Ikea Trivsel moka pot - as good as Bialetti?

[sobriquet]

Does anyone have a Trivsel stovetop espresso pot? I have a Bialetti Moka 3-cup and want to get a larger one so I can take coffee with me in the morning. I'm thrilled with the quality of the coffee out of it, but I'm considering getting a stainless steel one so I can leave it dirty until I get home at night without worrying about the aluminum. I've tried using my french press the last few days and the coffee just isn't nearly as good.

The Bialetti Musa is ~$45, but the Ikea Trivsel (also in 6-cup) is ~$20. They look very similar and was wondering if anyone has some insight. Thanks!

[jamejameus]

i know i'm a little late here, but how long does the Trivsel take to brew coffee? i'm American (don't hate me! :) ) and am use to a conventional coffee brew. however, i tried the French press and loved the taste MUCH better and purchased the Trivsel from IKEA to see if that would be better tasting coffee. however, i let it sit on the stove for about 20 minutes, and it produced no coffee. i put it together like the instructions said, so i'm just wondering if it takes a long time to brew... impatient American- i know!!

[moreana]

Personally I prefer and recommend a stainless steel type. I had an 6-cup aluminum one and I saw that it was pitting and corroding over time. So I must have been drinking things I wouldn't have conciously wanted to.

We did have the Ikea one and it worked fine for a while. We did wish for something nicer. My bf and I walked into one coffee shop and decided to get their $100 stainless steel espresso maker. It looks like the one in the photo. That one had a nice solid weight to it, good build quality, and obviously wonderful to look at. We've been really happy with it and have no plans to get an electric espresso maker in the near future.

Bialetti also has the brand name going for it. Just buy whatever would make you happy using it. I don't believe you'll find that much difference. You can look for the weight and feel to see if the build quality is different between the two and make your decision. I've bought stainless steel insulated thermos before. One was $40 from Sigg and the other was a $10 knock off. I can see the major difference in the build quality and materials. The knock off was poorly done, did not have fine finishing on the metal but was rough. The plastics were not well molded either.

[mypalmike]

I have a Trivsel. It is excellent, having replaced an aluminum one I got at a discount store. It is stamped "made in Italy", which makes me suspect it might actually be made by Bialetti. The filter works better than the one on my mother's stainless Bialetti, due to smaller, more numerous holes.

I just have to add this: The idea of "seasoning" a coffee pot is a myth. Rancid coffee oils make your coffee taste stale and can clog the release valve. (Cast iron seasoning works because of saturated oils, which are less prone to going rancid.) Clean your coffee pot like you'd clean any other aluminum or stainless item, and you'll get better tasting coffee.

I got the stainless for much the same reason as you. In the morning after I use it, I usually rinse and fill the top chamber with water until I get home. I then take it all apart and clean it with soap and hot water. Once every month or so, I throw it through the dishwasher for a more thorough wash. I get a consistently excellent brew.

[sobriquet]

I've been using it every morning for about a month now. It fills about 70% of a travel mug and leaves a little room for milk - perfect.

The quality of the pot is good, but my 3-cup Bialetti makes much better coffee. I think that's because it's a 6-cup versus a 3-cup (I had the same complaint with a 6-cup aluminum Bialetti pot). That said, the quality of the threads leaves something to be desired and it's hard to get the pot together sometimes. The quality of the rubber gasket also seems lower than the Bialetti but is holding up so far. I'd buy it again and I recommend it.

I agree with not seasoning a stainless pot, but unless you like the taste of aluminum, I respectfully disagree about seasoning an aluminum moka pot.

[mypalmike]

With aluminum, I figure it's a choice between metallic or stale. :) That's why I prefer stainless. But to each his/her own. I imagine my old friend Mateo from Milan would gasp if he had seen me cleaning my old aluminum one.

I have had no trouble with the threads on the Trivsel. It fits right on, and I can tighten it down so that there's no steam escaping through the side. Probably a hit-or-miss thing in the manufacturing of such an inexpensive item.

I recently had to replace the gasket in the Trivsel, and was disheartened to find no information online about where to get such a thing. I carefully measured it, and found that it's the same size as the gasket in the standard 6-cup aluminum Bialetti (part 06951). I ordered replacement gaskets from Goodman's (www.goodmans.net), item number BE-06951. They are thicker than the original, but fit like a glove (although if you are having trouble with the threading, perhaps the thicker gaskets might make it worse). For a couple bucks, you might want to give them a try. I imagine you could drop in a Bialetti filter too if you think it might improve the quality.

[jaykayen]

You're supposed to leave your mokapot dirty! Don't wash...at the most, you are allowed to rinse it. I've never had a problem with the aluminum, and the Italians don't, either.

[sobriquet]

I understand you're not supposed to wash it with soap, but I'm talking about leaving it with the dirty water in the pot all day long until I get home from work. I thought leaving water in it was bad for the aluminum?

[jaykayen]

Some people pull the pot from heat when there's no water left in the bottom chamber.

[sobriquet]

... and those people would be drinking bitter, gross coffee. ;-)

I guess I'll just have to give the Ikea pot a try. No one here seems to have used one.

[Miss Priss]

I have a 6-cup stainless-steel espresso pot that's similar to the Ikea Trivsel, but purchased elsewhere. It works just fine, and I don't notice any difference in quality between coffee made in it and coffee made in my 6-cup traditional aluminum (but non-Bialetti) Moka pot.