Alfonso Bialetti

Alfonso Bialetti(1888–1970) was an engineer who became famous for acquiring Luigi De Ponti's invention of the Moka Express coffeemaker. Designed in 1933, the coffee pot has been a style icon since the 1950s. It is the source of nostalgia and affection for many Italians and is an essential and fashionable part of almost every Italian kitchen. While many variations of the Moka have been developed, including the Bialetti cow-printed Mukka Express (which makes cappuccino), the Moka Express is a time-honoured classic. Bialetti was also the founder of Bialetti Industrie S.p.A, the now giant Italian kitchen-ware company.

Bialetti first acquired his metal-working skills by working for a decade in the French aluminium industry. By 1919 he had established his own metal and machine workshop in Crusinallo (his native Piedmont) to make aluminium products: this was the foundation of the Bialetti company. He transformed his workshop – Alfonso Bialetti & C. Fonderia in Conchiglia – into a studio for design and production. The major key person is Francesco Ranzoni as he actually covers the positions of president and CEO inside the company. At the end of 2015, the company's income statement registers a total revenue of 172,4 millions of euro, 6,9% more than 2014 (Euro 161,2 millions). First Bialetti retailers outside of Italy were constructed in France, Cagnes-sur-Mer, and in Spain, Madrid.

Bialetti completed his design for the aluminium Moka Express in 1933. It may also be referred to as a Moka, Moka pot, a Bialetti, a percolator or a stove-top coffeemaker, and in Italian as la Moka, la macchinetta ("the little machine") or la caffettiera. The blueprints for the Moka Express are on display in the London Design Museum. Bialetti was probably heavily influenced by contemporary designers such as Hoffmann, Puiforcat, Genazzi and Henin; to a certain extent he copied and built upon their coffee-pot designs. The coffee pot’s clean classic design with its symmetrical eight-faceted metallic body is easily recognisable—it followed the same design for over 70 years (unusual in a world of constantly changing products). Since its creation the Moka has become the world’s most famous coffee pot and has been cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as well as in various essential design books. The Bialetti design has also provided an inspiration for modern designers; Julian Lwin, a New York designer, paid homage to the Moka Express with his own "Dr. Octagon Espresso" set of table and chairs.

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