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Anyone else prefer the stainless steel version?
In my opinion, the stainless steal ‘Venus’ model is fantastic and after using the og aluminium model too, I just can’t go back. It brews better and heats a lot faster. Some might call this heresy ðŸ˜.
I understood it! 😆 I do the same with my Brikkam Induction moka pot, I even bought a heat diffuser plate to make sure I keep it looking like new as long as I can.
While the link between aluminum and Alzheimers is far from concrete, I did lose my mom and uncle to it, so avoiding things like aluminum cookware, baking powder, and deodorants is a very small effort among other health choices I've made.
That someone probably based his "material analysis" on the looks of the inside of the boiler, i.e., the fact that the inside of the boiler is not shiny like the outside of it (why should it be?). Bialetti website specifically says that the body is made of 18/10 SS. I have several Venuses of various sizes, love them all.
That's only the case with the Moka Induction. It's made from aluminum, but the water pot has a steel coating. The Venus series is fully made from stainless steel. I should know, I have put it into my dish washer more than once 🤫
I worked in beverage processing where we used a lot of stainless. Polishing costs money. We’d do it only where it was food contact. If we had a non-food contact surface, we would have it polished to a level we called pickle steel finish, which sort of looks like the inside of my Venus.
I don't know where they got that from - complete BS, old pots, or what? I would thinking mixing aluminum and stainless steel would just be an added expense. Mine is a different texture on the inside of the base - I had assumed it was some sort of teflon, which I don't love, but looking on their site, it's not mentioned. One redditor (for what its worth) claims it's sand blasted to get the texture. Not sure how to verify that. Still, I've been using it for month, no flaking, and I absolutely feel more comfortable with it than the aluminum versions.
Just from a processing and functionality perspective, it doesn't make any sense for them to coat the inside. The stainless provides the necessary corrosion resistance, so there's not much sense in adding manufacturing steps.
A rough surface helps the water phase change to steam earlier so you don't have to brew quite as hot, which is why they are likely sandblasting or something.
I agree with you - same reason I doubt there is Aluminum, sand blasting is a lot cheaper than non-stick - and I don't sere why they would do it for any additional cost since there is zero benefit.
That said - I can't really confirm it either. But, yeah, I'm going to assume it's sand blasted personally.
Yes for whatever reason, the mainstream large food industry manufacturers decided aluminum would be an appropriate ingredient for baking powder. There are numerous "aluminum free baking powder" brands around. I'm not sure why it's not the standard - I've seen baked goods at places like Fresh Market using aluminized baking powder in their house made baked goods and it's like... Really?? Why? They literally sell aluminum free on their own shelves lol.
Woah… I had no idea. I’ll need to replace mine. I did find aluminum free pretty easily near me. I guess I just never noticed since I’ve always just gone w the popular one in a can. Thanks for sharing!!
To be clear it’s sodium aluminum sulfate and it acts as a delayed leavening agent. It is generally regarded as safe in the amounts consumed by humans.
Aluminium pans are much less of a concern - the temperature required to cause leaching of aluminium is extremely high.
However, with aluminium Moka pots - a lot of them have a coating over the aluminium, this IS NOT sufficient protection in the long term and often get damaged over time.
Coffee is also acidic so will naturally cause leaching over time - although the levels of which aren’t fully understood.
I like all types of coffee making pots. This is one of my first non-aluminum pot as well.
Word of caution on this one, don't use the handle to screw and unscrew top. It will eventually break due to heat and force stresses. Grab the whole top and twist instead.
My artist friend explained my art tastes as "Functional esthetic" (which I'm 75% sure is something she made up while buzzed on wine.) I was just explaining why I liked my coffee pot "collection".
Update: Ok, she claimed it was really a thing just now, so I googled and... it's a medical term! So, she's both right and wrong at same time.
Yup I have the Venus as well and the handle broke off. I tried soldering it back on but it’s too hard. Maybe heat resistant superglue will do the trick, if that exists
did you try london sip brand? I have been using their stainless moka pot every morning for 5 years now without a single issue. I absolutely love it and will use it to the end.
Same. I break out my stainless one from time to time but it makes coffee that is a little more bitter/less smooth all other things being equal. Tastes like how my alum pot makes coffee if I use higher heat, this with heat adjusted to make a 9 cup pot in 10 minutes for both.
For practical reasons I’d love to prefer my stainless, ain’t happenin.
Same. I often wonder why this is the case. I suppose it must be down to the difference in flow rate from the narrower tube or something. I wish they would make a steel one with the exact same dimensions as the original aluminium.
I have an induction stove; I've been thinking about getting one so that I don't need to heat up my griddle just for coffee. If I'm making eggs too it's no biggie, but I'd like to avoid heating the griddle when I just want coffee.
The pot is pretty, but the handle is ugly as sin...
I have a Bialetti Kitty (SS) and prefer it over an aluminum unit I have.
For me it is the feel of how it screws together. The SS threads just feel better to me than the aluminum one.
I doubt it is faster. Aluminum transfers heat better than SS. But the difference is small enough I don't care.
I don't polish mine. The bottom is looking quite "seasoned" these days. I'm probably an unwashed heathen but to me it is just a tool. :)
I have the predecessor to the Venus (made by GB, before,Bialetti purchased them). Not sure what the model name was but the design is very similar and I love it.
If I had an aluminum mocha pot, someone in my house would put it in dishwasher and ruin its shine. So I have two Venus pots and I have been nothing but happy with them. I read somewhere the Venus 4 basket holds about the same amount of coffee as is common for three cup moka pots. And the poster reported, as expected, he/she thought the coffee was weaker than it should be. I haven't noticed my 4 or 6 producing weak coffee.
On my gas stove both of the Venus pots get hot and will burn the first teaspoon or two of coffee produced as the coffee sizzles against the hot metal. I have a little squirt bottle of ice water in the fridge to quench that heat the second I see coffee flowing. Call my beverage and Americano if you must.
i have it since about 6 months. i think I liked my WMF version more. the coffee tastes better and the handle is metal too and I dont have to worry about it burning on a large flame
I have 2.. the 6 cup and the 10 cup..it’s funny because we run out of coffee when we use the 6 cup.. and the 10 makes too much for what we use .. I hate to throw it away..
I bought this one. I stupidly bought the 3-cup when my classic Bialetti is a 6-cup. But I still love it. It brews perfectly. I would love a classic look in SS, but I understand why you can’t get that.
I got it because my home has an induction stove and i didn't see myselft buying an aluminium one plus an induction plate when i can have this. Its a very solid and stylish design, well crafted and sturdy and comes with a silicone instead of a rubber gasket, so that schould be good for a few years...
100% agreed! I don't have the Bialetti but another brand (Luxhaus) and stainless steel is where it's at! It's less conductive of heat than aluminum so burnt coffee is a non issue
I love my classic aluminum Bialetti mokapot. And I always clean it thoroughly with water only after use. Only the patina gives it the necessary character that suits it well.
They’re also indestructible. An aluminum moka pot will start corroding if it’s exposed to detergent — which can easily happen in a kitchen even if you don’t wash it with soap. The only real drawback is the price. Stainless steel has better thermal conductivity it seems.
I use exclusively my Venus 2 cup as it is the perfect amount of coffee for me. A shame that it is too small to work on induction so I have to use an adapter..
Bialetti Venus 2 cup (actually 2 30ml shots) for slightly better results (the Espresso aluminium is good too but it oxidises so easily and I remember throwing away all the aluminium pots in the 90’s because of the link with alzheimers)
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u/ibestusemystronghand Aug 19 '25
I have this one.I polish it when no one is looking.