The kitchen catwalk has a new model, La Sorrentina; elegant, polished and cool to the touch. Inspired by a fashion icon from the late 1940’s, La Sorrentina is a “premium” reproduction of the classic stove top espresso machine known as The Atomic. Originally designed in 1947 by Giordano Robbiati, The Atomic literally was “the bomb” of its time. Ultra-modern, ergonomic, sculptural with an aluminum body that was totally state-of-the-art. A product of the atomic age (1945-1960), The Atomic took the science of the Italian caffettiera and made it sexy.
Although kitchen fashionistas tout La Sorrentina’s haute design and ability to operate under a higher pressure than most moka pots an improvement to your brew. The 75 year-old doyenne of Italian caffettiere, Bialetti’s Moka is still used by millions of people around the world. Her bars may be lower (according to the Italian Espresso National Institute and the Specialty Coffee Association of America, an espresso must be made using a precise extraction pressure of 9 bar; a Moka pot achieves 1.5 bar) but the crema of this little macchinetta del caffè is still respectable. Ageing gracefully.