Opinion

Bialetti and Lavazza: coffee with the best value for money

4.10.2023

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Everyone and their dog drinks capsule coffee or espresso from a portafilter machine. And so I asked myself: why would anyone use anything but Bialetti? Why? Because I find this system makes good coffee at a fair price.

«Something’s wrong with the machine, it may take a little while. Would you like a glass of water while you wait?» I was recently asked over to a coworker’s house for coffee. Her new boyfriend had given her his old portafilter machine. And it wasn’t working properly. And neither was her boyfriend’s new machine for that matter, as she revealed to me later.

We’ve got one of those models standing in the kitchen of our open-plan office. Sometimes it makes coffee, and sometimes it doesn’t. This seems to be a recurring theme with this kind of coffee machine. And nobody seems to know why. Neither my colleague, nor her boyfriend, nor the technician who has already inspected the boyfriend’s new machine twice. Even our amateur baristas at the office often stare blankly at the machine with wide eyes and empty cups.

Portafilter machines: any chance of a coffee?

Something often seems to be a problem. The water might be too hard, or too soft. Or the pressure’s too strong, or not strong enough. Maybe it’s too hot, or too cold. Not to mention the coffee itself. Basically, you can’t get the grind right. It’s always too coarse or too fine. Too much or not enough for the portafilter. There’s always something wrong. This erratic behaviour reminds me of high-horsepower race cars that spend more time jacked up in garages than they do on the road.

Can I get a hallelujah for the simple Bialetti system? Works. Every. Time.

90 years of simplicity and goodness: Bialetti Moka Express.
Source: Patrick Bardelli

Moka pots

CHF30.90

Bialetti Moka 6 cups

6 T.

Capsule coffee: ecological catastrophe and ridiculously expensive

As expensive as the portafilter machines often are, the price of capsule coffee is absurd. Nestlé has led the way with its Nespresso capsules. All it took was one look at George Clooney, wee cup in hand, and the average coffee drinker’s mind was blown. Any self-respecting citizen equipped their home with an original Nespresso machine. And a Grand Cru de la something from the East African highlands for two francs a capsule to go with it. This meant sipping coffee from aluminium thingamajigs would set you back about 100 francs. Per kilo of coffee that is. «Nespresso. What else?»

Of course, all the other suppliers have long since jumped on the capsule bandwagon, and everyone wants their share of the espresso cake. What else? So did Bialetti, I’m afraid to admit. It wouldn’t be fair to only bash Nestlé, after all.

Colourful mountains of aluminium waste are my witness. They’ve since grown to immeasurable heights. But wait, the good people at Nestlé and Co. have now reacted and launched compostable capsules. So all’s well then, right? Nope. Swiss consumer magazine «Espresso», nomen est omen, took a closer look at these supposedly environmentally-friendly capsules from various suppliers. And drew a different conclusion (article in German). In a nutshell: most «compostable» coffee capsules aren’t suitable for your home compost. Even most green waste facilities won’t take them.

Right: the new Bialetti for six cups, used 2 to 3 times, left: the old Bialetti probably used about 2,000 to 3,000 times.
Source: Patrick Bardelli

Again, praise the Bialetti system! The coffee grounds go straight into my home compost, no questions asked. Allow me to trigger coffee snobs even more: yes, I buy ground coffee by Lavazza. And no, I don’t travel to Costa Rica once a year to pick the beans myself to process them in my in-house micro roasting facility in my cellar between the laundry room and the hobby room. Shame on me. And yet, the combination of Bialetti and Lavazza Qualità Rossa still makes coffee with the best value for money. At least I think so.

Lavazza Qualità Rossa (Medium roast, 250 g)

Coffee powder

CHF8.90 CHF35.60/1kg

Lavazza Qualità Rossa

Medium roast, 250 g

PS: my coworker did manage to squeeze a «coffee» out of her portafilter machine in the end. It tasted a little stale. Probably the water was too hard or too wet.

Header image: Patrick Bardelli

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Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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Bialetti and Lavazza: coffee with the best value for money

Portafilter machines: any chance of a coffee?

Capsule coffee: ecological catastrophe and ridiculously expensive

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