I bought one of these when I lived in Germany. The first time I used it I was so afraid it was going to explode I hid behind the walls. But it quickly became my best friend. 🙂
I literally got one two weeks ago and had the exact same reaction.
Glad I’m not the only one.
That’s why it has a safety valve. And trust me it works perfectly. Actually if you have an original you. Can use the edge of a knife or spatula to carefully pull the valve out a bit as it builds pressure. Then you can get a sense of what kinds of pressure you are dealing with and hopefully feel safe that the valve works. Just he super careful and don’t keep you hand close. The type of valve is patented and can only be found on the original. Copies uses a different type of valve that you cannot actuate like this.
Ohh, haven’t done that in forever. Now I miss making coffee this way. I guess I’ll dust off my pot today, see if it still brews good.
How was it.
Had to come back home from work. I guess calling it “intense” would be appropriate. I’ve missed the coffee fountain, the bubbles and the thick black coffee that this method produces. What I don’t miss is the waiting and watching, cause it won’t turn itself off when it’s done, and the eventual hassle of cleaning the pot and all its parts every time I want a coffee. Oh well, nature of the beast I guess. Still, worth going through it when one craves a strong cup of coffee.
The “hassle of cleaning”? Are you sure you’re doing it right? It’s literally only 3 parts and you just need to rinse them with water, you don’t even use soap.
Yea, true, water reservoir, top part where coffee gathers, coffee basket, gasket and a filter. No I don’t use soap as you said, only water. I guess I’m just lazy, and doing it in the morning when I’m short on time, playing around with a hot pot is kinda not the thing I’d like to do. That’s why I use a phin most of the time, as it’s just a thin and light piece of steel, and it cools off really quickly, easy to clean and no need to worry about corrosion and sum such. To be honest I’d have to try how it’d work out, as I never used it day to day. I always had this notion that a moka pot, being made out of aluminium, doesn’t like to sit in water. I don’t know for sure how true it is, but to be on the safe side I always rinsed it thoroughly and wiped it dry. Maybe I was overdoing it?
I’ve always loved my Moka Pot but ever since I started using James Hoffman’s recipe/technique it has become my daily driver: https://youtu.be/BfDLoIvb0w4?feature=shared
Adding that link to my reading.
When using the mocha pot I always recommend the Cuban coffee I make. I stole the recipe from some Cuban restraints in San Francisco.
Mocha pot of coffee. One cinnamon stick in the cup. A spoon of sweetened condensed milk. Scalded milk.
Stir together. No I don’t have any specifics, but if balanced well it’s beautiful and perfect.
I use a slightly trimmed airopress filter in mine. Gotta use hot water cuz it slows it down a little bit and don’t want to burn the thing. But gives a smoother brew and keeps the sludge out.
I may be doing it wrong, but I find it tastes too strong or burnt when using the Moka pot.
I prefer the French press.
The trick is to stop the brewing the moment it stops flowing and starts sputtering. But it‘ll still be rather strong coffee. It was supposed to be the next best thing to espresso when invented, after all
Also pre boiling the water helps. I used to find it tasted burnt, but now I like it.
Aeropress is less of a hassle to clean, but I do like the taste of moka pot coffee when I have time. Chemex (pourover) is for my daily cup though.
I also own a Bialetti Kaliffa (the rather rare precursor to the Brikka) and the crema valve is also an improvement. Gets a little closer to espresso thanks to the higher pressure
The pour over method is my daily driver as well. It makes a decent cup.
I have a 3 cups bialetti, it’s roughly 150g of water. What I do is use a 1/11 or 1/12 ratio of coffee to water (that’s 11 to 13g of coffee depending on the roast). I grind it fine but not too fine (9 on my Baratza Encore). I boil the water, and put an aeropress filter between the seal on the upper part and the coffee grounds funnel. I put the boiled water in the reservoir, up to just under the valve, dump my coffee in the funnel without stamping (it should be cone shaped). I leave the lid open and I put it over medium to low heat. When I hear/see the coffee rise, lower the heat and let it flow,l. Then I remove it from the heat the moment it starts sputtering. I close the lid and serve immediately.
The ratio makes the coffee more balanced, not too strong/syrupy and with a proper taste of the beans.
Thanks. Other than the aeropress filter, I’ll try your method and see how it goes. Maybe I leave the heat too high too.
Edit: just tried it this morning. I left the base on the heater at low-med heat, poured boiling water in it before putting the coffee holder thing and screwing the top on.
Left it on the stove on medium until it started to pour into the top then reduced the heat a little. Then when it was just bubbling I took it off and poured in my cup.
It’s an improvement, but it’s still a bit bitter.
I enjoy a good espresso from time to time, but I think my preference is really the French press which gives a much smoother brew in my opinion. Especially with lighter roasts.
Just out of curiosity, what does med-low mean in terms of the numbers on an induction top? Mine goes from 1-14 in heat, but I usually need to put it to 7, as anything below that just doesn’t make it warm enough or I was too impatient to wait? So whemat number do you usually out yours on?
I’ll need to try to pre-boil my water too!
I haven’t used my mokka on an induction hob for a while, but I guess you can try 7 and lower. I use gas and my pot brews in less than 5 minutes or so if that can give you an idea.
Try a number around 3 to 5, if it takes too long, try hotter; if it goes too quick lift it off, turn it down, keep trying
Other people already answered the question, but is just worth knowing that that last bit is what tastes the most bitter.
We have been using one for almost 10 years until recently when we bought automatic espresso machine. Moka is amazing, we still carry it around while traveling
We’ve used these for over a decade. Damn tasty.
Used one for a while. Went back to my aeropress.
My go-to when traveling, very few American hotels and households have proper espresso machines, much less coffee grinders, but some pre-ground in a Moka Pot saves the day.
Instant like… Me too. I make mokka many times a week and it’s my absolute favorite.
A double mokka shot (looks like same size you have there) and a nice amount of hot steamed milk gives the perfect cappuccino. I’d take that everyday over espresso made coffees and i can not explain exactly why I find it so much better.
I feel the same way.
Huh. So someone made a percolator that actually does a good job.
Wait this was invented in 1933? Why didn’t America have this before? I’m not old enough to have used a percolator but from what I’ve heard it was heinous.
Moka pots are awesome. Wouldn’t want to make my coffee any other way at home. Has been the standard in Italy since it was invented and is a staple even here in Germany.
Same I use mine every day. Also convenient for road trips and camping. Plus it freed up space on my counter.
It’s 100% just a cultural thing. It just didn’t catch on.
Just like how American households are much less likely to have an electric kettle then a UK household. This fact baffles British people.
Our house has an electric kettle now. Got a cheap one for tea. Then realized even at 120V it’s a million times faster to boil water, especially since our stove is gas.
I did some research on moka pots and they seem interesting if you want a really strong coffee. But decent drip machines do a good job (metal carafes, no hotplates) if you want the more dilute varieties.
I worked in a big box store for 8 years starting in 2013, and we always carried these. I don’t think we sold many, but we always had them around.
I have been meaning to try one of these. What does your process look like?
Fill the reservoir in the bottom to just below the pressure valve with good water. Put the grinds basket/funnel thing on, and full it just barely below full with medium grind beans. Screw on the top, put it on the stove on whatever burner is closest in size, open the lid. Turn on the heat and wait until it finishes and you hear it spurt air, then take it off and pour. Time on the heat should be around 3 min total, so start with a low-mid temp, and adjust up each attempt until you know where that heat level is for your stove. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
I prefer weighing beans instead of eyeballing it to get more consistent quality (I use 14 grams for two-cup pot). Also try to take off your mokka just before it gets angry and splushy, that’s the point where most bitterness comes out.
Same, my 3tz takes 18 grams. Also taking it off is kinda tricky cause of thermal inertia. Pot is still hot enough to boil the water after taking it off the heat, but that might be due to its higher mass. Anyway, experiment, making coffee is fun.
That’s great. Thanks for sharing.
The process is just the grinding (manual grinder in the background), warming up the water a bit and then just using the Moka pot. Its a very nice and easy brew for esspresso and can be used over a campfire.
I’ve recently made it even better:
- pour milk into french press and leave it on/near the stove while making coffee,
- when you’re done making the coffee, take that french and churn the milk with the press
- pour into coffee and you’ve got an almost cappuccino
