Customer Reviews

Alessi - Alessi 9090 6-cup Espresso Maker

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

12 years ago I went to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. It lasts two weeks...way too long when your "job" is basically to attend every party thrown. Somewhere in the middle of it I met a gorgeous German journalist. We ended up in London afterwards for a few more sodden days. When she came to visit me in L.A., she brought this Alessi 6-cup Stainless Steel Espresso maker as a gift. The relationship didn't last but ever since then, from L.A. to New York and back to L.A.; on open fires while camping; on snowboarding trips and aboard sailboats, I have made two pots of coffee a day and can't imagine life without it. Somewhere around 4 or 5 thousand pots and 7 years later, the lower half developed hairline cracks that allowed the water to leak out. Alessi replaced it for free.

The coffee is great but if you are looking for thick, strong espresso with the foam on top, this isn't it. It's more like strong coffee, which is perfect because the "6 cups" of espresso fills up one large mug and that's what I drink. It tastes delicious but is very much its own thing. Guests love it.

I like well-made machines and this is a coffee machine. The handle snaps down with an incredibly satisfying feel. The metal is thick and lustrous. Here's something great: because the whole pot heats up on the stove, the coffee inside will stay hot for an hour. Make sure you use a pot holder to grab the handle, though.

Here's one thing I can guarantee: from time to time you will forget the pot cooking on the stove until the smell of scorched coffee grounds reminds you. You will rush back to find the lower half blue with heat and bone dry, with the coffee burnt and boiling in the top half. At this point, don't do anything. Leave the whole thing on the stove to cool and take it apart only then. Pouring out the coffee and running cold water on it will cause the metal to weaken and leave you with the cracks mentioned above. Metal doesn't mind heat and would rather cool gradually.

Over time, the lower half will lose its brand new look but that's true of all of us I suppose. It you don't use abrasives on the top half it will remain new-looking forever. After a few years you may want to replace the rubber ring that seals the two halves.

Buy this espresso maker. You will not be sorry. Or buy it for a friend whom you want to remember you every time he makes coffee...for years.

I just got this today, brand new in the box. The bottom plainly says "Italy." Not sure what the reviewer below is referring to when he says that these are now made in China. Makes great coffee. Heavenly smell! You will have to grip the base *firmly* while pulling on the handle *hard* the first few times you use it to get it to come apart. You really don't need high heat for this. I thought that was such a weird part of the instruction book until I realized that, as the water heats, the base becomes a pressurized chamber and it's the buildup of pressure from the heat that forces the water through the coffee, and not whether the water is boiling. It really should take only 5 or 6 minutes for the coffee to be done -- you'll hear the water spluttering to let you know it's done brewing.

This is a woonderful coffee machine. I bought mine in 1979 from the New York Modern Museum of Art store based on an article in the New York Times. Occasionally I run white vinegar through it and replace the gasket, but it has no moving parts so there is nothing to go wrong.

It makes great espresso, but since manufacturing was switched from Italy to China, the build quality of this espresso maker is not what it used to be. It does not fit together as well, and there are sharp edges in places. I've cut my hand on it twice. I am going to try one made by Stella, which is reportedly still manufactured in Italy.