Renato Bialetti died today at age 93.
Renato Bialetti (the son of Alfonso Bialetti, inventor of the Moka Express in 1933) died today at age 93. I wouldn't have known about it but for my friend Marco (we'll see if he'll share some amazing Italian recipes with us later on in the blog). I was having a coffee this afternoon, and using my Bialetti Moka Express when Marco gave me a call. I had sent him a picture of the Moka Express a few minutes earlier. "Ah! So perché mi hai mandato questa foto" (I know why you sent me that photo) He said, "Bialetti!
Since I had know idea what he was talking about, he then sent me this article from Corriere della Sera (it's in Italian, but if you can read it I recommend it) which talks about the Bialetti family and their impact on home brewed coffee and style. While Renato didn't create the design (his father did) he was really the one who pioneered the business and make it popular worldwide.
La moka di Renato Bialetti, a suo modo assolutamente innovativa, è diventata un’icona in tutto il mondo, tanto da essere esposta come un’opera di design al Moma di New York e alla Triennale di Milano.
Renato Bialetti's Moka, and its absolutely innovative way [of making coffee], has become a worldwide icon and is to be exhibited as a design work at the MOMA in New York and Milan's Triennale.
Soon I will have a tutorial on how to use the Moka Express, but for tonight we will remember the family who created the brilliant device.