Most people like to get a cup of coffee to start their day. Drinking coffee has become one of the important parts of life. There are many ways to make coffee until now. Do you know which, if any, are the most popular ways of making coffee that has lasted for centuries and are still prevalent?
We want to share this topic today: Moka pots vs. French press pots.
They are both old-class coffee-making methods that have been active for centuries. Which one do you prefer? Let's learn about them together.
What is Moka Pot?
The Moka Pot is a tool for extracting the base of espresso coffee, which began to be popular in Italian households for its ease of operation, and has since grown to become a national product in Italy and is now sold worldwide.
The inspiration for the creation of the Moka Pot came from the washing machine used by Alfonso Bilotti's wife at the time, which had a metal tube in the middle of the machine that sucked the heated soapy water up from the bottom of the machine and then sprayed it on top of the clothes, thus he was inspired to create the Moka Express, the world's first home Moka pot using steam pressure to extract coffee, in 1933.
The Moka pot is divided into an upper and middle structure, with the lower seat being the water sink, the middle powder sink holding the coffee powder, and the upper seat holding the extracted coffee liquid. Its principle is to extract coffee liquid by heating the water in the lower pot into steam and using the pressure of the steam to push the water up into the powder tank and then continue to push it up through the pipe to the upper pot to polymerize the outflow.
Moka Pot Instructions
The Moka pot is the closest way to make espresso, and the brewing method is simple.
- Fill the lower pot with water, the water level should not exceed the pressure relief valve of the lower pot.
- Add the coffee powder to the middle filter and spread it all over to assemble the Moka Pot.
- Place the assembled Moka pot on the gas stove and heat it on medium-low heat.
- Once the water is heated and the Moka pot chirps with steam, turn off the heat, remove the gas stove and use the residual heat for the final extraction.
There are two types of Moka pots on the market.
Single-valve Moka pots: the coffee liquid will flow directly from the two small holes at the top of the hollow tube of the Moka pot, the steam pressure inside the pot is about 1 to 1.5 bar, and there is less grease.
Double valve Moka pot: the upper pot has a built-in pressure valve, somewhat similar to the small cap on the pressure cooker about 2.5 bar. the pressure inside the pot can reach up to 3 bar, and the extracted coffee oil is dense and rich, closer to the Italian machine production.
Moka pots are very sensitive to volume, so be sure to brew coffee according to the capacity of the pot. If you have a 2-person Moka pot, you should brew 2 cups at a time. If you brew only one cup, the coffee powder will not be thick enough and the resistance to the hot water will be insufficient, so the hot water will run through quickly and only one cup of poorly extracted coffee will be made. Moka pots on the market have capacities of 1. 2. 3. 6. 9. 12 and 18 servings, so you should carefully consider your needs before buying one.
What is French Press
In 1929, Italian designer Attilio Calimani created and registered the patent for the French press pot. This is the original appearance of the French press pot that we see now. But why not call it an Italian pot instead of a French press pot? Probably because the original prototype was invented by two Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge, in 1852.
The French press consists of a cylindrical container and a lid with a strainer that can be pulled up and down in the middle of the lid. The container is usually made of glass, but now it is also derived from ceramic and stainless steel. The strainer is usually made of metal.
The principle of the French press pot is the immersion type, which steeps the coffee powder through hot water and finally filters out a cloudy, richly layered coffee. Because of its small size and easy cleaning, it is ideal for travel and camping carry-on use.
French Press Instructions
A cup of French press pot coffee can be done in four simple steps. No specific technology is required, and because of the long contact time between the water and the coffee powder, this method will truly restore the flavor, flaws, etc. of the coffee beans. Therefore the goodness of a cup of coffee is closely related to the coffee beans themselves.
It is generally recommended to choose fresh single coffee beans to make French press coffee.
- Add water: water must choose soft water, the temperature can be selected according to the coffee beans, generally with 197.6 °F water temperature.
- Steady: let it stand for 4 to 6 minutes, you can try to stand for different times to experience the difference in coffee.
- Press down: After a given time of resting, we gently place the filter on the coffee liquid and press down evenly until it touches the coffee powder at the bottom. This process requires care not to stir the coffee liquid, so as not to mix too many coffee grounds into the coffee liquid above.
The fineness of the filter is also the key to making a good cup of coffee. A good French press will keep the edges close to the inner wall after many uses so that the coffee grounds will not leak into the liquid.
Finally, gently pour the coffee liquid into the cup and enjoy.
What Kind of Coffee Do You Like
Moka pot extraction coffee features：
The taste of Moka pot coffee extracted through high temperature will be stronger, bolder, and more powerful, retaining the coffee grease, making its taste very similar to that of espresso, but not exactly the same. If you prefer a stronger taste, we recommend using a double-valve Moka pot, which will produce a richer liquid coffee. If you simply make a milk coffee, a single-valve Moka pot can already meet our needs.
French press extraction coffee features：
The coffee extracted through the French press will have a very strong aroma, retaining the initial aroma of the coffee beans. Since it is steeped out through hot water, you can better enjoy the original taste of the coffee and the taste of the coffee oils. At the same time, the caffeine content of French press coffee is weaker by volume, but still very mellow.
Moka Pot vs French: Which is Good For You
Once we get a sense of the respective brewing methods and coffee extraction flavors, which channel of coffee is better for you? We continue to help you analyze from another viewpoint.
Grinding
The grind of the Moka pot is between hand-brewed and coffee machine grind, the particles are smaller than hand-brewed coffee and larger than coffee machine ones.
- If the grind is too coarse, the granularity is obvious, and you will find that the coffee will gush out like a fountain when it is made, and the flow will come out very fast, and there will be little grease, insufficient extraction, and it will be watery and sour to drink.
- If the coffee powder is too fine, with more coffee powder particles in contact with the water, the extraction resistance increases, easy to extend the extraction time thus leading to over-extraction, the coffee is bitter, and may also be accompanied by the phenomenon of no liquid on the pot, slow liquid.
It is more proper to choose a ground degree of the French press that is the same as the coarseness of the sea salt.
- No matter what kind of grind coarseness is used to grind the coffee, use a high-quality flat or cone knife grinder instead of a blade-type grinder. This brewing method has a high possibility of leading to over-extraction.
- If the grind is too fine it may allow the water to extract the coffee powder too fast, which may cause the coffee fines to penetrate the metal filter, thus causing a large number of coffee grounds to settle in the brewed coffee.
Brewing time
Although the two have different extraction methods, the Moka pot uses pressure and the French press uses steeping. But no matter which one we choose, in about five minutes, we can brew a quick pot of coffee.
If you want to make a family of coffees, a Moka pot with multiple portions may take a little longer to reach perfection.
Build Materials
You will find that most Moka pots are mainly made of edible-grade aluminum, while French press pots are more commonly made of glass.
With the continuous upgrading of products, there are now many Moka pots made of stainless steel, as well as double stainless steel French press pots.
Price
The Moka pot was originally geared towards home use and continues to be an affordable and easy to make coffee tool for home coffee makers today. That's why Moka pots can be more affordable, especially the smaller sized versions.
And a French press pot is a more sophisticated coffee option. It is a way for a person who really likes coffee and is willing to put more effort into selecting their favorite beans and more time to get themselves awake. The ability to taste the original coffee flavor. The heart of a French press pot is the filter. A great French press pot requires multiple layers of filters, or choose an excellent edible grade silicone filter to achieve this.
