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I grew up understanding the difference between ‘everyday coffee’ brewed in the stainless steel percolator and ‘real coffee’. My grandmother made the first for my mother and her friends. It was, to quote my mother, an acquired taste. I know now that it was an acquired taste because, frankly, percolators make terrible coffee. When we were at home alone, my grandmother made real coffee on top of the stove with a moka pot. I never had to acquire a taste for this coffee. It was rich and dark and flavorful, a symphony on the tongue. As a little girl, one of my favorite breakfast treats was Nana’s moka pot coffee poured over my cornflakes with the milk.
A moka pot is a three part metal pot that you use to make coffee on top of your stove. Fully assembled, it is shaped like an hourglass. The bottom part holds the water for your coffee. The middle part is a metal filter that fits between the top and the bottom pieces and holds ground coffee. When the water in the bottom part of the moka pot heats, the steam is forced up through the grounds in the filter into the top pot, where it condenses into a liquid again. You can find moka pots in nearly any department store or supermarket for far less than you’ll pay for them through a specialty coffee shop. If you want the best, though, Bialetti makes several different models in 100% culinary grade stainless steel. Most moka pots that you’ll find in supermarkets are made with aluminum, which can affect the taste of the coffee.
Coffee brewed in a moka pot can be a heavenly experience – or it can be a huge disappointment. There is an art to making coffee in a moka pot that includes the amount of water, the amount and grind of the coffee, the compactness of the coffee grounds in the filter and the heat of the water used to brew it. It is possible, however, to make excellent coffee without any acidity or bitterness in a moka pot if you follow a simple procedure.
First, keep your moka pot scrupulously clean. Coffee flavor is the result of extracting oils naturally found in coffee beans. Those oils cling to any surface that they touch. Disassemble the moka pot after every use and clean the filter and top pot, being sure that you clean the underside of the top pot. Every few weeks, run some vinegar through the moka pot as if you were brewing coffee to get rid of any mineral deposits left behind by hard water.
Before you use your moka pot for the first time:
Follow the directions below using spent coffee grounds or inexpensive coffee that you don’t mind wasting. The first pot of coffee you brew in this should be thrown away. The intent is just to clean the machine out before using it for the first time.
To Make Coffee in a Moka Pot
Unscrew the top part of the moka pot and set it aside. Take out the filter basket.
Fill the bottom part of the moka pot with water to the pressure gauge line.
Drop the filter basket into place and add a heaping tablespoon of finely ground coffee for every three ounces of water in the pot. Do not tamp the coffee. The coffee will expand when the steam is forced through it, effectively producing its own tamp.
Screw the top part of the moka pot into place.
Put the pot over low heat and wait. It will take about five minutes for the coffee to finish. You’ll know that it’s done by the throaty sound of the coffee sputtering.
Pour into an espresso cup and enjoy.
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Dori says
I just got an aluminum Bialetti moka pot. I fell in love with the coffee in Italy while traveling there and tried for months to recreate that coffee. I finally realized that i needed to learn to make it like they do. I have made two batches, the first being too bitter and the second better. I did throw out the first brewed batch as directed. I am using Lavazza Creme E Gusto coffee, which indicated was ground for a moka pot. I am still practicing, but have a few questions for you experienced users. I have a flat top ceramic stove and would love some advice, if anyone has it, about things that may need to be done differently on this type of stove. I put the pot on medium heat but it takes at least 10 minutes to brew. Any info out there on using the traditional equipment on new appliances?
Lucie says
Has anyone out there any opinions about Alessi stove top coffee makers? There seems to be a distinct lack of any reviews about them, given their price. Any comments gratefully received.
Tom says
No.
Gromit says
I just bought a 3-cup moka pot. Is it possible to make just 1 cup by putting in one third of the amount of coffee in the filter. or does the coffee basket have to be filled to the top?
depressed says
hmm, ok thanks, I’m starting to think there was another gasket that hasn’t been on there for some time now, I think I’m going to buy a new one anyway… :)
Kate says
Maybe you need a new gasket? It sounds as if the seal between the top and bottom chambers is broken.
depressed says
My stovetop doesn’t make bubbling noises any more – there’s just lots of steam, the coffee is often bitter or burned tasting and not very much comes out at the top – sometimes less than half of what should come out. The water that’s left in the bottom is often coffee – I’ve taken it apart and washed a few times…always just water, no abrasive anything – should I chuck it out – it’s stainless steel with a polycarbonate jug part…
Kate says
I didn’t see an answer to the question about boiling out the pot by forgetting about it on the stove. I just accomplished the same thing with my venerable Bialetti moka pot by failing to fill the bottom chamber. I have a new gasket and have rinsed out the system with baking powder and salt (works with burned out sauce pans), and then plain water. The first brew is bitter. Do I need a new pot, a new coffee basket, several more brewing cycles, or what?
Lucie says
Thanks Lauren. Nice thought about the iced coffee, which I do actually like when I am somewhere hot. Unfortunately, I live in the West of Ireland. Today, as for the last week, it has been raining incessantly and blowing a gale. I have the central heating on. I am, however, thinking of upgrading to a 2-cup Brika, which seems to be the real McCoy, though I would have preferred it in stainless.
Lauren says
And in response to LUCY:
I’m fairly new at this, but as far as I have read, it is best to use your moka pot to its full capacity. The coffee turns out better if you fill it up, otherwise the water doesn’t flow through the coffee grinds properly. However, if you’re satisfied with the results, there is no reason why you can’t continue to do so.
Another option is to buy a 1-cup or 2-cup moka pot, and use the 4-cup for when you have company.
A better option yet is to make all 4 cups, and save whatever is leftover, put it in the fridge to chill it, and make iced coffee/iced latte with it… deeeelicious on a hot summer day.
Good luck.
Lauren says
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I think that the problem was either
A) I just needed to be a little more patient and give it some time to season better
or
B) The junk coffee was giving it a bad taste.
It’s wonderful now… after about a week of enjoying my moka pot, I made drip coffee this morning and it was nothing in comparison. I am never going back. I did clean it using soap, before ever using it (which I now know is a BIG no-no) so it’s possible that that was ruining the flavour as well. Either way, all is good in the world of coffee once again! What a relief… and thanks again for the suggestions, I will keep them in mind for any future probelms… although hopefully there wont be any, as I have told my whole family NOT to touch my moka pot, and especially to not clean it.
Lucie says
I am just getting into espresso after a period of not drinking coffee, after growing up in a family where guests were offered, not just coffee, but espresso, percolated, filtered, rich roast, mild roast, all hand ground, of course (Don’t get me started on the tea options). I have a pot I got some time ago, as it happens, in Sicily, aluminum, that seems to still work fine. I was wondering though, about making just one cup in a 4 cup pot? Does this harm the pot, or affect the taste of the coffee? It seems fine, but maybe I don’t know what I am missing by not putting in the full 4-cup dose. However, I really don’t want to get into heating up cold coffee.
Shantel says
… Or maybe the taste comes from the junk coffee?
Incidentally, I wanted to update my post above and recommend chicco d’oro coffee. It’s what I drank and loved in Switzerland. I am also getting good results with a hand cranked burr mill called Spong which I bought on eBay for $40. Granted, I grind for a 3-cup machine so it’s not laborious. Am still fine tuning but I was thrilled with the first cup. I figure the first Moka coffees were ground by hand… P.S. I use a ground size a little finer than french press.
Shantel says
I’m sure I know less than some other contributors but… It sounds like the trouble started after you boiled water in the pot. Poking around on the Internet (google) I found that people say boiling with half water half vinegar will clean mineral deposits so I would try that, or at least wipe with a vinegar dampened cloth and rinse thoroughly.
Andre says
How do you clean it?