Recently I received a Care package from Italy, a Kamira stovetop coffee maker. H-B member LVX told me about it and I helped with a few edits of the English instructions (some of which the manufacturer changed back to awkward language). He asked them to comp me one of these and it's got its strengths and weaknesses. The build quality is poor enough I don't know if I'd recommend it. Yet the coffee it brews is different from a moka pot. The flavors are layered like a lever pull with a weak spring. There's not much crema but the taste is quite good. It doesn't easily overheat. I tried it today with Counter Culture's Apollo 11, which is 100% Ethiopian Idido washed, roasted for espresso. This roast is bright and has some complexity of flavor that is highlighted with the Kamira brew. Here's how this little machine looks next to a Caravel so you can see how small it is. I prefer the Caravel's brew of this coffee but the Kamira version was quite nice. I would guess its brew quality excels with a traditional Italian darker roast that contains some robusta that would yield more crema and more caffeine for a demitasse serving.



This is how the Kamira appears on a stovetop. The rubber cover on the brew tube makes it easy to move without burn risk.



Here it is with the fill kettle open. You pour the water halfway for a single shot, to the brim for a double, then you open the valve to fill the boiler. You close the valve for brewing and when that's done you gently open it to release remaining pressure.



My unit arrived with a steam leak where the brew fill meets the boiler, so I sealed it with Loctite because I wasn't able to tighten the connection with a wrench. The Loctite worked.



Here are other sloppy build issues. Note the weld dimples at top and bottom and the rough edge.







With these build quality issues and the limitations of one cup brewing I wouldn't recommend this stovetop brewer. A better alternative for layered coffee is an AeroPress as these are well executed, inexpensive, capable of excellent temperature control and the ability to vary dose far more. And yet the Kamira is an intriguing design that works, a true oddity.

Here's the write-up on this machine by Lucio (H-B member LVX).

Here is the company's website.

http://www.espressokamira.com/index.php

Interesting. Can you show where you put in the coffee?

Hi Chris:

I'd be glad to demonstrate this to you sometime or loan it to you. Here's another photo that shows the double portafilter locked in place and the single portafilter underneath it.

Hmm, might be interesting for a camping toy.

A simple moka pot makes more coffee. This is for a tasty shot at a time. It's also easier to tame on a small stovetop flame unless you're taking a small propane burner with you.

I would add this information:
if you use italian blend, with 30-40% of good Robusta, you will obtain a really good cup.
Overall quality of the machine is poor, but coffee is great!