When I was a college student, the Au Bon Pain on campus gave us free, all-day iced coffee refills if we showed proof of a previous purchase at checkout. And so began my obsession with coffee: I even, somewhat shamefully, reached Starbucks Gold Card status at one point, and I went through a phase during which trying new cafes became my favorite weekend activity.
However, I never became a sophisticated coffee brewer — I was absolutely that person who would post pictures of my cafe drinks to my stories, but I didn’t know the first thing about a pour over.
To this day, I’m still an instant coffee and microwave guy for at-home coffee, but I’ve always looked for a classier albeit simple way to make morning coffee.
When I shopped for a coffee-loving friend’s birthday gift in November, I started with our own coverage here at Select. In our guide to gifts for coffee lovers, Select writer Zoe Malin recommended the Bialetti Moka Express coffee pot, which she uses for her morning brews. The elegance of the design and its simplicity of use made the pot stand out, so I decided to buy it for my friend — they loved the gift so much that I may need to purchase one for myself.
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Bialetti Moka Express
The company says that the Moka Express is the “original stovetop espresso maker,” dating all the way back to 1933. Made in Italy, it still retains the same shape and logo that the original version — invented by Alphonso Bialetti — had.
To make espresso with the Bialetti Moka Express, all you do is fill the machine with water up to the safety valve, add coffee grounds to the filter and boil directly on the burner. The coffee is done once you hear it gurgling. And once you’re finished, all you do is rinse with water to clean the pot — according to the company, you need no soap or detergent.
Everyone wants to be a “cool” coffee drinker, but for me (and I imagine for others as well), it’s a struggle to find a trendy coffee maker with a cool aesthetic that even a novice like myself can use. But the Moka Express accomplishes that, and I think that’s what makes it a solid gift for anyone — you can feel like a coffee aficionado without having to learn complex techniques or methods. And you’ll probably end up with a decent cup of coffee, too.
Considering I already gifted this for my friend’s birthday in November, gifting it again to others could seem tacky. However, that won’t stop me from treating myself to a Bialetti this holiday season, getting myself off the instant coffee grind (pun intended) for good. And if you have any coffee lovers in the family, even if they’re novice brewers like I am, I think this coffee pot will put a smile on their faces.
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