Bialetti Coffee Machine (JM1)

An espresso coffee maker…more specially the Bialetti Moka Express. 1978 onwards I have heard this at home and in friends’ homes, particularly in Cuba. An Italian friend I had met in Switzerland came to stay with me in Derby. He’d never been to the UK before and he really missed familiar food and especially good coffee. Any kind of Italian cuisine was seriously rare in Derby in the 70s. Luckily another friend who often visited Italy told me about the one Italian deli in Derby, in what was then considered to be a dodgy area of town. We bought coffee and a Bialetti espresso maker. Result: one happy guest and my introduction to that rich gurgling sound that signals the imminent arrival of good strong coffee.

I’ve seen those coffee makers and heard that sound so many times since – in my own home and in friends’ homes, especially in Cuba – bringing me back to warmth, music, good times and being at the heart of things. Everyday I can be back in touch with them all through that sound and the coffee that follows.