Dr Zeus - check out moka pots made by an Italian company named Guido Berna, as also the Bialetti Kona pots. Both the GB and the Kona are made of food safe stainless-steel. when I visited milan a few years back, I saw quite a few Italian makes that offered stainless steel moka pots.
I was a little surprised to see that aluminum is still considered to be a *possible* contributing factor to alzheimers. There was some refutory evidence in the 1990s.
What you must understand is that elemental aluminum (the metal used on moka makers and commercial cookware) is *very* prone to oxidation. In pure oxygen it will even burn ! It forms a thin, clear, glassy, protective layer of aluminum oxide over the surface in a matter of minutes when exposed to air. I would avoid scrubbing any aluminum utensil with abrasives (green plastic scrubbing pads, metal ones or abrasive cleansers for example) and then immediately using it with acid foods, like coffee, beer, wine, citrus fruits. If you have any lingering doubts you could wait an hour after scrubbing or else you can form a nice thick aluminum oxide layer by heating the aluminum utensil in a 500F oven for half an hour. If you just sponge out a moka maker with a little detergent or run it through a dishwasher I wouldn't worry at all.
Aluminum oxide is the base material in rubies and emeralds - it's glassy, hard, inert and insoluble, and cannot be absorbed in the gut. It will cause no health problems.
The things you *should* be concerned about are soluble aluminum compounds in your water supply, in underarm deoderants, antacids, liquid parentereals (restricted by the FDA after Jan 2004) and tea. Tea, especially cheap tea, is high in flouride and aluminum salts - I wouldn't worry about the occasional cup, but if your use measures in pounds per month you should get a wristband with your name & address just in case ((OK - it's not a funny topic really)).
I read thru old posts and picked up so much info here at this forum. I finally decided to purchase a Bialetti "Classic" stainless steel 6C moka pot. I ordered from CaffeSolo via Amazon, it was $39.99 and s/h were 6.49. I rec'd it just 3 days after ordering. I rec'd it yesterday and played around all afternoon. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this pot!
First, its so cute and adorable! The steel pot is quite heavy and has a substantial feel in your hands, I love the looks and feel of it. The shape of the Classic is smooth and rounded with a little black knob at top to match the handle.
Second, its extremely easy and FUN to use. I was able to get excellent results in just my second pot (the first pot is to be disposed per directions)It holds about 1-1/2C cold water in bottom, and it makes about 1 to 1-1/2C quite strong coffee w/crema when done. It takes about 5-6min on med/hi heat, electric smoothtop. This next sentence may make some of you here nauseous, but I'm being honest about my results....I used Dunkin Donuts coffee w/regular grind and it was EXCELLENT. To make a superb mocha, I filled mug with about 1/3 coffee, 1/3 or so of warmed milk and 2-3T Hersheys syrup (I know, some of you are gagging again! Count to 10 and breathe deeply) I topped with a sprinkle of Ghirardelli ground chocolate and literally danced about my kitchen while proclaiming for my dog and fish "I DID IT!! I MAKE MOCHA!!" (Think Tom Hanks in Castaway) I was so pleased with my concoction! I'm never paying $4 for a mocha GAMBLE again. I say gamble because thats truly what it is, some hit and some miss and some really miss.
Third, its so easy to clean up. I just rinsed all the parts with warm water, wiped dry with a towel and put it back in my greenhouse window so I could stare at it! In case I forgot to mention, I think I'm in love with this adorable little pot. I can hardly wait to try new coffees in it and find cups and such. I've got a Nissan milk frother coming next week, the hand pump one made also of stainless steel. I may have to start collecting these little pots. I just love beautiful things that are also functional. Thanks to all who posted info that helped me to decide and know how to use it when it arrived and there were alot of you, sincerely...thanks.
i use a moka at work .had a bialettis aluminum,have you ever looked in the bottom of a used one of these?,its not a pretty sight,so i purchased a`stainless steel Guido Bergna got it right off the shelve in a supermarket in miami,its the musa 2 cup, works great and looking in the bottom water chamber doesnt make one gag!SS and Guido Bergna/ GB are top quality!
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