Cuisinox Liberta 6 cup Espresso Coffeemaker

Comment: I bought this to replace a Bialetti stovetop maker I had for years. That one made decent coffee & was cheaper, but after a few years of use it started leaking water out of the bottom. I never dropped or dented it, so it appears to have just been thin and wore down so cracks developed after use. I'd never heard of Cuisinox but decided to give it a try based on reviews of this and other pots. The design is cute CUTE!! More importantly, though I've only had it a little while, the pot seems much more solidly constructed (despite being made in China), like a larger Bialetti I own. In fact, I think it's even heavier. It does have a metal handle & top knob which get hot, but I found the black rubber handles on other machines did too, so hello pot holder! This also makes coffee super fast and so far it's been a really smooth tasting cup. Love it!

The level reducer (to make 3 instead of 6 cups) also makes this a versatile pot! Extra gasket is a bonus.

Comment: It's easy to get a cup of coffee anywhere, but it's not easy to get a really good cup of coffee. I have done a lot of research before I bought this item and I am very glad I got it. It was not mentioned in the item description so I'll note it here that this espresso maker is not made in Italy or India like a lot of others sold on Amazon. This one is made in China.

I have to say it's very beautifully made. It looks like what shown in the picture. It's very solid and seems that it will last for a long time.

I also wanted to share that I experimented with it a little and learned that the espresso tastes a lot better if I mix in the milk or cream with the water in the bottom base and let the entire liquid mix steam through the coffee ground.

Another note is that no matter how low the level of heat you use to brew is, the entire thing gets pretty hot. If it were having a plastic handle it would have been burned away on my first use. I kind of expected this and am glad the whole thing is made of steel.

I really love this espresso maker and would highly recommend it to anyone who really wants to make a good cup of coffee.