6 ms·

I've tried it all, and the only thing that I'm happy with is the Moka pot method. If that isn't the perfect cup of coffee, I don't know what is.

davidw 5y ago
I don't think I ever saw anyone in Italy with a fancy coffee machine. They all use moka pots at home, and go to the local cafe if they want an espresso made with a machine.
- ip26 5y ago
  To be fair, you can throw a rock anywhere in Italy and hit a cafe.
  - ArchOversight 5y ago
    That was one of the best parts of traveling in Florence. You could pick a different café every morning and by the end of a week long trip you'd still haven't tried all the café's in a two block radius.
  - davidw 5y ago
    Yeah - it's legal to open one pretty much anywhere - compared to the US where they're illegal in most areas of most cities. It's nice to be able to walk to stuff!
  - ValentineC 5y ago
    I think it also helps that espresso tends to cost around €1 a shot.
Eric_WVGG 5y ago
Every time I've tried a Moka I burn it. I've tried it all, and the only thing that I'm happy with is the Aeropress. If that isn't the perfect cup of coffee, I don't know what is.
- hinkley 5y ago
  I gave my Moka pot away because cleaning it was a royal pain in the ass.
  - g8oz 5y ago
    Not cleaning your Moka pot is part of the authentic experience.
  - ValentineC 5y ago
    If you ever want to try it again, get a stainless steel one. It cleans up just fine with soap.
    - hinkley 5y ago
      It was the sieve and the seals that always got me. And my tendency when presented with a hot cup of coffee to actually drink the coffee instead of cleaning the equipment.
- gopalv 5y ago
  > Every time I've tried a Moka I burn it. The burn comes from sitting in the pot after brewing. If you grab it & transfer it as it boils over, then you won't get any burned taste. Once coffee sits in it for 20 minutes, even with the stovetop off, it starts to go acrid & smoky. Aeropress doesn't have that problem at all, of brewed coffee coming in contact with hot metal. I like the Mokka pot for my first coffee, because it is relatively simple to operate before I've had my coffee.
- bccdee 5y ago
  Moka pots are temperamental. It took me a while to figure out quite how to use mine. Makes great coffee once you're used to it, though. You probably want to pre-boil the water so that the coffee doesn't sit on the heat for too long, but you should also only turn the stove up to medium so that it extracts more slowly. Pull the pot off the heat as soon as it starts making the loud rushing noise — I even rinse the base with cold water so that it stops boiling right away.
- 5y ago
asdff 5y ago
I used to use a moka pot but eventually I decided it was far too strong and my tolerance got too seriously high. My teeth definitely looked worse than when I was binging french press instead.
analog31 5y ago
I recently learned the hard way what happens when you put the Moka pot on the stove and go away without starting a timer. First of all, it made the coffee of course. Then the heat made its way to the upper portion, boiled the coffee, and sent it spraying out the spout and into the room. All while melting the gasket. After cleaning up, I made a new gasket from an old bike innertube, and it worked just fine.

davidw 5y ago

I don't think I ever saw anyone in Italy with a fancy coffee machine. They all use moka pots at home, and go to the local cafe if they want an espresso made with a machine.

ip26 5y ago
To be fair, you can throw a rock anywhere in Italy and hit a cafe.
- ArchOversight 5y ago
  That was one of the best parts of traveling in Florence. You could pick a different café every morning and by the end of a week long trip you'd still haven't tried all the café's in a two block radius.
- davidw 5y ago
  Yeah - it's legal to open one pretty much anywhere - compared to the US where they're illegal in most areas of most cities. It's nice to be able to walk to stuff!
- ValentineC 5y ago
  I think it also helps that espresso tends to cost around €1 a shot.

Eric_WVGG 5y ago

Every time I've tried a Moka I burn it. I've tried it all, and the only thing that I'm happy with is the Aeropress. If that isn't the perfect cup of coffee, I don't know what is.

hinkley 5y ago
I gave my Moka pot away because cleaning it was a royal pain in the ass.
- g8oz 5y ago
  Not cleaning your Moka pot is part of the authentic experience.
- ValentineC 5y ago
  If you ever want to try it again, get a stainless steel one. It cleans up just fine with soap.
  - hinkley 5y ago
    It was the sieve and the seals that always got me. And my tendency when presented with a hot cup of coffee to actually drink the coffee instead of cleaning the equipment.
gopalv 5y ago
> Every time I've tried a Moka I burn it. The burn comes from sitting in the pot after brewing. If you grab it & transfer it as it boils over, then you won't get any burned taste. Once coffee sits in it for 20 minutes, even with the stovetop off, it starts to go acrid & smoky. Aeropress doesn't have that problem at all, of brewed coffee coming in contact with hot metal. I like the Mokka pot for my first coffee, because it is relatively simple to operate before I've had my coffee.
bccdee 5y ago
Moka pots are temperamental. It took me a while to figure out quite how to use mine. Makes great coffee once you're used to it, though. You probably want to pre-boil the water so that the coffee doesn't sit on the heat for too long, but you should also only turn the stove up to medium so that it extracts more slowly. Pull the pot off the heat as soon as it starts making the loud rushing noise — I even rinse the base with cold water so that it stops boiling right away.
5y ago

asdff 5y ago

I used to use a moka pot but eventually I decided it was far too strong and my tolerance got too seriously high. My teeth definitely looked worse than when I was binging french press instead.

analog31 5y ago

I recently learned the hard way what happens when you put the Moka pot on the stove and go away without starting a timer. First of all, it made the coffee of course. Then the heat made its way to the upper portion, boiled the coffee, and sent it spraying out the spout and into the room. All while melting the gasket. After cleaning up, I made a new gasket from an old bike innertube, and it worked just fine.