No Italian house is without at least one moka, usually several, and they also accompany Italians worldwide: if you stop any Italian tourist abroad and search their suitcase, you’ll almost certainly find one stashed in their luggage.
Celebrating their 90th birthday in 2023, they’re a perfect example of classic Italian design: similar to the Olivetti typewriter, or the classic Fiat 500, mokas are almost entirely functional; yet that functionality is contained within a compact, eccentric, iconic shape that is instantly recognisable.
Mokas are inexpensive, small and light, and so they make great souvenirs and gifts.
In this article we tell you how to use one, learn their celebrated history, and how to care for them to get the best performance – and coffee – out of them over many years.