Delonghi EMK6

Italians, contrary to popular belief, do not each have a large gaggia-style coffee maker sitting in their kitchens. Those huge multifunctioned and very expensive machines that sit in every café and bar are not actually found in any normal household. While the manufacturers of these machines, with their smaller and slightly cheaper home versions, may try to persuade you otherwise, let me assure you – Italians don’t use them, and neither need ...
...And they usually have one burnt and rusting pot that is constantly on the hob. These look much like an elongated teapot, with one large section at the bottom holding the water and one at the top, where the coffee pours from. In between these two is a chamber with the coffee. Water boils and pushes up through this middle section, making the coffee. It’s a simple premise, and they make unbeatably great coffee, however they drip coffee all over the ... more

Italians, contrary to popular belief, do not each have a large gaggia-style coffee maker sitting in their kitchens. Those huge multifunctioned and very expensive machines that sit in every café and bar are not actually found in any normal household. While the manufacturers of these machines, with their smaller and slightly cheaper home versions, may try to persuade you otherwise, let me assure you – Italians don’t use them, and neither need you.

At home, Italians drink espresso. And they usually have one burnt and rusting pot that is constantly on the hob. These look much like an elongated teapot, with one large section at the bottom holding the water and one at the top, where the coffee pours from. In between these two is a chamber with the coffee. Water boils and pushes up through this middle section, making the coffee. It’s a simple premise, and they make unbeatably great coffee, however they drip coffee all over the cooker, get very very hot and are murder to clean.

You can now get many beautifully designed versions of this humble coffee pot, but for some reason, no-one thought to make an electric model until now. De’longhi’s EMK6, or Alicia as she’s more commonly known, is a revelation to the coffee lover. A coffee maker that makes great coffee, while having the ease of use of an electric kettle.

And the Italians have gone crazy for her (there’s even a special wedding gift set). I first discovered her last summer, when staying at a little bed and breakfast in Rome. The landlady had just bought one and wouldn’t stop praising it. So the seed was planted, and sure enough I began to see them everywhere. I decided to buy one soon after, and haven’t looked back. I honestly wouldn’t consider using the old hob coffee pot again, and I’m sure my mum and a few friends will find one in their stocking this Christmas.

It’s so easy to use, there’s no possible way to get it wrong. Unlike many kitchen aids, there’s only one button, so you just fill it with water and coffee, screw the top on, and press go. And around five minutes later you’ll have coffee. It’ll stay hot for up to 30 minutes too. The jug is transparent, so doesn’t get too hot to the touch, so pouring is easy and doesn’t require oven gloves, and unlike the original you don’t have to wait until it cools down before cleaning or re-use.When you lift it from the base, it automatically switches off, so you don’t have to worry about leaving it switched on, (important as I’ve boiled the old coffee makers dry on many an occasion…) . It works exactly the same as the traditional version, minus the hob.

The smaller serves 2-4, and the larger 6-8 cups. Prices in euro are from 45 – 80 euro, ( 30 – 55 £) so it pays to shop around. If you like your coffee ready when you wake up in the morning, there’s also a timed version (a few more buttons though).

I really couldn’t recommend this product higher, if you only buy one thing for your local coffee lover this year, make it an Alicia.
 

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