****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I don’t ever write reviews on Amazon, but I felt there was a special need here for this. Like many people, I was skeptical about this because it is so absurdly cheap (I got the 3 cup one for less than $6) and because I often find Amazon reviews to be unreliable, especially when it comes to coffee products. Usually the people reviewing them are older people who are more comfortable with a cup of Maxwell house than of Verve or Stumptown.I decided to buy it anyways because it was just a few bucks. This thing is absolutely incredible. I use a French press normally and I used to swear by it, refusing to drink drip coffee or pour over. Ever since this came, it’s all I can drink. It’s super easy to make coffee with as it basically forces you to measure out a perfectly proportional mix of water and grounds, it’s self contained and compact especially compared to a French press which requires the auxiliary component of a kettle to boil the water, and it actually creates foamy, rich, delicious, extremely intense coffee that I would say tastes BETTER than espresso from a machine, and it only costs $6!I am sure that there are higher quality Moka pots that produce richer microfoams and have more pressure and better valves and gauges, but I honestly think this thing gets the job done 1000x better than you would ever expect for $5. If you’re new to moka pots and espresso and want an affordable, easy, delicious way to make espresso (it can also be used to make americanos by diluting the coffee with hot water, obviously), then this is so unbelievably worth $6 that I can’t even explain it to you. Pair this with a cheap $4 milk frothing wand you can get on Amazon and you’ll have better cappuccinos and lattes and whatever than you’d get at any coffee shop.I use this with medium-dark roast beans from Verve Coffee, and I’ve also used a few other roasts including French roast which was delicious to me but I’m sure it would be wildly too bitter and intense for a lot of people. Look for a medium-dark roast I’d say, or even some lighter dark roasts. But probably traditional “Italian” and “French” roasts wouldn’t be the place to start unless you know that’s your thing.
