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.

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A fancy option

A shiney steel moka pot over a blue stove top flame.
Image: Honest Coffee Guide

Alessi 9090 Moka Pot

A beautiful moka pot that makes great coffee too.

4 out of 5

Pros

  • Makes great coffee
  • Beautiful design

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Minor usability issues

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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.

Alessi 9090 being poured into a stylish espresso cup and saucer.

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.

A grid of six images showing the alessi 9090 being opened then filled with water and coffee grounds.

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.
Alessi 9090 held with an oven glove.
The handle got so hot one time, we had to use an oven glove to pick it up.
  • 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.

Alessi 9090 in four parts. The upper chamber, reducer, funnel, and lower-chamber.

The only parts that will need replacing regularly are the gaskets. These can be bought directly from Alessi.

A moka pot gasket and filter on a grey background

Moka pot gasket size finder

Find a replacement gasket for your Alessi moka pot here.

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.

Citations

  1. 1Richard Sapper designs in the MoMA collection
  2. 2Alessi 9090 in the MoMA collection
  3. 3Reducer for Article 9090/3