IMUSA USA Electric Espresso/Moka Maker, 3-6 Cups, Red Import To Shop ×Product customization General Description Gallery Reviews

Energy efficient magic!Let’s go straight into it—electricity costs a lot now. There isn’t cheap affordable anything anymore, so to be budget conscious as well as helping the environment, I looked to see what was the most energy-efficient way to make espresso at home. Feels kind of silly turning on the stove (electric) to brew a cup of espresso. And based on what I read, it’s also wasteful of energy.So what I learned was that the most energy efficient, least energy wasted small appliances are the kind that plug in and the conductive situation heats the pot/kettle directly…inductive, conductive, I have no idea what the word is but if the pointy power thing from the power base goes into the kettle/pot, it’s the fastest/greenest way to use electricity. I have an electric tea kettle like this and love it, so I was stoked to see moka pot took the same route and made this thing.It’s literally like ur stovetop version only instead of heating it on the stove, the situation sits on a power base that heats the lower water chamber and makes espresso in the top part.The directions are pretty straight fwd…wash it all except the power base, add water to the metal pot thing —half way for 3 cups, all the way to the marker line for 6 cups (these are espresso cups, not like 8oz, know what I mean?)Put the top pitcher thing onto it and place on power base. Hit the on button. Done. It made espresso so fast, I hadn’t finished heating the milk before it was done. It’s quiet too—super quiet..you don’t get that plopping sound typical of the stove version when it’s about to spew espresso.It cleans up like the typical moka pot—rinse/wipe the pitcher part, empty and dry the metal water boiler and store away wherever you have space. Easy. Oh and obvs empty the grounds and rinse/wipe the grounds holder thing.The directions are a bit overdone tho. The base doesn’t get hot so it’s safe for your counter top—I maybe misread them or something, and put a pot holder under the unit for the first brew, but it never got hot underneath. That’s typical..my electric tea kettle doesn’t get hot under its power base either…I’m guessing if it did it would mean a big problem and prob a fire, so long as it’s cool, no worries.In comparison to a stove moka pot, the aluminum interior of the grinds holder is very thin..very very thin. Maybe bc it isn’t getting as intensely hot as the stove version? The water boiling chamber though is very heavy thick aluminum, and actually better than the stove version.I’ve seen some reviews that the sealing gasket can fail and need replacement…that’s true of the stove version too, so maybe locate some gaskets sooner than later.Overall this is an amazingly brilliant idea that finally brings moka into the present century. Make fab espresso and use less power—love this!!!

Brews Good EspressoThis review concerns the “IMUSA USA B120-60008 Electric Espresso/Moka Maker, 3-6 Cups, Red”, as indicated on the Amazon site.It produces very good cups of espresso brewed coffee, the flavor of which depends much on which coffee brand and grind one chooses to use. The following notes address some matters earlier noted by others.1. The “cups” are not the standard food measure “cup” in American kitchens, i.e., equivalent to 1/2 pint or 8 fluid ounces. Rather, they are the customary espresso coffee offered typically in a demi-tasse cup, 1 fluid oz. So, this espresso maker will produce a total of about 6 oz. of coffee with every full pot.2. The espresso is brewed/expressed under pressure, not percolated in the method of older coffee percolators. (a) The older percolators boiled water in the lower/main chamber, sent the boiling water up through a funnel to drop onto the coffee grounds in the upper chamber basket. As gravity pulled the the hot water through the grounds, the hot water extracted elements then dribbled back into the main water chamber. The weak coffee drink so produced was boiled again and returned through the grounds for that cycle to repeat. This recycling of slowly strengthening coffee continued for a specified period of time, until the coffee had the strength and flavor one desired. (b) Unlike that system, this espresso maker heats water hot enough to produce steam. The steam pressurizes the main, water chamber to push the very hot water up a funnel through the coffee grounds in the middle chamber basket. As the hot water passes once through the coffee grounds at a designed temperature, it extracts the desired coffee elements. Still pressurized, the liquid continues its one-way journey up another funnel out of the basket into the upper chamber as espresso coffee. When the last of the coffee, now ready for drinking, exits into the upper chamber, the pressure normalizes and reduces to whatever atmospheric pressure is at the time. This release of pressure brings that last of the coffee to bubble out into the chamber. From pressurized chamber to espresso for drinking, the whole takes place in just a few seconds. The 6 or 7 minutes of running time are mostly for getting the water heated to produce steam.3. Key to successful process is a tight seal between adjacent chambers. In practice this means that (a) one screws the top chamber tightly enough onto the lower chamber, and; (b) care should be taken not to cross-thread them, and; (c) the gasket (a flat, circular rubber/nylon/whatever ring) and associated metal filter are seated above the basket correctly into the bottom of the upper chamber. Without tight seals steam can leak, as well as water, all over the place, with little or no useful coffee made.4. If one uses the 3-cup adapter in the basket, one should use half the water for the right strength espresso, right?5. It’s a good idea to rinse and dry all the parts (lower and upper chambers, basket, gasket & filter) in hot water between uses; helps keeps stains from forming so readily, and, mainly, makes for better taste overall.6. A minor annoyance with the device as received: When the pot is on its base, it presses down on a small button of sorts. The pressed button allows the on/off switch to work, so that the “on” switch stays on when making coffee. If the pot is not on the base, or not on it properly, the button is not pressed thus preventing the “on” switch to stay on. This keeps electricity from flowing needlessly through the base. A fair system. However, the spring that pushes the button up is strong enough to push an empty (no water, no grounds) pot up on that side slightly. Not a deal breaker at all, but the pot thus situated reminds one of the leaning tower of Pisa, and one wants to fix it, somehow.

Great for small spaces.Easy to use and easy to clean!

Love itGreat cafetera! I recommend this product. I bought the red one because it was $25 dollars. My cuban coffee espresso was so good.

Worth it for how fast you can brew coffee.Great cup of good coffee in 5 minutes. The triangle dip in the water reservoir may be a problem to keep clean if not maintained or cleaned properly. So far, so good.