4 ms·

I was in Italy this summer and the AirBnB had an ancient Mokapot. It made great coffee-like-stuff. Came home and bought one... it tastes terrible. Every couple

I was in Italy this summer and the AirBnB had an ancient Mokapot. It made great coffee-like-stuff. Came home and bought one... it tastes terrible. Every couple of days I'll make a pot hoping to season the device. Sadly, I'm about to give up. I might be nomading it soon, so no big purchases, but if I was buying a house my first purchase would be a proper espresso machine.

masklinn 4y ago
I've never used a moka pot but I don't think they need seasoning. They work off of a pretty simple principle, the device ain't going to fix itself out of nowhere. If the outcome is bad there are lots of options but the ones I would consider are: - the recipe itself is wrong, however I assume you're using the same recipe you got success with in italy, though that requires that the devices are the same kind (e.g. stovetop v electric) and powered the same way - the device itself is broken - the coffee you're using is different enough that the recipe doesn't work, or possibly the coffee you get at home is completely unsuitable for moka (wrong roasting, wrong grind size, ...) Maybe consider watching James Hoffman's moka series for an intro? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-wseRXyO-XoVNx https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-w...
- browningstreet 4y ago
  I went down the James Hoffman rabbit hole, yes. I've tried different recipes, different beans, etc. Right now I'm on Illy espresso (got some on sale). I hear your suggestions :-). The beans in Italy were basically beans in a tin, open to the air. But it was Italian air, Venetian salt seasoned air, and I was on vacation. Could've been that.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    An other possibility is maybe the device is setup incorrectly e.g. the filter / gasket is not sitting right or something? Though I assume you've taken it apart multiple times at this point and would have noticed. As you've already tried multiple things and covered the basics, I would suggest trying to find some sort of coffee enthusiast group around, or maybe a bit of a fancy / hipster coffee shop, with someone who knows their way around a moka pot who could help you diagnose the issue (whether it's in the device or its usage). Seems a shame to have had a good experience, and to have bought a moka pot, and to not get joy out of it.
    - browningstreet 4y ago
      Agreed.. my next gambit is to use the aeropress paper filters, which apparently fit. I do have the right flow now -- it drips out of the spout without making a mess. I made some coffee that basically exploded out of it and needed the lid to contain the mess. But I'm past that. And if I have the aeropress filters, I'm pretty close to getting an aeropress too.
  - dehrmann 4y ago
    You tried a different grind size, right? And you have a quality grinder?
- planede 4y ago
  In my personal experience the amount of water poured inside the moka pot makes a big difference. The more water you pour in, the higher temperature the coffee brews. If you pour the maximum amount of water that fits inside, then your coffee will brew close to the boiling point of water, which is too hot and makes the coffee bitter. If you pour less amount of water, then the coffee brews at a lower temperature. The principle is that the coffee is pushed out by both the steam and the expanding trapped air inside the moka pot. The more expanding trapped air you have there, the less pressure you need from steam, so the coffee starts brewing earlier.
  - petepete 4y ago
    I suspect the hardness of the water plays a big part too. Coffee away from home always tastes a bit funny to me even when I take my own beans.
- yCombLinks 4y ago
  Also the water itself may be different. I've brewed beer for a long time, and actually prefer the way hard water comes tastes in a brew.
papandada 4y ago
Most likely culprits here for the discrepancy is which coffee you're using/freshness thereof, consistency of grind, and water quality (and second the JH recommendation)
rkachowski 4y ago
i had a similar issue with the italian style mokapot but i think i fixed it. The key issues were * clean after every use (just with water) * don't fill too much water, the water will touch the coffee for too long and make it sour, aim for just below the pressure valve * don't tamp down the coffee grounds, just fill to the line * dont have too fine a grind on the coffee it sounds like a lot but I'm making great coffee now, i couldn't figure out the aeropress somehow
- browningstreet 4y ago
  Thanks.. I'll see if focusing on these elements makes a change. The Illy espresso I have right now is probably too fine.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    Yes if you have espresso grind it's way too fine, Moka does have some pressure but it's around 1.5 bars. Moka pots are usually used with drip / pourover grinds. Maybe a pair of stops below, but not espresso-fine. With an espresso grind, the moka pot will struggle to push water through and you'll have a very bitter coffee because it'll be way over-extracted. Is that what you experience?
rsync 4y ago
Maybe it tasted better because you were in Italy. The wines at the tasting in the winery are always amazing… and then you get home and open a bottle and it’s… meh.

masklinn 4y ago

I've never used a moka pot but I don't think they need seasoning. They work off of a pretty simple principle, the device ain't going to fix itself out of nowhere. If the outcome is bad there are lots of options but the ones I would consider are: - the recipe itself is wrong, however I assume you're using the same recipe you got success with in italy, though that requires that the devices are the same kind (e.g. stovetop v electric) and powered the same way - the device itself is broken - the coffee you're using is different enough that the recipe doesn't work, or possibly the coffee you get at home is completely unsuitable for moka (wrong roasting, wrong grind size, ...) Maybe consider watching James Hoffman's moka series for an intro? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-wseRXyO-XoVNx https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-w...

browningstreet 4y ago
I went down the James Hoffman rabbit hole, yes. I've tried different recipes, different beans, etc. Right now I'm on Illy espresso (got some on sale). I hear your suggestions :-). The beans in Italy were basically beans in a tin, open to the air. But it was Italian air, Venetian salt seasoned air, and I was on vacation. Could've been that.
- masklinn 4y ago
  An other possibility is maybe the device is setup incorrectly e.g. the filter / gasket is not sitting right or something? Though I assume you've taken it apart multiple times at this point and would have noticed. As you've already tried multiple things and covered the basics, I would suggest trying to find some sort of coffee enthusiast group around, or maybe a bit of a fancy / hipster coffee shop, with someone who knows their way around a moka pot who could help you diagnose the issue (whether it's in the device or its usage). Seems a shame to have had a good experience, and to have bought a moka pot, and to not get joy out of it.
  - browningstreet 4y ago
    Agreed.. my next gambit is to use the aeropress paper filters, which apparently fit. I do have the right flow now -- it drips out of the spout without making a mess. I made some coffee that basically exploded out of it and needed the lid to contain the mess. But I'm past that. And if I have the aeropress filters, I'm pretty close to getting an aeropress too.
- dehrmann 4y ago
  You tried a different grind size, right? And you have a quality grinder?
planede 4y ago
In my personal experience the amount of water poured inside the moka pot makes a big difference. The more water you pour in, the higher temperature the coffee brews. If you pour the maximum amount of water that fits inside, then your coffee will brew close to the boiling point of water, which is too hot and makes the coffee bitter. If you pour less amount of water, then the coffee brews at a lower temperature. The principle is that the coffee is pushed out by both the steam and the expanding trapped air inside the moka pot. The more expanding trapped air you have there, the less pressure you need from steam, so the coffee starts brewing earlier.
- petepete 4y ago
  I suspect the hardness of the water plays a big part too. Coffee away from home always tastes a bit funny to me even when I take my own beans.
yCombLinks 4y ago
Also the water itself may be different. I've brewed beer for a long time, and actually prefer the way hard water comes tastes in a brew.

papandada 4y ago

Most likely culprits here for the discrepancy is which coffee you're using/freshness thereof, consistency of grind, and water quality (and second the JH recommendation)

rkachowski 4y ago

i had a similar issue with the italian style mokapot but i think i fixed it. The key issues were * clean after every use (just with water) * don't fill too much water, the water will touch the coffee for too long and make it sour, aim for just below the pressure valve * don't tamp down the coffee grounds, just fill to the line * dont have too fine a grind on the coffee it sounds like a lot but I'm making great coffee now, i couldn't figure out the aeropress somehow

browningstreet 4y ago
Thanks.. I'll see if focusing on these elements makes a change. The Illy espresso I have right now is probably too fine.
- masklinn 4y ago
  Yes if you have espresso grind it's way too fine, Moka does have some pressure but it's around 1.5 bars. Moka pots are usually used with drip / pourover grinds. Maybe a pair of stops below, but not espresso-fine. With an espresso grind, the moka pot will struggle to push water through and you'll have a very bitter coffee because it'll be way over-extracted. Is that what you experience?

rsync 4y ago

Maybe it tasted better because you were in Italy. The wines at the tasting in the winery are always amazing… and then you get home and open a bottle and it’s… meh.