Review on Taylor Ng 30028 Bellman Stovetop by Allen Tchida

After purchasing the Bialetti Moka Express (and loving the coffee brewed with it) I decided to try some more and ended up buying this stovetop espresso. The CX-25 seems to 'brew' a slightly different coffee flavor (more intense) with a slightly thicker consistency than the moka pot. The physics of this device are very similar to moka coffee pots, except you can control how much pressure is built before the coffee is released. While with the Bialetti Brikka you are limited by the pressure the outlet can handle, with the CX-25 you can build as much pressure as a 5 minute boil can produce (the manual says 5 minute cook time for a steamer). , not coffee. Coffee, as they say, can be boiled/steamed/pressurized for about 30-60 seconds before the user has to open the valve and let the coffee flow out. I don't know if this is for safety reasons, but The point is, you CAN safely build the pressure inside for up to 5 minutes following the directions). I don't know what pressure a 5 minute boil causes as I bought the one without a pressure gauge but so the coffee can be classified as a true espresso according to some ruling espresso societies. funny. it must be brewed / dripped, give or take with a pressure of 10 bar. One of the main differences between this machine and the coffee maker is that for the CX-25 the manual says "Pack [coffee] down and level". "turn off" like a real espresso machine. In other words, you have to press it down. This is the opposite of a coffee maker (from what I know from a lot of research) where you should just fill the coffee funnel and NOT press it down. Maybe does the tamper make the difference in taste and texture? Anyway, after several tries I haven't gotten to froth, but I have to say the coffee is definitely good. NOTE: you can't use the tamper because the 3/4- inch cylinder protruding from the center of the funnel. If I wanted a cup of good, strong black coffee, I would use a moka pot. If I wanted to make a __________ latte/cappuccino, I would use that because the end product (after pouring frothed milk) from that latte machine is just as good, if not better than your typical coffee from this place. with all those green straws, if Stock up on good quality beans. The unit is quite ugly, looks like a bastard child of an air fryer, but you can always store it in a cupboard when not in use I guess. It is also quite heavy and somewhat dangerous to use as there is always a part that needs to be touched, particularly the handle and the underside of the steam valve handle that is exposed to the flame/heating plate/coil gets very hot. I suggest putting on an oven mitt on at least one hand holding the pencil. Also, make sure you have a damp cloth handy to wipe down the steamer after steaming, otherwise the steamer will get so hot that it will burn the milk froth left on the outside. Coffee much closer to a cafe espresso than what you might expect from a moka pot. The steamer works quite well and produces excellent fresh milk and café quality froth. Coffee brewed from it, combined with frothed milk, makes an excellent cup of latte or cappuccino. Add flavored syrup/powder/sauce to taste. Pretty simple and easy to use BUT. It's much heavier than a 6-cup moka pot.- Right where the handle touches the unit, there's a safety valve that releases steam if over-pressure builds up inside. You definitely don't want to keep your hand on the handle when the valve is releasing excess vapor. - Difficult to clean. When brewing, (obviously) liquid coffee and some ground coffee enter the nozzle. If you want to clean it CLEAN, you need to boil and "evaporate" the water through the nozzle, after that you will see that it wasn't completely clean. although this accumulation can later add flavor I think. or not (unless you use it regularly day in and day out - it takes a little time, averaging 7-10 minutes or so, to make a few cups of latte. Not for your morning cup of coffee if you're like me and always in a hurry until the morning. Suitable for leisurely after-dinner desserts. Keep practicing until you get the result you want. I definitely recommend this device. This is a great replacement for a real espresso machine for a few thousand dollars. Definitely tastes better than any sub $1000 espresso machine I've tried, although I've heard a lot of good things about these capsule units lately, they will serve me well until I can afford a really proper mechanism, although PS It's not worth it, $80 to spend on a pressure gauge model, if you're just not very curious as to how much pressure actually builds up inside; the same pressure will split into two different ones n models before the safety valve is triggered.