This Luxury Stovetop Espresso Maker Will Replace your Mokapot

The first time I encountered a stovetop coffee maker I was, appropriately, in Italy. My family had rented an Airbnb, and sitting on the small stove was that grand old man of stovetop coffee: the Mokapot. I’d heard that it was a good stand-in for espresso, but even though I was still years away from my current elaborate coffee setup, I knew pretty quickly that I didn’t care for what the Mokapot had to offer. Sorry to the Mokaheads out there: I found it almost undrinkable, which is a difficult bar to clear for someone who has consumed plenty of old urn coffee in his life. It tasted both stale and sour, and without any of the body I’ve grown to love about a well-made espresso shot. For some time it was the only stovetop espresso (“espresso”?) I’d tried because I assumed surely most of it is bad; it definitely can’t compete with a fancy electric espresso machine and all its pumps and buttons.

But over the last year some interesting entries into the stovetop espresso came on to my radar, like this from Bellman that looks like a teeny tiny pressure cooker. But the most intriguing to me, for its wonderful aesthetics alone, was the 9Barista. With smooth curves and walnut accents, it looks like it was plucked straight from the pages of a pricey interior designer’s midcentury modern lookbook. But more than that, it brought me back around to giving stovetop espresso another chance.

How does the 9Barista work?

There are basically two things you need to make espresso: water at a temperature that will properly extract flavor from the ground coffee, and water that moves through that coffee with the correct pressure, which impacts both flavor and body. It’s why those machines you see in coffee shops are so expensive; they can regulate both those variables very precisely. The issue with simpler stovetop coffee makers like a Mokapot is that temperature regulation is iffy, and it isn’t possible to generate enough pressure for a highly flavored espresso.

The 9Barista solves for this with a novel system of twin boilers, which basically uses one boiler to create the pressure needed for brewing and another to regulate the temperature. The result comes pretty darn close to what you can get with an electric espresso maker that uses a pump.

The first boiler sits directly on the heat source and hits temperatures of just over 350℉ (179℃ because this thing is British), which creates 9 bars of pressure, more than double the pressure that comes out of your shower, and right in the sweet spot of what professional baristas aim for when they pull an espresso shot. That pressure pops open a valve and forces the water into the second boiler, where it goes through a metal coil called a heat exchanger, which lowers the temperature some.

The pressure from the heat continues forcing the water through a final chamber, where it drops in temperature one more time to around 200℉ (again, what baristas use when pulling shots), then through a basket of ground coffee, and up into the pitcher. It takes six or seven minutes after you put it on. If all that sounds complicated, just know it’s similar to what’s going on with an electric espresso maker, except the plug-in appliance typically does it with a thermostat and a pump instead of the heat from your stove.

Does the 9Barista make good espresso?

I judge espresso based on its complexity of flavor. The best ones have good body and a nice crema on top, while lesser ones lean sour or bitter, like the ones I’ve experienced with a Mokapot. With this metric in mind, 9Barista makes an excellent espresso, especially for a device without the same temperature and pressure controls of a luxe electric espresso machine.

To compare, I brewed an espresso on the 9Barista side by side with a Lelit MaraX, which currently tops the espresso maker testing done by our sister brand Epicurious. Though the taste of the 9Barista’s coffee were a bit sharper, I could still pick out fruity and chocolatey flavors in every shot.

Then there was the crema: truly impressive stuff compared to a Mokapot, and a sign that it actually is brewing with the pressure the brand claims it has. A thick layer of almond crema appears almost immediately as coffee bubbles to the top of the pitcher, and it has a fullness that just blankets your mouth. It’s also just very calming to watch the slow eruption of coffee happen, as you can see below. It doesn’t, of course, have any milk steaming capabilities. So if you usually drink your espresso in the form of a latte or cappuccino, you’ll need an external milk frother.

NOTE: I used an induction stovetop and the 9Barista does require a separate plate to make it induction compatible.

Are there any issues with the 9Barista?

It was a bit of a pain to clean. Frequently, I had issues knocking the pucks of espresso out of the filter basket and had to resort to prying them out in pieces with a butter knife or spoon. You also have to take care to keep your hands far away from the metal body for some time after brewing is complete. I and my blistered thumb learned the hard way when trying to depressurize it while wearing the heat resistant Ove Glove that I use to move a hot pizza steel from my oven.

There is also the matter of the price: $450+ for a stovetop coffee maker is a lot; it’s notably more than some worthwhile electric machines I’ve tested from Breville and Solis. But this is a showpiece as much as it’s a caffeine conveyor. The (very heavy) industrial-cool lines, the dual walnut handles—this is the sort of object that would feel right at home on the shelves at the Museum of Modern Art’s design shop.

Should you get the 9Barista?

The 9Barista is not as fast as a lot of popular electric pump machines that can heat and brew in seconds, and if I face no obstacles around space or price, I’d still choose an appliance I can plug in. The electric espresso makers are just easier to set up and use, and I feel more control when I’m brewing. If I want a ritual to my morning coffee, I’ll make some pour-over.

However, for someone who cares about their espresso but lacks the space for a big machine, this is a terrific alternative. I’ve tested dozens of espresso makers, and the coffee from the 9Barista was as good or better than all but the most high-end machines. If mid-priced machines from the likes of Breville and De’Longhi haven’t wowed you but you aren’t going to shell out close to two grand for a café quality model, you’ll like what you get here. And if you just want to fill your kitchen with works of industrial art, you should get this and consider just putting it in a shadow box on the wall when it’s not on the stove.