For 60 million Italians, morning has a scent: that of the moka. Not just coffee in general—specifically moka coffee. From childhood, you learn to recognize its sound; its aroma accompanies your wake-up while still in bed, and when you leave for school, you smell it in the stairwells of apartment buildings. 

The moka is a ritual, repeated several times a day. Mid-morning, after lunch, in the afternoon. It’s easy to make for a crowd, whether family, friends, or colleagues—and there’s always “the one” who’s in charge, because they know how to make moka best. Every Italian has their own method for their own moka; it seems written in our DNA, yet it hasn’t always been this way. The taste of Italian coffee has already changed at least a couple of times over its short history, and we’re already at risk of forgetting that.