With a little practice, and the right grind (coarser than espresso but finer than filter coffee) you can make great Moka pot coffee. They produce a rich, concentrated cup that can rival espresso in strength but with less bitterness. They are easy to use, but you need to pay attention to the amount of heat, the timing and how to use a moka coffee pot you put in to prevent over-extraction (that leads to bitterness).
The most common type of Moka pot is a cylinder with two parts – a chamber at the bottom with a funnel shape and an upper reservoir where the brewed coffee rises. The water in the lower portion is heated and pressure forces it up through the grounds (which are firmly held by a metal basket) out of a spout at the top of the pot.
Brewing Brilliance: A Beginner’s Guide to Using a Moka Coffee Pot
You should pre-heat your water before brewing so that it is hot when you add it to the lower chamber. This reduces the time that the grounds are exposed to heat and also helps with consistency as it’s a very streamlined measuring process – even without a scale.
Once your water is hot enough to boil, fill the bottom chamber to the area that narrows towards the neck of the pot. This is usually marked with a line. Add your ground coffee – don’t tamp it down (as you would do with espresso) but gently shake to level the grounds. Then screw the chambers together and place the Moka pot on a heat source. Remove the pot from the heat as soon as you hear gurgling (before the coffee starts to rise and bubble) and enjoy!
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