portable espresso makers?

I travel-brewed with a Velox/Bertone for a few years

That model was better than hotel/motel coffee, but not stunning. That was my only electric mokapot experience. For bike, cycle, boat and auto trips it was replaced with a backpacking burner and mokapot which makes excellent brew. Not suitable for airplance trips, however.

Velox is indeed the best known maker of "travel" moka pots. AFAIK, Velox has no connection with La Pavoni. There is no company named Pavona. It's impossible for a moka pot (the correct name for steam pressure based "espresso" makers - true espresso requires a pump to achieve the necessary 9 bar of pressure) to brew at 180F because they use steam pressure to push the water thru the coffee. No steam pressure is possible until at least 212F (at sea level) and the general critique of moka pots is that they brew too hot, not too cool, for this reason. The Velox machines may be underpowered (especially the 12V "car espresso" machines) and take a long time to get there, but they do get hot eventually - again they wouldn't work at all unless they heated the water to boiling plus.

In addition to Velox, Bialetti and Delonghi make self-contained electric moka pots. There are a little bigger than "travel" size and don't come in a neat carrying care like the Velox but there's really no reason why they can't be used in an office setting. Or you could use a small hot plate and a traditional moka. There have been attempts over the years to make mokas that heat the water by sticking them in a microwave oven but none that really worked well AFAIK.

CVS/Pharmacy (no affilitation)sells an electic Moka pot called "Espresso Express," (also no affiliation) for about $20 -- on sale at times for $15. Works great! I like mine, and use it regularly at work. The power cord is magnetic. A nice feature that allows you to easily unplug it. The moka turns itself off once the coffee is brewed. The upper part is clear plastic, and it's fun to watch the coffee brewing. Well, at least if you like that sort of thing. And I take it by your posting to this group that you are a likely suspect for that type of activity. It looks to be sturdy, lightweight (plastic and aluminum), and should travel well. I think (and feel certain that I'll be corrected if need be) that water has to reach a good brewing temperature for any moka to work. This one gets hot enough so that the moka whistles while it brews, as the steam escapes from the brass safety valve.

Sure, some people worry about aluminum oxide from aluminum mokas. This Chineese moka, unlike the Italian ones I have at home, hasn't developed any aluminum oxide. The lower chamber has some sort of metal insert. At first I thought it was steel, but it's not magnetic, so it's something else. Maybe anodized aluminum? (BTW aluminum oxide quickly disolves in amonia. Also, the rumor that cooking in aluminum contributes to Alzheimer's is unfounded.)

I couldn't find the ExpressoExpress on the CVS website. I have Model: WM6102. Date code: 0705. phone: 800-645-3867. email: snipped-for-privacy@product-info.us

Regards, Larry

P.S. Brews 12 oz.

Stainless steel is often nonmagnetic.

I've seen that pot advertised in their flyers but they were not in stock at the CVS I visited. Gives you a good idea of the potential for price cuts on espresso equipment once the Chinese get going on it - the comparable electric Delonghi retails for as much as $120 and $15 would barely buy you a non-electric aluminum moka. The magnetic cord is a safety feature so that if a child yanks on the cord it doesn't bring a hot pot of coffee down on his head. I wonder if the gaskets are interchangeable with the standard Bialetti?

The whistling safety valve seems strange - most mokas have a one time fuse type of safety valve that is supposed to remain sealed normally and melt if overheated, whereupon it needs to be replaced. A spring loaded reusable type is superior but usually are out of the moka pot price range.

| work. The power cord is magnetic. A nice feature that allows you to | easily unplug it.

Um...does this mean that if the cord pops off, maybe onto your bare foot while you are making your breakfast coffee, you now have a fully exposed pair of electrodes leading directly to the wall outlet? Yikes!

| Sure, some people worry about aluminum oxide from aluminum mokas.

Actually, the oxide forms a protective layer over the otherwise bare aluminum, so that even aluminophobes should almuminumoxideophiles.

-- Less information than you ever thought possible:

I bought the CVS $14.99 pot Saturday morning and returned it late in the day. It's a highly not-recommended piece of junk; only a matter of time before the flimsy plastic handle (or entire upper) or barely attached electric/plastic-housed lower element snap upon tightening. With a larger-than-small-hand 10-oz pot you need to get a good hold of the whole upper to screw it down to a proper seal. Instructions recommend 1.5T with a 10-oz fill - that was undrinkable; I monkeyed it around and found anything approaching an adequate fill was impossible because it created compression suitable to blow the safety valve (once) or cause a burp strong enough to blow the lid up on its hinge (twice) and spray hot coffee/water. It ran hot, fast, and shut off (more than once - starting with a cool pot) before a pot was complete.

It took 15 minutes of on-button mashing to get the first cycle to run - bad switch I think. It also shut off in mid-cycle. I give the magnetic power cord about 90/10 rating on risk vs. safety. It's a good idea but I can imagine a kid figuring out how to get electrocuted if it's left plugged up on the counter. Instructions say the only way to shut the machine off is pull the plug from the wall, not the brewer, FWIW.

I got a look at one in the store but did not buy because I already have an adequate Moka. No aluminum bialetti type moka (and this looked like more or less a bialetti clone) should be tightened by the handle or it will break off . The Bialetti instructions make this clear. Nor in this machine should you hold the bottom section by the element housing. Place one hand on the upper body and one on the lower and tighten. People with small hands should ask a friend or maybe get some rubber strap wrenches.

The overall quality looked about the same as the traditional moka, which is not that terrific. Same rather crude aluminum casting. Whaddya want for 15 bucks? Yours may also have had a bad thermostat. Chinese quality control I guess. Next one might have been better (or worse). I suspect that you could open the thing up and bend the contacts to change the setpoint.

I would ignore any instructions as to quantity and treat this like a normal moka - the normal coffee fill is to the top of the basket without tamping. The water fill should be just below the safety valve. If you are blowing the safety, your grind is probably too fine or you have tamped. If the thing is brewing too fast, I suppose you could try to run it off a lamp dimmer, but this is more than should be necessary.

I suppose if you stuck some pointy metal object in the holes at the brewer end of the cord you could get juiced but this is no different than a wall outlet. Magnetic cord is now pretty standard safety feature on deep fryers and other heating appliances that could bring hot liquids down on Jr.'s head (and lawsuits down on the maker) and I think it's an overall good idea. How would you make it better? Again I wouldn't pay much attention to the instructions - obviously if you pull the cord from the brewer the machine will shut off the same as if you unplug it at the wall end.

I'm not defending this pot - it is clearly a pretty cheap piece of Chinese manufacturing. But I'm betting that it could be made to work or will work out of the box at least some of the time. My recommendation is, if you are interested, buy one for yourself and don't rely on this negative review. If your experience is just as bad, then take it back to CVS.

Exactly. Mine works great. I do follow the usual moka preparation methods, and ignore the instructions that came with the machine. And, in fact, the moka did stop blowing the safety when I started using a coarser grind. And, it makes much much better coffee than what is available in the cafeteria at work. Jack, too bad the moka manufacturing industry in China didn't get you to write the instruction manual. Regards, Larry

Not to dispute LF/Larry posted he owns, uses and likes his, but my pleasure didn't equal his. Obviously one user likes it more than I do. I've not handled a Bialetti or equivalent electric Jack- are you saying the CVS/China is in the same material/construction ballpark? Agreeing a pouring handle is not a snugging lever, if you impact or pressure this one at the hilt during tighteneing, which I think is unavoidable, it's going to be short-lived; the lower pot holds a not-too-robust heater housing - same as above. bad thermostat is bad thermostat - I modded grind from fine to moderately coarse and the thing, as purchased, brewed too fast to make a decent cup of coffee - yes, fine blew the lid , a modereate grind popped the safety valve and too coarse made a watery pot - I didn't like the feel of the thing badly enough to fiddler with the thermostat; $15 = you get what you pay for. For the price it's a nice paperweight.

Yes, I'd say roughtly speaking that the Bialetti is the same quality in terms of material and finish. Bialettis were always mass production objects and never made any pretense at being highly finished. The bottom 1/2 pot is almost identical to a Bialetti. In fact I'd hope (and expect) that the Bialetti gaskets would fit. I haven't seen the electrical internals of either so I can't comment. Again on a regular Bialetti stovetop you do have to try to avoid using the handle as a lever as well. The CVS one is no different except that the top is executed in clear tinted plastic instead of cast alu. Probably the plastic will not last as long as alu. but it looks cool and you can watch the brewing process. This pot is not the 1st to use a plastic top - these have been around for a while.

Overall, this is probably one of those "not quite there" Chinese products. Larry probably got a good one and you got a lemon. Maybe in another year or two they will iron out the QC bugs and the chance of getting a good one will be greater than 50/50.

Roger that. I was circumspect enough about a $15 electric but still underwhelmed; will fall back on my battered stovetop 2cup until Chinese plant manager replies.