MY MOTHER'S MOKA EXPRESS

In the late 1950's, my Uncle, Raymond Holmes, who was then a Vice-President of Olin Matheson, and in charge of Winchester Arms and Ammunition International, went to Italy on business. He brought back presents. To my mother, his sister, he gave an Expresso coffee pot. The name of the pot was Moka Express and had this character of a little Italian man on the side.

Over the years, the little Italian man, a trademark of Moka Express got nearly washed off. Only the faintest outlines were left. There was also a mark around the aluminum pot that showed it had been laying askew in water for quite some time once. The inside, though clean, did not look like anything I would want to brew coffee in, if I drank coffee, which I do not.

In any case, I decided to see what it might be worth if I sold it on eBay. I found there were several that sold on eBay for between $9.00 and $20.00, but most looked better than mine. I also looked up Moka Express on the internet and found that these pots are still being made, and a new one just like the one given to my mother 50 years ago could be purchased for $15.95.

I found this history about the little pot:

From the beginning of 1950's to the present day, Alfonso Bialetti S.p.A. of Crusinallo has manufactured over 200 million coffee makers, amongst which, the

Moka Express stands out as a masterpiece of industrial design as well as an extraordinary maker of good Italian coffee. In fact, the Moka Express is by far the most widely used coffee maker throughout the world.

Alfonso Bialetti who is best remembered as the "little fellow with the moustache (as shown here above)" created the Moka Express inspired by an early washing machine comprising of a boiler and tub for the collection of hot water. It was on the basis of this principle that Alfonso developed the Moka Express with its unmistakable octagonal shape.

I now believed I would not be able to sell Mother's Moka Express. Why would anyone want to purchase a used pot when, for so little, one could purchase a brand new one just like it? If you click on the Moka Express links in this article, you will find the company web site were you can buy a Moka Express on line.

I put it up for auction anyway. It sold for $12.13 including shipping and handling. And the winner of the auction apparently liked the little pot when it arrived as the purchaser posted this feedback-- "Exactly the expresso pot I wanted...... Thanks"

Amazing!