Review on ☕ Ilsa Stainless Steel 6 Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker: Experience Rich and Authentic Espresso at Home! by Rey High

The main difference between Bialetti and Ilsa Moka coffee pots is not the metal, but the coffee/water ratio. The Ilsa holds approx. 195ml of water in the chamber and 22g of coffee in the portafilter (for my degree of grinding and number of beans). Bialetti holds about 145ml of water for the same 22g of coffee. That's a huge difference! Simply put, with a much higher coffee to water ratio, Bialetti produces more flavorful coffee. Here are some other thoughts on Ilsa: Pros: (1) Because it's steel, it doesn't develop strange stains, odors, or mold particles. in a water chamber like the Aluminum Bialetti. As a reactive metal, aluminum is very difficult to keep clean. (2) No sharp edges, well constructed. (3) Made in Italy (Jesus, their economy needs our help). Disadvantages: (1) The Ilsa block is trickier than the Bialetti. Put too much coffee in the portafilter and the machine will stop and produce 1/2 to 1/4 the normal amount of coffee (plus lots of steam and gurgling which others have complained about). It takes some time to get used to. Tip: Use less coffee than Bialetti. Bialetti requires you to pour some coffee over the portafilter lip to get the best results. With Ilsa you want the coffee grounds to be right under the lip of the portafilter, otherwise you will most likely miss out on your beer. Of course, you never stamp the ground firmly even in a mock construction. (2) The round shape makes it difficult to unscrew the device, especially when wet. You need to make sure it's completely dry so you have a good grip (that goes for twisting it together too! It won't seal if it's just loosely tightened). (3) The handle is not riveted to the device and does not appear to be very durable. #2 tempts you to unscrew the device with it, but that's not a good idea as you could break the weld. Overall, this is an improvement over the Bialetti in terms of build quality, but a downgrade in terms of coffee. qualitative.