Let's learn to brew coffee with a Moka Pot. The stovetop espresso maker makes espresso-like coffee.
There are many ways to drink coffee, except for the simple hand-brewed coffee, espresso is everyone's favorite. Espresso is a coffee with a long history and is the soul of all coffee. In addition to our common espresso machine, there is another appliance that can make similar espresso, that is, the Moka pot.
Before making a cup of espresso, let's learn what a Moka pot is.
What's a Moka Pot?
The Moka pot is a brewing appliance often used in Italian homes to make espresso. It is a distillation type of coffee brewing by heating the base and is the most commonplace of the espresso brewing appliances.
The structure of the Moka pot is divided into three parts: the upper pot, the powder sink, and the bottom pot. The lower pot is the sink used to hold water, and the amount of water should not exceed the safety valve. The middle powder slot is used for coffee powder, and the upper pot is used for the extracted coffee liquid. The principle of Moka pot coffee extraction is very simple, is to use the pressure generated in the lower pot, when the steam pressure reaches the ground coffee can be penetrated, it will push the hot water to the upper pot and brew a strong coffee.
Does a Moka pot make espresso?
A Moka pot is a well-known stovetop tabletop espresso machine, but in reality, it is not really an espresso. Rather, it is a very strong-tasting coffee. We all know that the surface of a perfect espresso is covered with a rich, dark brown foam that contains the key aroma molecules in coffee. A good espresso will leave a pure aroma in the cup after drinking.
Why is it different? Because the extraction conditions are different. The espresso machine is the way to get the coffee liquid by high-pressure extraction, so it is also called espresso. In addition, we often drink cappuccino, latte, mocha, etc. belong to the basis of espresso, adding milk, milk froth, or chocolate sauce and made, with a variety of different flavors.
Our Moka pots cook coffee mainly by distillation type, bottom heating, at a pressure of about 3-5 bar (espresso machines have 9 bar), so the coffee produced is not as strong as espresso machines.
If you also like espresso, we have portable espresso machines, click to learn more.
How to prepare Moka coffee?
Before using the Moka pot, let's see what needs to be prepared.
Coffee beans: Although some people recommend choosing dark-roasted beans, in actual use found that the use of deep-roasted coffee beans cooked out of the coffee is very bitter, if you are making milk coffee, deep-roasted beans are no problem. If you are drinking directly, my personal preference is medium roasted beans, perhaps you could also have a try.
Grind: The grind of the Moka pot is between hand-brewed coffee and coffee machine grind, the grind is smaller than hand-brewed and larger than coffee machine grind. If the grind is too coarse, it will cause the coffee to gush out like a fountain, the flow of coffee liquid comes out quickly, and there is no grease and insufficient extraction, resulting in drinking like water, and acid. If the coffee powder is too fine, resulting in a large extraction resistance, easy to extend the extraction time resulting in bitter coffee, there may also be no liquid on the pot, or slow to come out of the phenomenon.
Filtered water: If you live in a place where the water is hard, it is recommended to use filtered water to ensure a better flavor of coffee.
Stovetop: When placed on the stovetop, do not use high heat to avoid burning the handle of the Moka pot. Heat it on medium heat at first, and when you hear a fizzing sound, turn to low heat and the coffee will naturally flow out slowly. When the sound turns to a faint bubbling sound, you can turn off the heat to avoid over-extraction. At this point, the fragrant coffee is ready.
Reminder1. Moka pot please avoid empty pot burn, so as not to hurt the pot body
2. Used Moka pots, it is recommended to wash after cooling, so as not to wash the coffee powder slag affect the filter hole and rubber ring
3. If it is a brand new Moka pot, please boil it twice before using it for tasting
How does Moka pot brew coffee？
Now we are ready to boil water for coffee! The process is simple, so let's see how it works.
- Adding water: add cold or hot water, there is no such strict limitation. If the Moka pot is a large size, the disadvantage of adding only cold water is that before the water temperature reaches the desired temperature, a small amount of water will enter the powder tank, resulting in uneven extraction. Comparatively speaking, adding warm water can extract a more stable coffee except for the taste. At the same time, it is recommended to add pure water, the coffee taste will be better.
- Add coffee powder: Every time you make coffee, the powder trough should be covered with powder, otherwise, the coffee may be uncontrolled and exported to spray indiscriminately.
- Medium-heat coffee: At first, cook on medium heat, after the water boils, adjust to fire and let the coffee flow out slowly.
- Wait: Usually, we only need 3-5 minutes to make a good pot of strong coffee. After all the coffee has been extracted, it will come to a boil, so turn off the heat at this time to avoid over-extraction.
- Enjoy: To get a great cup of espresso, the most important thing is to practice more and make appropriate adjustments according to the difference in taste each time, so that the brewed coffee will be more and more suitable for your taste.
Tips For Brewing With A Moka Pot
- What should I do with my new Moka pot, can I cook it without adding coffee powder?
Traditional Moka pots are made of aluminum, new pots need 2-3 test brews, so that you can clean the pot, but also in practice to improve the feel of coffee. Note that it should be filled with ground coffee, so that there will not be a "fountain".
- Why does the coffee spurt out when boiling?
1) The water is added too much and exceeds the safety valve
2) Coffee powder is ground too coarse, the powder slot is not filled, or not put powder
3) The fire is too big. Remember to turn off the fire several times after the liquid comes out smoothly
4) Wrong installation. Every time you use a Moka pot, be careful to install the filter and seal ring
- Why is there no cream in the brewed coffee?
1) Coffee beans. The fresher and deeper roasted the beans, the easier it is to extract the oil.
(2) Coffee powder grind degree and weight. Medium-ground coffee powder and sufficient powder volume are one of the keys to extracting oil.
3) Double valve Moka pot pressure is higher, and the extraction of oil is richer
4) Cream is not the key to measuring a cup of coffee, the most important thing is that you like it!
