A short history of the coffee maker, part one — the beginning

Italy is often said to have Europe's best coffee. Whether Italians themselves or visitors first spread that reputation is hard to say. Its appeal is usually linked with a long coffee-drinking tradition, the atmosphere of Italian cafés and, in particular, the country's famous stovetop coffee makers.

The Moka Express has become a familiar feature of Italian homes. The original guide cites ownership in around 90% of households, illustrating its extraordinary popularity.

Do not confuse a moka pot with Mocha, the name associated with coffee exported through the Yemeni port of Al-Makha. Similar-sounding names tell different stories.

Much has been written about the Moka Express, so here we offer a short outline of some interesting developments that preceded it.

As European coffee houses multiplied in the seventeenth century, coffee pots increasingly became known by names such as caffettiera. Early brewers were far from perfect. Separating the grounds from the drink was a persistent challenge, while some equipment remained expensive enough to be accessible mainly to the wealthy.

In 1819, a Parisian inventor named Morize developed a tall pot with two handled chambers and a filter between them. Water was heated in one part; the brewer was then turned upside down so that the water could pass through the ground coffee.

This design became associated with the Napoletana, or Neapolitan flip coffee pot. In Naples, it is also called a cuccumella. Local enthusiasm is captured in the colourful phrase “cumme cazzo coce” — roughly, “blazing hot”.

Meanwhile, inventors in Britain were exploring pressure brewing. In 1833, Samuel Parker designed the Vienna Incomparabile, whose appearance recalled a Russian samovar. Steam pressure moved water towards the coffee chamber to produce the drink.

Five years later, a design by Alexandre Lebrun introduced further refinements, including a long spout through which the prepared coffee could flow into waiting cups.

An even more ingenious mechanism, credited here to Eiche in 1878, used the changing balance of the brewer to extinguish its burner. As water moved between chambers, the apparatus tilted and a cap fell over the flame, bringing heating to an end.

Then came the twentieth century, Alfonso Bialetti and a new chapter in the story of coffee makers. More about that in the next part.