Bought because I wanted something stronger than drip coffee at work not to mention the folks I work with don't drink a lot of coffee. They are not completely uncivilized folks, but they clearly aren't thinking straight. Kidding aside this fit the bill for a single-serve coffee machine that is easy to work with, not too hard to clean, and something that makes a good cup of coffee. If you are making this for more than one person, get a bigger one. This is just right for a 20oz mug with some boiling water (moka Americano?) and some milk.This thing makes amazing coffee! It's a bit more involved of a process than something like a drip maker, but it is so totally worth it. The only thing that approaches being a "downside" for me is that I cannot get it to make the coffee without leaving just a bit of very fine coffee "sediment" in the bottom. As a remedy, I pour the finished product into my AeroPress and let that filter it and then it's good to the very last drop! (Take *that* Maxwell House!)This will be a bit long winded but worth the read for anyone genuinely interested in these, especially for those who think they're not coffee people, as was the case with me.I genuinely purchased my first Moka pot on Amazon, which was actually the 1 cup primula, frivolously and purely because I kept seeing them on the SkyAtlantic series "Gommorah". I have never been able to find a way to prepare coffee of any stripe and finish a cup, let alone enjoy it. To make a long story as short as possible, I do not know if it is the very unique percolating method these employ (that's my opinion) or something else, maybe I just needed to buy it italian coffee but I really doubt it's the coffee. I believe it's the moka pot. I now compulsively consume copious amounts of coffee from morning until night, it's honestly quite ridiculous. But to me it's just that good. I was a massive "gong fu" Chinese, loose leaf tea guy, I was one who attacked the virtues of coffee and extolled those of tea. Now I'm expresso obsessed. I really only bought the bialatti out of appreciation because as you can see I had already bought a second primula. I do find the bialatti slightly preferable, not in results but in style. The base is ticker and the handle is a bit better, other than that you will be absolutely golden with either. I cannot recommend them enough.Nothing to dislike; been using these for 45 years. This one however is the best looking one everMakes a good shot of coffee..I bought a Bialetti mokka express after watching a video about them by James Hoffman. My college roommate busted out his abuela's mokka pot when we were all new to coffee and I initially wrote it off as an old, outmoded trinket. In the past decade, I've used a french press, chemex, aeropress, moccamaster, and even yama cold-drip to brew coffee at home.The mokka express has quickly climbed to the top of my list for my favorite way to make a cup of coffee. It's easy, beautiful to watch, and leaves room for experimenting for your personal preferences. The "espresso-like" concentration is delicious, especially if you use freshly-ground espresso roast style beans. Diluting with water to make a more standard American cup of coffee results in a nice, robust cup.I have the Italian-colored green/red model. I have used it over a dozen times so far, and the color is retaining on the base just fine. Put the mokka pot on medium heat (err on the low side) and watch it as it brews (you might find it as mesmerizing as I do). Clean it with hot water and dry with a towel. Let the pieces dry separately. I think a lot of the negative reviews about discoloration or oxidizing of the aluminum are possibly due to mishandling.The only thing is that, because it is aluminum, you do not want to dilly-dally about cleaning it when it's still got liquid inside, so cleaning it soon/immediately after each brew is mandatory. Because of that, your morning coffee ritual may end up being longer with a mokka express than with some other, quicker brewer like an aeropress or chemex. That said, cleaning it is not difficult or especially time-consuming. And the coffee is so, so good.Muy linda. La calidad ya sabía que bialetti es muy buena calidadI had been planning to buy this coffee maker for a while but held back due to some negative reviews and some people saying this is hard to use, etc. But finally decided to buy it since it was relatively inexpensive as compared to some other machines out there. My 1st two tries were a bust, the machine sounded angry, spluttering coffee all over the place, not all water came up, what a mess. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Did some research on you tube, figured out that the system was not sealing all the way, cleaned it well, and this time made sure the top and the bottom halves were screwed tight. And then, everything fell in place. The coffee was smooth, not bitter all. This has now become my go to machine since it is easy to use and relatively easy to clean. The three cup definition of capacity is kind of misleading, It is maybe good for two people. I can drink one complete brew myself. I plan to buy a 12 cup version soon.Update after 2-3 months of ownership - still one of the best coffee makers I have owned. Makes a very smooth cup of coffee and simple to use. But the inside of the bottom water chamber has started to rust. Has anyone else experienced the same issue? So I have moved it from 5 star to 3 star.Viviendo en Madrid, una de las cosas que mas echaba de menos de mi pais (soy Italiano, de Napoles) era el café hecho en casa. Esta maquina de café me lleva a mi pais todos los días! La maquina hace un café estupendo (yo uso lavazza), llena la casa de olor y es muy practica, ademas de ser un objeto decorativo precioso. He comprado la de tres tazas y para mi es mas que suficiente, la verdad es que incluso la encuentro demasiado grande, me vale para tomar café un día entero yo y mi mujer.El secreto de un buen café napolitano casero? Llenar el deposito de agua hasta la valvula, dibujar un pequeño vesuvio con el café en polvo, poner el azucar en el deposito superior antes de meterla en el fuego, empezar a remover tan pronto cuando empieza a salir el café y, quizas lo mas importante, NO lavar la maquina de café con detergente, usar solo agua y darle mucho uso!Espero disfruteis de esta maquina, autentica italiana!What to say about this? Coffee requirements are different for people, but if you really love your coffee this is a pleasure. There are pitfalls - what size pot, what coffee, cold water or hot, how often to clean etc.Here is my experience.I have a coffee machine and only drink fresh coffee, it’s quick by forcing water through a sealed foil packet. I fancied something stronger and toyed with a super shop type machine with coffee grinding, tamping, steamed milk etc but never got to finalising. Then I stumbled on the Bialetti Moka.In short, if you like strong coffee, it’s nothing less than fantastic. And 10 times cheap than those big machines. It takes about as long to delivery your cup as it takes to toast a piece of bread.Some tips.- It delivers a small shot glass coffee from the 1 cup version. Don’t be fooled, you likely don’t need more so don’t scale up unless catering for a few people. I went for 1 cup pot planning to get 3 cup machine too, but I have that on hold at as this pot alters your drinking habits. Drink it short and your coffee cravings will be sated, add hot milk for an extra treat or hot water to make a longer drink.- You need to buy some extras at the same time, some ground coffee (I’m not convinced extra effort of grinding is worth the hassle), probably a reducer for your gas hob (only about £3, but without it you are likely to struggle as pot is tiny), a battery hand milk frother (again cheap at c£2 and 15 seconds to sort frothy milk hot or cold).- Some tiny expresso type cups to heighten the experience. Glass versions look neat.When preparing, don’t leave pot unwatched, the 1 cup takes no time and better for taste to take off heat just before it fully finishes. Apart from short time, it’s amazing to watch, keep the top lid up and marvel at the brief show! There is no spitting if you use correct heat - gentle.Finally, my experience is the stove pot does not replace routine coffees during the day - it prepares a treat at breakfast and later in the day with in between coffees from whatever route you currently follow.On line videos showing how to use are full of conflicting tips (use cold water, use hot, do your own grinding, add milk to top pot to heat up as coffee delivers, completely dismantle including seals on each use etc.). That just illustrates the variety of things you can experiment with and find your own preference.Cold water v hot - for 1 cup it’s so quick it’s hardly worth the extra to boil a kettle.Add milk to top - 1 cup machine top does not get hot enough in short prep time to heat milk.Grinding beans - the supermarkets are full of great ground coffee (I went for Lavazza Rossa) and it simplifies process. Maybe grinding is a step for later, if I can be bothered!Cleaning - pulling out seal each time is a step too far. I clean with cold water and fingers and will think about full dismantle rarely.If you love coffee, you should love this pot.The original and the best. Much better quality than the £10 copycat versions. Main difference is the build quality. It screws together easily. Others I've used are always squeaky and the thread goes on them after a short while. You get what you pay for, and it's not as if it's much more than the knock-off versions anyway.Being full Italian myself I Basically got this for the Italian flag colours for my son . We already brought back exact same one from South of France for my other son which obviously caused a commotion , you know the one “ I wanted one ! “ So happy found it on amazon, saved me a lot of money not having to go back to south of France ! Lol . Perfect three cup espresso. Makes perfect coffee and looks the part !If you want to buy a Bialetti Moka Express, trust me, only the ones made in Italy are worth buying. I own many Bialetti Moka Expresses in different sizes, looks, shapes, colours and some are stainless steel. Some of them were made in Indonesia, India, Romania... Although they all claimed the standard was the same but they were NOT the same. I used the same coffee but came out tasted differently from each pot. Only buy the ones clearly says "made in Italy" unless you just like the look of them but will never use them.