Alfonso Bialetti (pronounced "al-FON-so bee-AH-let-tee") was an Italian engineer born on June 17, 1888, and died on March 5, 1970. He became well-known for changing and selling the Triplerapid Miracol 900 as the Moka Express coffee maker in the 1950s. The Moka Express was originally designed in 1937 by Otello Amleto Spadini. Since the 1950s, the coffee pot has been a popular design. Many versions of the Moka have been made, including the Bialetti cow-printed Mukka Express, which makes cappuccino. However, the original Moka Express is still considered a classic. Bialetti also started Bialetti Industries, now an Italian kitchen-ware company. Today, the Bialetti brand is owned by Bradshaw International, which produces and sells Bialetti kitchen-ware.

The Bialetti Company

Bialetti learned his skills for working with metal by spending ten years in the French aluminum industry. In 1919, he started his own workshop in Crusinallo (his hometown in Piedmont) to make aluminum products. This workshop became the start of the Bialetti company. Later, he changed his workshop, called Alfonso Bialetti & C. Fonderia in Conchiglia, into a place where designs were created and products were made.

The Moka Express

In 1950, Alfonso Bialetti finished designing the aluminum Moka Express. This coffee pot is also called the Moka, Moka pot, Bialetti, percolator, or stove-top coffeemaker. In Italian, it is known as la Moka, la macchinetta ("the little machine"), or la caffettiera. Blueprints of the Moka Express are displayed at the London Design Museum. Bialetti may have been influenced by other designers of the time, such as Hoffmann, Puiforcat, Genazzi, and Henin. He used their coffee-pot designs as inspiration. The Moka Express has a clean, classic look with a symmetrical eight-sided metal body. It is still made today by Bialetti. Since its creation, the Moka has become the world’s most famous coffee pot. It has been recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records and in many design books.

Aluminum was not commonly used for kitchen tools when the Moka was created. However, by the mid-1930s, aluminum became popular in kitchens. Bialetti’s design, combined with the use of aluminum, made the Moka stand out.

The Moka helped Bialetti become a leading coffee-machine company. From 1934 to 1940, the Moka was sold only locally in Piedmont, with Alfonso selling 70,000 units over six years. By 2001, 220 million Moka pots had been made, and by later years, the number reached 330 million. During World War II, rising prices for coffee and aluminum slowed production. In 1946, Alfonso’s son, Renato, took over the company. He focused on making the Moka Express the only product Bialetti produced. A large marketing campaign followed, using television, billboards in Milan, and even a giant statue of the Moka pot. Copy-cat designs were appearing in the market, so advertising became important for the Moka’s success. The Moka’s mascot, L’omino coi baffi ("the little man with mustaches"), was based on a humorous drawing of Renato. The first sketches and logo were made in 1953 by Paul Campani. By 1956, Bialetti had built a modern factory in Omegna.

Before the Moka Express, espresso machines were large, expensive, and hard to use. Few people had them at home, so coffee was mostly made in public places. The Moka Express was small, affordable, and easy to use, allowing more people to make espresso at home. Over the 20th century, the Moka replaced older home coffee makers, such as the Napoletana and the Milanese.