BonJour Cafe Milano 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker

by BonJour

Product Features

• Brew six cups of espresso with this classic stovetop espresso maker
• Charming signature coffee-bean knob makes coffee time fun
• Handsome streamlined look is elegant on stovetop or table
• Sturdy spherical base prevents tipping, spillage
• Made in Italy

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004R8YW
• Item model number: 53440
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,011 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Enjoy espresso the authentic Italian way with BonJour's Café Milano's stovetop espresso maker. Like an old-fashioned percolator, this handsome modern espresso maker forces hot water through ground coffee to produce deep, rich, satisfying espresso. With cream or without? That's up to you. BonJour's signature knob--charmingly shaped like an oversize coffee bean--graces the lid and adds a bit of fun to your morning espresso. Keep your fingers far from the heat of the aluminum body with the well-designed handle that curves out yet offers a firm grip. Designed and crafted in Italy, the 6-cup Café Milano version is a good size for a couple, but families or larger groups might want to opt for the 9-cup version. Hand washing recommended. --Meg Heffernan

Product Description

BONJOUR CAFE MILANO 6 CUP STOVETOP ESPRESSO MAKER. Enjoy espresso the way Italians have for generations with BONJOURS new Cafe Milano Stovetop Espresso Maker. Considered the best way to easily brew rich and flavorful espresso. Beautiful, old world Italia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for those who don't mind a challenge at first, March 13, 2006

By 

S. Burch (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BonJour Cafe Milano 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker (Kitchen)

I just bought the 9-cupper and was suprised at how little it was. That's 9 cups? I said to myself. It's more like one! But espresso is supposedly taken in itty bitty cups (shot glasses with handles), hence the smallness.

Next surprise was the lack of instructions. I had to fiddle with it and experiment, so I'm going to share what I learned. First, take the thing COMPLETELY apart and wash. Unscrew the pot in the middle. Take out the filter in the bottom part that holds the ground. Now, (I missed this part) take out the filter in the top part that will hold your finished coffee. There's a gasket that holds in in. Get your fingernail under it and just lift it out. Mine was put in backwards and it prevented the coffee from rising to the upper chamber. Very frustrating. Wash and dry.

To brew, fill the bottom chamber with cold water up to just beneath the overfill hole - it's a brass nut with a hole in it. Set the funnel-filter in and add your grounds. Grounds should be a fine powder for better taste. Don't overfill and no need to tamp down. I take 4 tablespoons of beans and grind them myself for a little over 4 tbsp of grounds. Before putting the upper chamber back on, make sure the filter is back in with gasket. The smooth side should be down, facing the grounds. Screw the 2 halves back together and put on the stove over high heat (electric) or a flame. You'll hear it and see steam when the water starts to boil and percolate up.

I'm still working out how much time to let it steam, but I'd say give it about 3-5 minutes to fill up the upper chamber. There is a lot of guesswork and estimation here and you just have to figure it out. The first pot will taste terrible. I spat it out and tried again. Each time I make a pot, the coffee tastes better than the last time. Since my first day was an exercise in frustration, by the time I got it right, I was climbing the wall. The coffee will be better - much better - than most espresso stands, more like a Turkish coffee than Starbucks.

Don't overcook it or it'll be burnt and horrible. Don't try to boil off all the water in the bottom chamber. You'll always leave some unboiled. Don't worry about keeping it clean and shiny. The interior quickly stains. I think a thin layer of coffee grime actually protects your final coffee from that metallic aluminum taste, in fact, and explains why a used pot makes better coffee than one right out of the box. However, I like it to shine on the outside, so I do use dishwater and just swish it around on the inside to get the grounds out.

It's not as easy to use as an electric coffee maker, but it's worth it for the superior coffee.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Small!, October 10, 2005

By 

Roxana L. Naranjo "Chez Roxy" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BonJour Cafe Milano 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker (Kitchen)

I bought this item after I visited my friend in Paris and she made me some coffee in one excatly like this one. I have tried making it myself...but for some reason it does not taste the same. It might just be me...but I do like it for being small, that way you do not have to make a huge amount and then waste it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in BonJour, July 31, 2007

By 

Agatha Higginbottom "Aggie" (Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BonJour Cafe Milano 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker (Kitchen)

I received this as a gift and was thrilled to receive it. While it made good espresso, after only three uses the main filter (the basket where you fill the filter with coffee grounds) broke. The stem came apart from the filter basket rendering the espresso maker inoperable. I called BonJour Products to ask about the possibility of getting a replacement filter. The very pleasant customer service agent said the filter itself wasn't being made anymore, put me on hold, came back and said she was mistaken it was available, put me on hold again while she checked on the cost and then told me the filter itself was not after all available for sale and that I'd have to buy a whole new espresso maker. Not at all happy with BonJour Products' management's response, I'll just replace it with a Bialetti instead. Bialetti has replacement filters available on-line as well as in kitchen stores.