Bialetti Moka Express Coffee Maker Review

Bottom Line

The Bialetti Moka Express is the one-pot wonder that coffee lovers around the world rave about, and for good reason. This Italian-designed device makes strong coffee quickly and easily, requiring very little effort. We’ve been using one at home for years, but it’s just as delightful for outdoor adventures due to its durability, reliability, and simple functionality. Just fill the base with cold water, the basket with grounds, screw on the top, set it on your camp stove, and let it do its thing. 

The mostly metal construction is heavy, but the device is durable and can withstand a beating when we tossed it into our camp kitchen box for road trip-based campouts in Utah. We also found that the quantity of coffee it prepared was just the right amount for two people to enjoy a shot each, which could then be turned into an Americano by adding water, or warm milk to craft a latte, or simply enjoyed as-is.

Our only complaint: You’ll need a towel to disassemble it for cleaning or reloading if you don’t want to wait for it to cool down. If you’d like to see other options, check out our best camping and backpacking coffee maker gear guide.

How We Tested

We’ve been using the Bialetti Moka Express on cross-country road trips and frontcountry campouts in national parks for years. Recently, however, we focused on testing its performance against other coffee makers, timed the extraction process, and assessed how quickly it cleaned up afterward in Utah campgrounds and beyond.

Portability

When it comes to portability, we appreciate the Bialetti Moka Express because we were never concerned about it getting banged up in our backpacks or damaged in the back of our car. However, it’s not the smallest or lightest camp coffee maker we tested. In fact, it was heavier than average at 7.4 ounces.

It’s a bit bulky, too. The shape isn’t rectangular or cylindrical, which makes it difficult to fit into a gear box, and its design complicates storing other kitchen supplies inside it; however, you could store a day or two’s worth of grounds in the base. It can’t be easily clipped to the outside of a pack, but we found that if we stuffed it into a backpack with soft goods like clothing, we didn’t encounter any issues. It was trickier to get it to nestle in a stuff sack with other camp kitchenware.

Ease of Use

The Bialetti Moka Express is easy to use. It consists of three parts: the base that holds water, the coffee basket, and the upper reservoir where coffee flows as it percolates upward. Simply fill the base with water to the valve, fill the basket with grounds–no measuring or weighing needed—then twist on the top and place it on the stove. It does the rest for you. When you hear sputtering, it’s time to remove it from the heat and serve.

You don’t even need a separate kettle to boil water; just a camp mug for sipping.

Keep the size of the Moka Express in mind. It may not be as stable on gas-powered camp stoves with wide burner supports. However, during testing, we found it worked on most camp stoves and even backpacking stoves with a bit of extra care and attention to placement.

Time to Brew

Of all the camp coffee makers we tested, the Bialetti Moka Express proved to be one of the fastest. The time from when we placed it on our backpacking stove to when we poured hot coffee into our camp mugs was only 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Additionally, since the device boils water in the same pot used for brewing coffee, there’s no need to heat water separately beforehand.

The exact brew time will depend on the conditions and your camp stove. More powerful burners will lead to less wait time, while higher altitudes and a less robust stove will take longer.

In either case, brew time is inactive, meaning that once you turn on the burner, you can enjoy your breakfast or deflate your sleeping pad since you don’t have to worry about a finicky pour-over. Just light it up and wait.

Ease of Cleanup

When it comes to cleanup, the Bialetti Moka Pot isn’t the easiest to rinse and store for later. It wasn’t the worst option, either. In fact, it ranked about average when compared to other devices.

It should be disassembled and rinsed, and then ideally allowed to air dry or be wiped dry to prevent corrosion over time. That’s easy enough, but since the device heats water and brews coffee in one pot, the entire maker gets hot. This means you either have to wait for it to cool down before disassembling it or use heat protection, such as a camp towel or oven mitts, to twist it apart for cleaning or refilling.

We didn’t find much of a problem when winter camping, as we could set it on the cold ground or in a snowbank to speed up cooling. It wasn’t a deal breaker in warmer temperatures either, since we usually have a camp towel, but it’s something to consider. Running cool water over the coffee maker can also accelerate the process.

Coffee Strength

The Bialetti Moka Express brews espresso-strength coffee. While the amount produced by the device may seem small, its strength more than compensates for the volume. It creates approximately one small mug or two shots of espresso, making it one of the strongest among the devices we tested.

That means, in addition to offering a strong quaff that we could drink on its own, it serves as a great starting point for an Americano, which involves adding water to espresso to lengthen the shot, or a camp cappuccino by adding hot milk.

On weekend camping trips in Arizona, we found that the strength and flavor were more than adequate for any of these applications. However, our favorite way to enjoy it was by heating our preferred non-dairy milk and adding it to the coffee. 

The flavor isn’t as smooth as that of some other espresso makers we tested, but we didn’t mind since the prep is so easy.

Should You Buy the Bialetti Moka Express?

Given the strong coffee the Bialetti Moka Express produces, along with its ease of use, durability, and straightforward cleanup, it provides excellent value for espresso lovers looking to enjoy a robust cup of coffee while camping. It even offers versatility in what you can do with the coffee once it’s ready: make a latte by adding milk, dilute it for an Americano, or drink it bold and straight.

It’s a great choice for one or two people, but it can also accommodate more with a quick rinse and reset. Additionally, it brews coffee quickly, doesn’t need a kettle or pot, and requires very little effort on your part.

Ultralight backpackers, as well as those who enjoy a standard cup of black coffee, may find less to appreciate. The device is heavy and bulky. Additionally, those who prefer a weaker brew might find it more suitable to choose something smaller, cheaper, or lighter, especially if they tend to dilute their espresso.

What Other Camping & Backpacking Coffee Makers Should You Consider?

If you like the idea of the Bialetti Moka Express but are wondering if there’s a better camp coffee maker for you, check out these options, all of which we reviewed in our coffee makers for camping and backpacking gear guide.

Wacaco Minipresso GR Review: If you want espresso in a smaller package, the Wacaco Minipresso is definitely worth considering. You can brew it hot or cold, but you’ll need to use a hand pump to build the pressure required for flavorful extraction.

GSI Mini Espresso Set Review: This device works similarly to the Moka Express—using heat and pressure–but only brews one cup at a time. It includes a cup, so everything you need is provided and it packs away in a durable travel case.

Aeropress Go Review: Do you enjoy strong coffee sometimes but not always? The Aeropress Go lets you customize brew strength while remaining easy to use, compact, portable, and simple to clean between uses.