A Short History of the Bialetti Moka Express
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The Little Machine with a Moustache
That gurgling sound? That’s history brewing. Here’s the story of the iconic Moka pot.
Enjoy coffee at: Casa Capo d’Orso (Sardinia)
The Inventor: Alfonso Bialetti, an Italian metalworker, gets inspired in the 1920s—not by coffee, but by his wife’s laundry machine (a device that used heat to circulate water).
Photo: Konrad Hofmann on Unsplash
Enjoy coffee at: Masseria Apoikia (Puglia)
The Birth: In 1933, he launches the Moka Express. The octagonal aluminum design is practical (easy to grip), affordable, and makes espresso-like coffee at home. But it’s a slow sell—only 70,000 units in six years.
Photo: Rafael Leão on Unsplash
Enjoy coffee at: Villa Scozilia (Sicily)
The Game Changer: Alfonso’s son, Renato, returns from WWII and goes all in. He slims the company down to one product and launches a massive ad campaign with the slogan: “In casa un espresso come al bar” (espresso at home, just like the bar).
The Mascot: In 1953, Renato adds the iconic omino con i baffi (little moustache man)—a cartoon of his father—to fight off copycats.
Photo: Essential Italy©
Enjoy coffee at: Torre del Cielo (Tuscany)
The Legacy: By 1956, they’re making 18,000 pots a day. Today, the Moka Express is in over 90% of Italian homes and displayed at MoMA. When Renato died in 2016, his ashes were placed in a giant Moka pot urn.
Over 330 million sold. And still, every morning, it gurgles. ?
Photo: Sten Ritterfeld on Unsplash
Enjoy coffee at: Villa Olea (Umbria)
