Work: Moka

Description

“While the Bialetti Moka is globally recognized as a quintessential Italian invention, its history holds a few surprises. Before its debut, making coffee at home required a Neapolitan flip-pot or a plunge-filter maker—both of which were time-consuming and yielded a much more diluted brew.”

Originally designed in aluminum by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933, the Moka was later perfected by his son Renato in 1956. Its iconic design consists of two octagonal chambers joined vertically: the lower boiler and the upper collector. The coffee maker is opened and closed by gripping both halves and screwing them together. Inside the boiler sits a funnel-shaped filter basket for the ground coffee, which is topped by a flat filter plate and a rubber gasket. For safety, a pressure-release valve is fitted onto the side of the boiler. The upper chamber features a hinged lid and a central column. As the water in the boiler heats up, steam pressure forces it upward through the ground coffee and out of the central column, allowing the freshly brewed espresso to collect in the top chamber. The specific model in our collection is the classic three-cup aluminum version, standing 20 centimeters high. Today, Bialetti produces the Moka in various colors and finishes, alongside modern electric versions equipped with built-in timers.

Despite its fame, many details about the object’s origin remain obscure, starting with its very name. Chiara Alessi notes: “Not even much is known about its name. For example, it is not widely known that it is partially incorrect to call Alfonso’s 1933 invention a ‘moka,’ as he only referred to it as a ‘little machine’ at the time. In fact, the name Moka only arrived with Renato in the 1950s. To be precise, it is Moka with a capital M because Renato invented a proper noun that went on to become the generic term for an entire category of coffee makers—while the successful original would simply be known as the ‘Bialetti,’ after its famous creator.”