Tue Jun 07, 2005 8:22 pm

It is the same shipment cost for two Brikkas (well, to Sweden it was, anyway) from bialetti, so there is money to save should you order two of them. It took about 4-5 days to get it here, and it arrived at the doorstep, delivered by UPS. Yes, it is the 2-cup. I ordered it from Italy via Bialettis European webshop, doing a google.com/translate on every new page throughout the order process. For some reason they only have the italian webpages online right now. Bialetti.it don't seem to sell the 4-cup Brikka through their European webshop.
2 cups with a Brikka is roughly 2 single espressos. It should be strong enough to make a cappucino with half of the coffee, and then you may gulp down the rest and make another pot (perhaps your spouse is into milk, like mine is?). My scale says that there is around 12-13 g of coffee in the Brikka basket, and around 10 cl of water in the bottom. You end up with 6-8 cl of coffee though, not 10, because some water never makes it out of the boiler.

Napoletana owners, come out!
‹• Bezzera B3000AL • Strietman ES3 • Chemex • Cona C size • Aeropress • Vev moka • Bialetti Brikka • Espro • Cezve • Bacchi Espresso • Arrarex Caravel •
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Postby josh_robb » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:59 pm

I speak italian and have ordered about 10 Brikka's from the hishop over the years as gifts for friends and family.

The english version of the store is cunningly hidden at the following URL:

http://hishop.bialetti.it/uk/index.html

Hope that helps.

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