Closing of Bialetti’s moka pot factory a bitter cup to swallow

L’omino con i baffi – “the little man with the moustache” – is closing shop and leaving Italy, much to the consternation of both stovetop espresso and Italian design purists. To cut costs, Bialetti announced it would close its Moka Express production plant in Omegna, 50 miles northwest of Milan, and move it – and its mascot logo – to Eastern Europe. Outsourcing to manufacturers in Eastern Europe and China threatens the survival of the prestigous and once thriving kitchenware industry in the hometown of Bialetti, Alessi and Lagostina.

Ubiquitous in Italy for over 50 years, the moka pot was invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, a metals craftsman who experienced his eureka moment while watching his wife do the laundry. He imagined the washing machine she was using in miniature, with its metal basket for clothes replaced by a filter basket for ground coffee. As water boiled in the closed lower vessel of Bialetti’s two-chambered aluminum prototype, steam pressure would force hot water up through the funnel-shaped basket of coffee grounds, forcing intensely flavored coffee up through a center nozzle, only to gurgle down like a dripping fountain to collect in the bottom of the upper chamber. Aromatic fumes would be released through its pouring spout, rousing all within the same walls from their morning slumber.

Lacking the pressure of a modern, pump-driven espresso machine and therefore unable to produce crema, Bialetti’s Moka Express was nevertheless revolutionary for its time, achieving its inventor’s stated goal of “in casa un espresso come al bar” – “an espresso in the home just like one in the bar.” Its ease of use and distinctive Art Deco outline, with octagonal upper and lower chambers tapering gently inward towards their meeting point, made it an icon of Italian design. Refinements and variations notwithstanding, the mechanism is fundamentally unchanged some 75 years later.

Having been guided through Bialetti’s Omega plant by its manager in 2008 it is hard for me to imagine it idle for an hour much less forever. The Moka Express’s cast-aluminum components were lined up by the thousands on a series of conveyer belts. It was as if the survival of a nation depended on their production. 2.8 million units were packed there annually, supplying the estimated 9 of 10 families in Italy who keep at least one little man with a moustache tucked away at home.

7 Comments

  1. Toby

    These “Daleks” provide pretty awful coffee though!

    Reply
    • Brian

      The coffee machine doesn’t make without a human working it. Ever thought it was you? ‍♂️

      Reply
  2. Sam

    For all the talk of how “Awful” the resulting coffee from these pots is, I’ve yet to hear one person give a reasonable explanation or analysis. Seems like coffee elitists are the worst sort, and if it’s not made from a $15,000 bar machine, it’s swill.

    Reply
    • Jlg

      right on. I can make an excellent cup with good water, fresh ground beans, a light fire, and my pot. definitely not espresso, but terrific in it’s own right.

      Reply
  3. Graham

    Sad to hear it’s moved, they make a model called ‘Brikka’ it has a pressure valve that creates ‘crema’ just like a coffee shop espresso! I’ve had 3 of these over the last 20 years, the new one came from Romania much to my surprise. Best coffee,

    Reply
  4. Ssakir

    Why are they still selling it as “Made in Italy” everywhere I look???? That seems false to me. All over North America they are selling these espresso makers as “Made in Italy”. If their facotry is closed then seems like they are doing false statements.. tsk tsk, very bad Bialetti,.

    Reply
  5. Sam Hyde

    I bought a Bialetti Brikka (new-ish version with black bottom but still with the gravity valve) in 2020 for my Covid-Coffee and it was an okay quality. Still lots of aluminium chaff flying around everywhere, definitely needed more cleaning than Bialetti says is “permissible” because dish soap supposedly harms the metal (not true).

    Now I bought a “new” Brikka in 2021 and it is a lot worse.
    The valve is simply a rubber membrane that is not sold as a replacement part, have fun with that I guess. So much aluminium dust and shavings everywhere, even in the valve, where the consumer should never look I guess. The paint on the bottom is even worse than on my old brikka.
    And to top it all off, I am not even sure if that valve rubber is silicone or not (confusion with old Bialetti descriptions since the gravity valve Brikkas all had a clear silicone nozzle to constrict flow against the valve). The new valve rubber is white like the main gasket (which is natural rubber IIRC), so have fun when that gets icky and there are no replacements (it’s a rather complex moulding with a tapered inside ending in a slit which gets compressed by the top part of the valve).

    Together with the new Brikka I got a small milk jug to fill with steamed milk from a bigger one…
    What can I say? It is marred all over with black marks and even on the bottom inside (probably from forming it), the rest ist perfectly polished stainless steel. The printed logo is faded and not even all there, just terrible.

    If you want “an original” you can still try Bialetti, but either buy from somewhere, where you can inspect first or send back easily.

    I will get my 45€ back and invest that in a cheap espresso machine (I didn’t want to make 4 cups with my old Bialetti all the time, so this should be worth it).

    Reply

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