Alessi 9090 moka pot review
Out of all the moka pots we’ve tested so far there were two standouts. The original Bialetti Moka Express and the Alessi 9090.
The 9090 is a classic design — we felt that a review of moka pots wouldn’t be complete without it.
It excels in every criteria — most importantly taste. Though it has a few minor usability issues we’ve outlined below.
Table of contents
A fancy option
Taste
The Alessi 9090 makes really great rich and creamy coffee. It was one of the only moka pots we’ve tested that actually makes a good cup! The other being the Bialetti Moka Express.
Aesthetics
The beautiful Alessi 9090 was designed by Richard Sapper.1 It has been added to he MoMA collection, along with many of his other works2. A nice talking point if you’re into that sort of thing.
The manufacturing quality is really great — the main body is made of shiny steel, with the handle having a matte finish. It looks like a chimney of an Art Deco steam engine. A great gift for the train enthusiast coffee drinker in your life.
The one downside is it comes with an annoying, nearly impossible to remove sticker. Very annoying.
Sticker update: It actually isn't hard to get the sticker off. Just do it as soon as you get it. Scrub the adhesive off with a sponge.
Usability and cleaning
The design of the Alessi 9090 includes some unique features — some good and some bad. None of the bad features disqualify it from our recommendation, but they’re worth considering before you buy one.
Good features
- The unique spout pours easily and makes sure there’s no spillage.
- The novel attachment mechanism for the upper and lower chamber means you’ll never screw the pieces together too tight.
- Easy lid mechanism
Bad features
- The handle is made of metal. This is fine if you always use the moka pot correctly. But, if you turn the flame up too high on a gas stove you risk accidentally heating the handle. It gets very hot.
- It contains a small extra filter — something most moka pots don’t have. That’s another thing to clean or to go missing.
- It’s easy to confuse which way round the upper chamber connects to the bottom chamber.
- The upper chamber is thin and a little difficult to clean the bottom of.
Sustainability and repairability
Moka pots are one of the more sustainable coffee makers — they last a very long time. The 9090 is very well made, so it will be tough to break.
The only parts that will need replacing regularly are the gaskets. These can be bought directly from Alessi.
Metal parts that may be lost or broken can be bought from Alessi too. The 9090 comes with a smallish part (the reducer)3 that could easily be misplaced.
One downside of Alessi moka pots is that their naming conventions are a bit confusing — this makes finding replacement parts a little harder.