KAMIRA Moka Express 1/2 Cups Stovetop Espresso Maker. The perfect gift! Made in Italy

I've used this machine for a month now and I LOVE IT! UPDATE 4/19/17: We finally bought an induction hot plate. This one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0045QEPYM/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I can't say how much quicker, easier and much more consistent results are with my Kamira! If you are able to couple your kamira with an induction hot plate it'll change your coffee experience ten fold! I will say that this isn't a beginners Moka/espresso machine. You have to know your grind, roast, time, a watchful eye and a lil bit of patience. HOWEVER the result is amazing, delicious and beautiful espresso with great crema. I use my Kamira on a glass-top electric stove. Kamira works great on electric, however since we use our kamira daily we are looking into an induction heat hotplate/ when we replace the stove it'll be either gas or induction. Here's why- most electric stovetop ranges pulsate/flash heat. When we use Kamira on our grill we have more control on the steady build up of heat/pressure; which we find is easy to get that constant flow of crema. Is it impossible to get that lovely thick crema like the Kamira website shows on electric? Not in the least. However we run a "blow out" to preheat our unit by filling the reservoir half way, attaching the portafilter without grinds, and letting the water/ steam cycle through. Kamira works much better slightly warmed up. Another thing to note is roast and grind. The hubby and I are medium roast people- which with the right grind is no issue. The caveat is less crema since the beans are not as oily. The darker the roast, the more crema you'll get. We've experimented with all types of roasts including blonde roasts and still yield far more crema than any Moka pot we've ever used. As far as grind, you want a fine grind like table salt. Here's our process on an electric stovetop: 1) preheat with an empty portafilter and cycle water (medium heat until steam emits from the portafilter or the water has cycled through- we've have a good eye how much should be in the cup. Careful not to over heat- start with medium low heat until you know how your range performs) 2) remove portafilter and fill with fine grinds. lightly tamp by tapping the portafilter on the counter . level grounds and clear any grinds around top and sides. place onto Kamira. 3) Lever in horizontal position. Fill with water. A little over half for single shot. To the top for a double shot. Push lever to vertical position to let the water drain into kamira. Once drained return lever to horizontal position. 4) Place on burner. Heat on medium. 5) Once coffee emerges turn to medium high heat for 10 seconds. Return to medium heat. 6) Once crema emerges turn to low heat for 15 seconds. Turn off heat. Kamira should continue to brew and stream crema in dollops or if you've hit that wonderful sweet spot of steam and pressure- a steady flow of thick crema. 7) Remove from burner once the crema begins to slow or you hear hissing. The portafilters will gurgle as you brew, but if you hear a slight hissing, remove from heat immediately before the safety valve whistles. Removing from the heat doesn't cease brewing it just lowers the pressure building up. 8) Once off the heat for a minute, SLOWLY lower the lever to the vertical position. If you do this directly after removing from heat or while it is still on the burner you can have steam shoot out. Please don't burn yourself. 9) Drink as is, or doctor it up how you like. Sweeten, pour over ice, add milk. Dealers choice. We warm almond milk in the microwave and use a frother to create microfoam lattés. Or make it an iced latte to go on our busy days. A few things to note: We have made consecutive shots with no issues. Simply run Kamira under cold water for a minute in between brews/cups. To clean the portafilters we run under hot water and use the brush that came with our ceramic burr grinders to gently sweep away any grinds hanging out in the filters. Once a week we wash with soapy water and rinse very well. Making coffee with Kamira is an experience. A wonderful experience that performs well and delivers amazing results for a stovetop espresso maker- the catch- it can take some time to prepare. For us 20 minutes, to freshly hand grind, preheat, brew 4 shots, and heat and froth milk. That's worth it to us. It's a beautiful, compact and very well made machine that is easy to clean and use. No checking pressure valves, plugins, etc. Kamira sells replacement parts that are also industry standard. As someone who has been trained to compete in international espresso making competitions, owns Moka pots, French presses, hand espresso machines, pour-overs, used espresso machines that cost thousands- this Kamira is priceless to our household. We will have this unit for years and cherish it beyond all the other methods of coffee brewing. 100% worth every dime. If you want true Italian coffee made beautifully every time without cheap plastic parts. This is your machine. The only thing we could ask for is a 3/4 shot portafilter for those days we need the extra kick.

I stumbled upon this coffee maker while I was shopping around for a new stovetop moka pot. Anyone familiar with the coffee that comes out of a traditional moka pot should enjoy the coffee that this thing produces, only in a more convenient and familiar 'shot' form. ...and of course there is an almost comical amount of crema produced...which can be good or bad depending on your preference. It is perfect for those mornings before work when I need a little pick-me-up, but don't want to commit to a full pot. For somewhat of an impulse buy, I am very pleased with it. I can get a great shot of espresso without having to commit to a full-blown espresso machine. Here is a quick assessment: Pros: - Fast! Water heats up within about 1 minute and produces a shot quickly after. One and done! - Comes with both single and double shot portafilters, but I doubt the single shot will ever get used. :) - Easy to clean. The maker is elegent in its simplicity. Just wipe or rinse and it's ready to go. - Light and Portable. Can use it pretty much anywhere with a burner, such as a hotel room or friend's house. - Appears to be well made. Most of the construction is stainless steel, but the valve/portafilter handles are plastic. The protective covering seems to be rubber, as is the gasket of course. - Easy to use. There instructions come in English and Italian. The steps are fairly straightforward and don't leave much room for error. Basically, Close valve, load water, open valve (lets the water flow into the boiler), close valve, load portafilter, put on stove. When it's done, simply release the valve slowly release pressure. Cons: - Takes a little trial and error with grind and tamping to get an extract within 30 seconds. That's probably typical with most espresso makers though. - Valve assembly is functional but seems a little flimsy. IT has worked perfectly fine so far, but I'm guessing if something does snap off, it would be the valve handle. - Not a 'set it and forget it' maker. i.e. Don't load it up and go wandering off to the shower. It makes coffee quickly and should probably be watched carefully. - Water tank holds just enough water for a double shot. If you want an Americano or something like that, you'd need to put the kettle on. I don't imagine it would do a corto/ristretto shot very well either. If you don't mind the 1~2oz limitation, you're good. - Pricey. You can get a perfectly nice aluminum moka pot for $20-$30 and stainless one for $50-$60. For how simple it is, the $100 spend is slightly outside my comfort zone. I'm happy with it though, so I can't really complain too much. Bottom line: It doesn't do much, but what it does do, it does very well. If you are looking for an alternative to standard stovetop makers and want to have a nice conversation piece at dinner parties, I would recommend this whole-heartedly.

We were on a trip to Italy recently and a couple of our friends in Trieste and Brescia there had this coffee maker. Its the only stovetop coffee maker that really makes espresso with the layer of top foam, just like you'd find in an Italian coffee bar. We have an induction stove at home and bought the model that works on induction. We've been making coffee for 2 weeks with it, and its wonderful, our old Mokka coffee maker has been sitting on the shelf unused since we got the Kamira. Its important to follow the instructions and do the quick cleaning/water round before making the coffee. Once you get some practice its very quick to use, and just as fast as the Mokka. My wife heats milk in the microwave and then makes a Kamira double espresso shot straight into the milk, and finally stirs in a small spoonful of honey. The result is a delicious latte with a bit of foam. I just have the straight espresso. Its also nice that you cup automatically gets warmed in the process. The only downside is if you have guest over and want to make a lot of espressos, then you may be better off using a large-sized Mokka. This is an excellent alternative to an expensive countertop espresso machine.

this makes a great cup of espresso. it looks good, takes up less space than a keurig, and makes espresso. it is amazing when it wants to work correctly. half of the time, it doesn't work correctly. the water is supposed to filter down when you move the handle down but sometimes the water won't go down. it's like there's a clog or air bubble that is preventing it from going down. we've had to improvise by swirling it, adding heat to allow the air bubbles to bubble out etc. major inconvenience as we do spend more time than necessary trouble shooting/fixing the problem when we should be just enjoying our morning cup of coffee.

I've had nothing but great coffee from this thing. Very easy to use, and most importantly, fun to use. I start with a medium flame to get the liquid flowing, then increasing or decreasing the flame will give more or less foam (crema). Couple the Kamira with a milk frother and you got yourself a darn good cup of coffee. My unit was built perfectly...welds are clean, sits flat, looks great. Nice n heavy. The two coffee holder handles fit perfectly, and were nice and tight against the seal to keep the pressure. By the way, those handles are beefy. Could drive nails with them. As others have said, the only weak link could be the valve. It does feel rather "gooey" or flimsy. Perhaps it's just where the plastic handle connects to the valve itself, not sure. Knowing this, I'm sure I can be careful with it and greatly extend its life. It's for home use anyway and not a high volume, 20 cups per hour proposition. Cup handle can get hot...either rotate the handle away from the flame, or lower the flame, to mitigate. I haven't had any problems with singed digits. I use Cafe Bustelo espresso grind from Wally World. My wife, who's a Super Gold Mega Platinum member at a well-known coffee establishment, has been rethinking her loyalty and might just make the Kamira her BFF. My personal suggestion: buy the Kamira, learn its little quirks, and enjoy a really good cup of coffee!

When it works, it is nice. However, after about 5 months the safety valve (pressure release) on it started to leak, preventing the pressure from rising enough to get proper crema. I emailed Kamira after about 7 months and they asked me to do a video of the failure. I sent a closeup video of the leaking safety valve showing both steam blowing out and water surrounding the valve. The video clearly shows the leak and that the coffee stream is weak due to the pressure leak at the safety valve. I even made sure that the screen was clean enough to see through (as in not blocking the steam from pushing through). I also explained how I had been getting a decent crema until it started to leak. Their response? That I can purchase a new valve from their store and that they would not honor it as part of their 5 year warranty! Why would I want to spend any more money with a company that does not stand behind their product?

So Delightful and Simple! To me this is the perfect way to enjoy strong coffee at home. With the Kamira, I make a shot or doppio or cappuccino/cafe latte in a few minutes......literally 3 minuti. This machine makes Italian stovetop espresso with beautiful foamy crema. Don't mistake this for espresso from a bar......this is smoother than the classic bar espresso, but stronger than moka, it's really a beautiful thing! Kamira is built like a tank, heirloom that your grand kids will talk about ;-). Really it's simple reliable and makes excellent coffee. If you want extra crema, use a good italian coffee with robusta bean in the blend.

My cheap semi-automatic espresso machine recently bit the big one. It lasted almost 3 years and gave me a decent cappuccino every morning of that time so I was happy with that but I needed to replace it and I wanted something better this time. I paid $250 for that last one which is pretty cheap for an espresso machine. I was considering the nearly $700 Rancilio Silvia model or going nuts with a Rocket Apartamento at $1,500. Those are two very nice machines but that's a lot of money to drop just to have a tasty espresso drink in the morning so I was a little conflicted about spending the money. Despite that I had myself about talked into the Rancilio when this Kamira thingamajig came to my attention. Say what?! The reviews really got my attention, so much so that I wound up ordering one plus the Secura 8100MC 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop Countertop Burner, Gold induction cooker and Nespresso 3694-US-BK Aeroccino3 Milk Frother, One Size, Black frother. Total cost: $222.24. I already had a great grinder which would be the 4th component of my newly revived espresso station. Folks, I really love what I wound up with here. It wouldn't work if you're planning a big latte party or something but for a personal setup for one or two it's beyond great. This setup blows away my old machine in both speed and ease of cleanup plus gives me a drink that actually rivals anything I've ever gotten out in the cafesphere. Just follow the instructions to a T and keep them around until you get the hang of it (couple of days). I get a spectacular double shot every time now. It's ridiculously easy. While any heat source will do (you can draw a double shot out in the woods on a campfire with the Kamira), using an induction cooker like the Duxtop brings the boiler up to speed in about 15 seconds and you have great control over how much heat and for how long. The Aeroccino3 frother is dead simple too and works great. There are some reviews on that item that say it died after a month or so. Just spend the $2.77 for the extended warranty. Start the milk first and by the time you've drawn your double shot there's thick hot foam waiting. It's like having a machine with a double boiler in that you can make the shot and the foam at the same time. Even the $700 Rancilio doesn't do that. Here's a tip I didn't see in the instructions: if the water doesn't quite go down to the boiler when you bring the tank lever to the vertical position, just give the pressure valve a slight pull and watch the water drop. Works every time. Time will tell on how long the frother will live but I'm loving it now like 5 stars worth. This however is a review for the Kamira which I expect to last forever and I'm sorry that I can only give it 5 stars. Eight stars out of five for the Kamira.