How we rate moka & stovetop

A moka pot is a pressure vessel, and what it is made of changes the cup: aluminium conducts faster and is traditional, steel is slower and cleaner tasting. A pressurised basket makes crema that is not really crema.

What we can actually read: Body material and capacity are published. Whether the basket is pressurised is published by the pots that use one, because they sell it as a feature.

Scored from figures that predict it, because the thing itself is not published.

1 of the 3 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 2 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 26 of the category's 100 points.

• Body material5 of 10

  Also read under Build Quality & Materials, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  stainless steel

  5 pts

  aluminium

  4 pts

• Pressurised basketnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 3 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  present

  3 pts

• Capacity2 of 10

  100 ml or less

  1 pt

  over 100 ml

  2 pts

10 of 10

The gasket is the part that fails, and whether you can buy another decides whether the pot lasts a decade or a year.

What we can actually read: Body and handle material and warranty are published. Gasket material and replacement availability are stated by about half of makers.

Scored directly from published figures.

2 of the 5 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 3 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 20 of the category's 100 points.

• Body material3 of 10

  Also read under Brew Quality, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  stainless steel

  3 pts

  aluminium

  2 pts

• Handle2 of 10

  Also read under Ease of Use & Cleaning, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  bakelite, wood, silicone

  2 pts

  stainless steel

  1.5 pts

  plastic

  1 pt

• Gasketnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  Also read under Safety & Valve Quality, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  silicone, food-grade

  2 pts

  rubber

  1.5 pts

• Replacement gasket soldnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  present

  2 pts

• Warranty1 of 10

  none

  0 pts

  up to 1 yr

  0.5 pts

  over 1 yr, up to 2 yr

  0.8 pts

  over 2 yr

  1 pt

10 of 10

Moka pots are hand-washed by convention and by instruction. Cup count and the handle are what change day to day.

What we can actually read: Dishwasher safety, cup count and handle material are published.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 3 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 16 of the category's 100 points.

• Dishwasher safe4 of 10

  present

  4 pts

• Cups per brew3 of 10

  1 or less

  1.5 pts

  over 1

  3 pts

• Handle stays cool3 of 10

  Also read under Build Quality & Materials, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  bakelite, silicone, wood

  3 pts

  plastic

  2 pts

  stainless steel

  1.5 pts

10 of 10

A moka pot builds real pressure over a flame. The safety valve is not a formality, and a hardened gasket is how pots fail dangerously.

What we can actually read: Thinly published. Safety valves are near-universal and rarely mentioned, so this criterion is often gated out for lack of anyone stating it.

Scored directly from published figures.

Every rule below is struck in this category, because nobody publishes the inputs. Nothing here is scored from a specification. That result is then worth 14 of the category's 100 points.

• Safety valvenot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 5 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  present

  5 pts

• Valve typenot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 3 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  safety, pressure, spring

  3 pts

• Gasketnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  Also read under Build Quality & Materials, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  silicone, food-grade

  2 pts

  rubber

  1.5 pts

10 of 10

Whether it works on your hob. Induction is the dividing line: aluminium will not work on it without a steel base or an adaptor plate.

What we can actually read: Induction, gas and electric are recorded as separate flags, never parsed from a sentence, because prose about induction incompatibility contains the word.

Scored directly from published figures.

1 of the 6 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 5 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 12 of the category's 100 points.

• Induction2.5 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose power source is electric.

  present

  2.5 pts

• Gas1 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose power source is electric.

  present

  1 pt

• Electric hob1.5 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose power source is electric.

  present

  1.5 pts

• Cordless serving2 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose power source is stovetop.

  present

  2 pts

• Automatic shut-offnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 1.5 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  Not asked of a product whose power source is stovetop.

  present

  1.5 pts

• Heater power1.5 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose power source is stovetop.

  400 W or less

  0.8 pts

  over 400 W, up to 700 W

  1.5 pts

  over 700 W

  1.2 pts

10 of 10

Points per pound against the category median, in a category running from $13 to $46 for broadly the same object.

What we can actually read: Needs a published price here and on at least three rivals.

Computed from price, not from a rule list

Value is the only criterion here with no thresholds of its own, because it cannot be read off one product. It asks what else the same money buys in this category, so it needs the category. That result is then worth 12 of the category's 100 points.

Points already earned on everything else

out of 10

Multiplied by the category median over this price

median ÷ price

Capped at

10

No price published, or fewer than 3 priced rivals

5 of 10

Half marks is not a verdict, it is a refusal to guess: with nothing to compare against, a product is neither good value nor bad, and scoring it either way would invent a finding. It corrects itself as the category fills.