First off, I did extensive research on this and other moka pots before my purchase. It is frustrating to see so many off-the-cuff questions from people who clearly didn't do their homework regarding this amazing product. Following are my thoughts. 1. The inside of the lower boiler appears to be sandblasted to aid in a more rapid boil. It is NOT coated with any other material; ie Teflon, nor is it carcinogenic. It is bare stainless metal. Holy heck, people — let it go. Comments like this are very damaging regarding the perception of this company’s product. 2. Be very careful when washing and drying the inside lip of the lower boiler. It has a very sharp edge that easily cut my finger. I’m going to take some 1500-grit sandpaper and carefully knock this edge off so it doesn’t happen again. 3. The inner gasket and screen are very secure. The overall fit and finish (and YES it is made in China) are top notch. I’m very impressed with the quality. The design is very appealing and the unit is compact; it will be a constant companion on my counter. 4. The valve is solid - no issues. Some people have complained about a whistling noise; i can state that if you follow the instructions you will not have a problem. The valve itself is manufactured in Italy. 5. Contrary to what many are saying about initial use, i did wash the individual parts in very hot soapy dishwater and rinsed carefully before i used it for the first time. To be blunt — not following through on this step is just plain gross. You have no idea what this unit went through during the manufacturing process, or how many people handled it and under what conditions. Wash the damn thing in soapy water before you use it. After that, it requires minimal maintenance. 6. I have a package of premium Lavazza Crema e Gusto on order. For now i used Peet’s Big Bang® whole bean coffee ground fine in my spice grinder. The taste was a bit sour but that’s the fault of the beans, not the pot. A VERY strong full mug of espresso. I’m glad i purchased the 6 cup for this purpose. One mug is all i need to get started with my morning. 7. This unit blows my French press away. I tired of having to wait for water to boil and then steep for four minutes before i could have a cup using the French press. The Bialetti Venus is so quick. It’s a game changer. I most likely will not be using my wife’s Keurig either. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND A GREAT PRICE. Read the instruction sheet before use. UPDATE - December 15, 2022: After using this every day and carefully reviewing YouTube techniques for getting the most out of this pot, I determined that the first "sour" cup of coffee i referenced above was the result of a too coarse grind and brewing it too quickly, so the extraction process could not get the full, smooth body out of the grind. (From what i recall, the actual brew time was a little over one minute.) If your cup is sour, ensure you have fresh, quality beans ground finely for use in a Moka. The percolation "sweet spot" time for this brewer is between 2 and 3 minutes once the coffee enters the top chamber. I have a Maytag gas range with a small burner at the back right of the unit. This burner is PERFECT for this use because you can dial it down to an absolute minimum for the optimal brew time. (See photo.) If your beans are ground more finely, the brew time will take a bit longer because the steam extraction is forced through a more dense grind. DO NOT TAMP THE COFFEE OR RUSH THE BREW PROCESS. 2-3 minutes actual brew time once the coffee starts percolating out of the top chamber port is key. Espresso grind may be too fine for this pot. It should be a bit more coarse but still finely ground. Experiment and take notes on the settings for your particular grinder. Finally, watch the gush of steam and froth at the end of the brew time — if it is too aggressive you risk turning the coffee bitter. Both Peet's® Big Bang whole bean and Lavazza Crema e Gusto (espresso grind) work wonderfully in this unit. In fact, I was surprised that the Peet's gives Lavazza a run for its money, price-wise. Simply a wonderful cup of coffee to look forward to every morning! 1/16/23 UPDATE: I am posting this to help others with finding replacement gaskets for their Bialetti Venus 6-cup moka pot. I wanted to plan ahead and have a couple gaskets on hand when my gasket eventually fails. After researching, i selected this product which, as stated in their description, is a genuine Bialetti replacement — although the gaskets are made of RUBBER, not silicone as was supplied in my original Venus moka pot. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KG8FT2?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k0_1_27&=&crid=37RHY9D1CB4VZ&sprefix=bialetti%2B6%2Bcup%2Bvenus%2Bgasket&th=1 After testing, I must report it was nothing short of a disaster. The rubber replacement gaskets (you get three in the pack) are not to spec and fit much tighter than the original silicone one - being about a millimeter in diameter smaller, and noticeably thicker. As a result, the coffee, when brewed, spurted out in a thick tar-like sludge and there was a hissing noise in the boiler that had never happened before. The brewed cup was bitter and unusable — i drank only half and poured the rest out. I can only deduce that due to the much tighter gasket tolerances, the extraction process was too hot, even at the lowest gas setting on my small burner. I tried to remove the rubber gasket and found it was so tight i had to cut it out in sections using an x-acto knife. The gasket on inspection was stained and deformed after only one use. The average life, I’m told is only five months, on average. This is why the original silicone is far superior. On a side note the replacement filter screen that comes with the gaskets is a cheap aluminum facsimile of the original stainless steel one. AVOID THIS REPLACEMENT PRODUCT. It states it is made in Italy but looks Chinese. You will be disappointed. Lastly, after contacting Bialetti’s American office in New Jersey regarding these issues and my request to secure an original silicone replacement gasket, i never got a response back, after two followups. Really frustrated by their lack of response. So, where can i find an alternative gasket replacement? After extensive reviews, i found a YouTube video regarding this product made by LitOrange (China.) They are silicone and are exactly the same dimensional specs. For all i know, they supplied the original gasket for the Venus, since the pot is also manufactured in China. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VM8QBK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 They are arriving today and I will be reviewing this week. I hope this helps others in securing a quality replacement gasket for their Venus brewer.
