Too Much Coffee

About a year ago, I bought a moka pot on ebay (one of only two purchases I've ever made on ebay). After making several attempts to make coffee with it, and failing miserably, I just polished it up and put it on display.

I recently decided to try it again (after finding a few instructions online), but I've had the exact same results -- no coffee! Only water! I don't get it, since the hot water can only come up through the coffee grounds before it pours out.

Anyway...I just thought I'd share. Here's a picture of it.

Strange. Do you have any pictures of the inside of the machine? Maybe we can help?

Here's a diagram I found of the inside. Mine is only slightly different, in that it doesn't have the 'reducer'.

Oooo...and look what else I found! Now, that's cool!

So that machine should work like a Bialetti, right? Water in the lower part, coffee in a filter, and then the coffee should run into your cup?

Neku wrote:So that machine should work like a Bialetti, right? Water in the lower part, coffee in a filter, and then the coffee should run into your cup?

Yes, it's supposed to work just like that. Most of the time I only got hot water (somehow, it completely bypassed the coffee??), and a couple of times, I turned the coffee spout off for about 30 seconds once the water came out, and I ended up with a small amount of coffee (it was really good, but considering the amount of coffee I had to put in, it was a piddly amount).

And is one of those spouts a sort of steam wand that you have to close down? Or maybe you should keep the coffee spout closed until you hear the typical rumbling bialetti sound?

Neku wrote:And is one of those spouts a sort of steam wand that you have to close down? Or maybe you should keep the coffee spout closed until you hear the typical rumbling bialetti sound?

Yup...there's a steam wand that I never use, so I keep it tightly shut. I've tried shutting the coffee spout until I hear noise, but all I get is water.

That's really strange.

Only thing I could guess would be something to do with the reducer sitting too high, have you tried it without the reducer? You are putting the coffe above the reducer right?

Here's mine:

And what they say about it:
"For the hard to please Bialetti has invented a unique coffee-maker: Brikka! This exclusive coffee-pot makes it possible to make coffee with a creamy head, two cups of that rich, full-bodied coffee, perfect to reward your and your friends’ senses. Unreplaceable when tou want to “pamper” yourself or when you want to welcome your guests in the best way."

Of course I haven't really used it enough to say if it's any good, was just an impulse buy in Milan!

Well, it didn't come with a reducer, so yes, I have tried that.

Do you like your Bialetti Brikka? That looks exactly like what I want...but I'm leery of getting aluminum because I've read that the acids in coffee don't mix well with it and it will start corroding and imparting a bad taste to the coffee. I know that Bialetti makes stainless steel, but I love the looks of the aluminum models.

That brikka looks a lot like the Bialetti Dama (3 cups) I have. Do you know if it's the same thing?

The Brikka is a 2-cup, while the Dama is a 3-cup, it seems. Other than that, they look identical, don't they?

The Brikka's a tricky little Bialetti, it's got a pressostatic valve that's meant to give crema.
Here's the instructions: http://www.bialetti.it/istruzionib_eng.html

The secret of Brikka and of its creamy coffee just like that served in a bar lies in its heart! Raise the lid to find out: it is a pressostatic valve (figure) which allows the coffee to come out only when it reaches optimum pressure.

Now in answer to the next obvious question, "does it work?" I have to admit I never really used it enough to find out! You see I bought it in Milan after I wasn't able to find a Pavoni at a reasonable price and then bought the Pavoni duty free at the airport (EU duty free, so you know how long ago I'm talking here). I'm not sure how available they are outside Italy either.

As for the aluminium I've heard the opposite, the aluminium absorbs the coffee and becomes "seasoned" resulting in better coffee. Personally I don't believe either! Anyway you're in Europe now, we don't worry about such things!

alans wrote:...Anyway you're in Europe now, we don't worry about such things!

I knew there was a reason why Europeans tend to live longer, healthier lives than Americans!