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The humble brilliance of Italy's moka coffee pot (2018)
- tussa 3y agoFor me it's also the process that makes it so rewarding. The grinding, packing, listening to it bubbling on the hob, the smell, the gurgle at the end and finally the pour. Then you also get a nice cup of coffee! It's an amazing "gadget". If you enjoy coffee and haven't tried one, you're missing out.
- secretsatan 3y agoI understand that packing the coffee in a moka pot is a real faux pas
- stevoski 3y agoMy dictionary says "faux pas: an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation" I can't work out how packing the coffee in a moka pot is a faux pas.
- unwind 3y agoDepending on your level of coffee nerd/snob factor, "doing it wrong" can indeed be a source of embarrassment. I don't think this is limited to coffee snobs, either.
- bell-cot 3y agoMaking & serving coffee is often a social ritual, so doing it "wrong" is a faux pas.
- michaelt 3y agoAh but it is also a faux pas to apply social ritual rules outside of the formal dining areas of the house. Nobody's tamping down the ground coffee in their moka pot in the receiving room or the dining room. If a guest is invited into the more intimate areas of the house like the kitchen, (food safety issues aside) they can no more object to what they see than a theatregoer given a backstage tour could complain that the actors are out of costume.
- petesergeant 3y ago> If a guest is invited into the more intimate areas of the house … they can no more object to what they see than My brother, I can assure you that this is not actually how that works in the real world
- michaelt 3y agoIt is among the kind of people who use the terms "faux pas" and "social ritual" and who think it's possible to use a moka pot in an "embarrassing or tactless" way. If I'm having the queen around for high tea it might be a "faux pas" to serve biscuits in a plastic packet or tub, and proper to arrange them artfully on a china plate. But if we're following that ritual, the queen absolutely does not enter the kitchen. If on the other hand the guest wants to engage in the "we're just regular people" ritual they gain the right to enter the kitchen - but lose the right to complain when the biscuits are served straight out of the packet, or to use the term "faux pas"
- petesergeant 3y agoThe faux pas is the admission that you’ve done this amongst peers who expect you to know better (presumably; personally I’d drink caffeinated dirt)
- ahartmetz 3y agoYes, yes it is. Source: did that once, got a minuscule amount of coffee in the top part and an about equal amount coming out of the sides.
- happymellon 3y agoIf you are doing it at home, then there is no one to judge you. Just make good coffee, and stop using those pod abominations.
- tussa 3y agoI'm all in favour of a better word. What's a good one of for pouring the granules into the sieve and leveling it off? "Packing" definition doesn't require stomping although it's often applied, both with coffee and suitcases.
- eschneider 3y agoIf you pack too hard, the steam can't go through the coffee and if you're lucky, it'll come out the overpressure valve and if you're unlucky (or overfilled the water) you can blow up the pot.
- kefabean 3y agoThey are indeed hypnotic to use, cheap and quite practical. The trouble is I've never been able to get coffee to taste as good out of one of these compared to almost any other method of making coffee - eg. filter, espresso, French press. I'm not sure whether it's my technique, the grind I use, or something intrinsic to the process itself.
- md_ 3y agoI wouldn't say it's you. Moka pots aren't great, though they are convenient-ish. ;) As https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/5197/is-the-moka-pot-predisposed-to-producing-burnt-or-bitter-coffee https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/5197/is-the-moka-... says, preheating the water might help if your results are overly bitter.
- chongli 3y agoThere is absolutely a technique to it. Watch Moka Pot Voodoo [1] by the Wired Gourmet. The key to getting good taste is to carefully control the temperature of the coffee puck and flow rate of water through it. Pre-boiling the water in the bottom chamber before dropping in the coffee basket and screwing on the lid solves the first problem: keep the coffee from overheating. Moving the Moka pot on and off the heat in order to maintain a gentle, steady flow solves the second. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-PeYeiqPLU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-PeYeiqPLU
- andersrs 3y agoI brew on a Bialetti Venus every day with induction. I think you are doing it wrong. I find that the awful bitter tastes come late into the process accompanied by yellow colors and bubbles/splutters. Avoid at all cost. My method: 1) Fill the basket level. You may tap/shake any clumps to get it level but do not tamp. 2) Heat it on 1000 watts until the first drop of coffee comes out the pipe and then reduce power 400w. 3) When you notice any hint of yellow, or any bubbles/spluttering or you have enough coffee then immediately dump it into a pre-warmed mug of milk. Ideally you want to stop the process before any bitterness arrives.
- tussa 3y ago> I think you are doing it wrong. I'm going to swallow my pride with stoic calm on this one in case you are correct. Thanks!
- federiconafria 3y agoI can't believe we have the exact same process. Even the power down. But... Black coffee for me.
- Finnucane 3y agoThat is interesting. I don't have one but was thinking of getting one of the induction-ready pots. How fine of a grind do you use?
- jtanderson 3y agoSerious question: doesn't pouring into milk negate/mask much of any bitterness anyway?
- xinayder 3y agoIt does, but then you're also removing part of the coffee taste.
- tedmiston 3y agoYes, this is exactly why many baristas will choose a darker or more full-bodied coffee for an espresso type drink vs a lighter roast for something like a pour over. Darker roast coffees are also much more forgiving in general, since they already have some bitter taste to them in the first place. It's still a better end product to brew the coffee or espresso well in the first place vs try to mask faults (bitterness, sourness, etc) after the fact.
- NoPedantsThanks 3y agoI have one and have tried it quite a few times, being very careful to follow whatever procedure I'd been shown. To me the coffee has always tasted burned. But... I buy much better coffee now. It is fun and I like the ceremony, so I'm going to check out the video someone linked to above. All I know is, buying light-roast coffee and a proper burr grinder will change the way you view coffee. I even wrote a little app to calculate the exact amount of water per gram of grounds, and then you can enter the total weight of the vessel (intended for Chemex-style pour-over) and a wet filter. It saves that and then tells you how much the whole thing should weigh when you've added enough water.
- yakshaving_jgt 3y agoMoka pots are a little too fiddly for me. You need to be careful with the water temperature (and a few other variables) for it to not produce overly bitter coffee. Since these days I'm only making coffee for myself, I almost always use the Aeropress. It's perfect every time.
- j4yav 3y agoA lot of people who make coffee at home get off on fiddlyness (no judgment, me too). The less reliably it makes a good cup of coffee the better it tastes if you can manage to get it to produce one.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago>Moka pots are a little too fiddly for me. Same for me, beautiful and genius design of its era that looks futuristic even today, but it's been surpassed by the Aeropress in convenience, simplicity and ease of use today. Not gonna say in taste, as the resulting taste is subjective to each drinker's preference. Seriously, the Aeropress inventor should get a prize or something, it's just mind boggling how something so simple like an oversized syringe for coffee, hasn't been invented much earlier. Shame he sold the company to some private equity group who instantly raised prices and removed accessories from the box.
- mastazi 3y agoI like the Aeropress a lot, but I don't like making coffee in an object that is made of plastic. When I make filter coffee, I always use metal or glass brewers for that same reason. I understand that glass might not be viable for Aeropress as it might break, but I hope that someone will come up with some other material, maybe metal with an insulation layer?
- kgabis 3y agoWhat's your reasoning behind avoiding coffee made in plastic? Is it a form of plasticophobia?
- secretsatan 3y agoI love these, but I recently made the mistake of buying a store brand one, I thought it looked the same, but actually, they don't have the spout quite right and it doesn't pour right, I have to pour my coffee over the sink because it dribbles everywhere. I should have just repaired my old one, I left it too long on the stove and melted the O Ring, but it should be replaceable
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago>I recently made the mistake of buying a store brand one Do you know that old saying, "you buy cheap, you buy twice"?
- davidgerard 3y agoyeah, the O-rings are trivially replaceable, keep a pile to hand
- eigenket 3y agoYou can very easily get replacement O-rings, I've had my moka pot for about 15 years and I'm on my third ring. The first got lost and the second damaged.
- projektfu 3y agoYes you can generally buy the gaskets, but might need a specialty store to find them. They harden after a while anyway, and there's going to be someone in your life, a friend, housekeeper, in-law, who will throw it out in an effort to be helpful.
- TomK32 3y agoIf the new one is thick enough alu you might think about filing the spout to make it work like the older one you have
- planede 3y agoDo yourself a favor and get a silicone replacement gasket instead of the Bialetti one.
- fawnwind 3y agoI really enjoy my moka pot. They can take a bit of work to dial in, but for an espresso style drink I can't think of any other brew method that is as cheap and simple.
- mittermayr 3y agoTo me, the Moka pot is always a funny (and reliable) example of design and the many ways people make their own interpretations of it. Ask any friend to describe how, exactly, they make coffee with it. There should only be one way, and everyone is sure that their way is the correct one. Yet, there are so many variations of this, it's crazy. From grind size (more coarse than espresso, less than filter), to grams and fill-level (brush off, or exact measure?), to those still convinced it needs tamping (it does not!). Then temperature (as hot as, gas stove burn-it-with-fire, or slow-build) and even lid philosophy (open while it heats, open after it has started bubbling) — and when to close it off, after the first bubbles, once it's been bubbling, until the water is gone, etc. Also, what beans and roast profile? Espresso? Crema? Filter? Nuances, sure, but every single time I ask someone about their Moka pot, they have a slightly different way of using it than I have. Case in point: I fill water up to just touching/under the valve, then use a medium-coarse grind with dark espresso beans, with enough coffee to fill the basket level, no tamping brushing off or touching. Then heat it hard on gas if available, leave the lid closed while it builds up but open immediately with the first bubble and put it off the heat. Let it continue for another half minute and then pour. And you?
- sharperguy 3y agoMost likely you've seen this, but it should be mentioned James Hoffman has spend some time experimenting with the Moka pot and has published his preferred technique on youtube [1] [1]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDLoIvb0w4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDLoIvb0w4
- jarvist 3y agoThere's also a fantastic Youtube video in a neutron beam facility of a Moka pot, in which you can see the full process of brewing. The water and plastic handle appear 'black' as hydrogen scatters neutrons so strongly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VESMU7JfVHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VESMU7JfVHU
- 317070 3y agoThere is also this gem of a website, where you can explore a 3D CT-scan of a Bialetti moka pot, to see all its features and flaws: https://www.scanofthemonth.com/scans/coffee https://www.scanofthemonth.com/scans/coffee
- md_ 3y agoLooking forward to someone submitting the vacuum pot/siphon coffee maker. ;)
- _giorgio_ 3y agoDon't forget to wash the Moka. Coffee leaves oily residues that gives the coffee an acid taste. "For daily upkeep, simply rinse the Moka pot under running hot water." https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/inspiration/post/how-to-clean-the-coffee-pot-at-home-natural-and-effective-remedies https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/inspiration/post/how-to-clean...
- globular-toast 3y agoIf it's oily then you'll need detergent too stop the build up. I made the mistake initially of treating my pot like a tea pot which is never cleaned. A clean with detergent every time you clean your grinder (every 1-2 bags of coffee) is probably enough.
- n4r9 3y agoI've read to never use detergent on a moka pot. But I've never tried it to find out! I find that simply using my fingers to brush it clean under warm water after each use seems to work just fine.
- smcl 3y agoYeah I just wash it with hot water. If I'm using it in the afternoon having made a morning coffee a few hours before, I'll just use my fingers. In the evening I'll clean it a bit more carefully, with a sponge or whatever I have. Once I was curious if I was using my moka pot "wrong" so I checked some videos on YouTube and some of the people had immaculate Mokas. Like mine are clean, but these were near mirror-finish polished even though they'd been used.
- JKCalhoun 3y agoSince most Moka appear to be made of aluminum, you would not want to put in a dishwasher (too caustic). But dish soap of the normal variety should not be a problem?
- n4r9 3y ago
- code-blooded 3y agoMoka pot is such a wonderful little invention! If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend giving it a shot (pun intended). It produces great tasting espresso (the flavor is just a little different that from an espresso machine) and it's quick to clean. It's much cheaper and practical for home use and I can't comprehend why an "average" coffee drinker would need anything else (except perhaps AeroPress, which is equally great). Espresso machines have their place, but I see them as a good solution coffee aficionados or when you brew a lot of coffee.
- herbst 3y agoTo be a little pedantic, espresso and moka are a different roasts and need different grinding. Tho results are kinda similar, and in my opinion Moka is easier to get right (not to bitter).
- z3dd 3y agoIt's closer to cezve/ibrik than to espresso in a sense that it cooks coffee at 100 degrees whereas the standard temperature for espresso is around 93, which results in more finer flavours in the coffee comparing to the basically burnt one.
- globular-toast 3y agoI own a Moka pot. It's my favourite for campsite coffee. It works best with Illy Moka ground coffee. Doesn't work at all with espresso grind. I don't particularly like the coffee that comes from it. But then I don't really like espresso either. I prefer filter coffee. But for camping it's by the most convenient option. The Aeropress comes close, but still requires pouring between vessels etc. The trouble is, though, I bought my Moka pot years ago and I don't expect I'll ever buy another. I might replace the rubber gasket, but that's it. Unlike pods or filter etc there's no consumable parts which is wonderful but in this day convenience via consumption is what people want. And it's a win-win for that businesses selling consumables.
- culebron21 3y agoSame story earlier: [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18627745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18627745 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122182 [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29347665 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29347665
- dabeeeenster 3y agoThe second best thing about the Moka pot (after the coffee) is that the inventor was buried in a large one https://qz.com/618734/italys-coffee-pot-king-was-buried-in-the-appliance-that-made-him-famous https://qz.com/618734/italys-coffee-pot-king-was-buried-in-t...
- shafyy 3y agoThis is amazing. Do you think they put his ashes in in the middle part where the coffee goes?
- kgabis 3y agoI'm afraid to ask whether he was brewed after the ceremony.
- nunez 3y agoThis is king shit right here.
- paldepind2 3y agoIt was the inventor's son, and not the inventor himself who was buried in a large moka pot. It's written in the article.
- toyg 3y agoNot even that - it was the son of the first seller of the pot. His father bought the invention from another guy, and he made it popular. > Luigi di Ponti designed the appliance in 1933 and sold the patent to Renato’s father Alfonso Bialetti, an aluminum vendor.
- TomK32 3y agoI highly recommend This Old Tony making his pot. Entertaining as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrlyEreba8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrlyEreba8
- Chiba-City 3y agoYears ago, I threw away my coffee maker, espresso maker, microwave, toaster oven and most other kitchen "appliances." I did keep a few electric grinders/mixers. But I also have some manual grinders. I make coffee in a glass jar (gravity filter) or with a moka pot and concentrate on the ingredients now and brew coffee with cardamom and ceylon cinnamon. The last thing I want in my kitchen are devices with blinking lights and clocks. My cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel and glass gear have no moving parts. They are magically "compatible" with serial, parallel and USB cables. I'm the moving parts.
- Erratic6576 3y agoIs hot aluminium safe for drinking water?
- culebron21 3y agoYes. Aluminum when cast and exposed to air immediately covers with thin and hard layer of aluminum oxide, which is inert and doesn't dissolve into water. No danger.
- casualrandomcom 3y agoItalian television brought coffee to the lab, and the results where not reassuring (from minute 18 onward, only Italian, I am sorry) https://www.rai.it/programmi/report/inchieste/Un-espresso-a-casa-nostra-c957e2dc-473e-4273-b94a-f3e630b21b41.html https://www.rai.it/programmi/report/inchieste/Un-espresso-a-... aluminum was at around 1/6 of the EU recommended maximum safe concentration. But you could cut this in half using the stainless steel moka. Apparently about half of the aluminum came from the coffee powder itself and half from the moka. A lot of metals from the coffee itself, apparently because of fertilizers and insecticides. Anyway the moka itself released around 0.3 mg per liter of aluminum
- gattilorenz 3y agoWorth noting that the TV show is somewhat known for unreliable/biased reporting. The amount of aluminum released by the moka is tiny, and as the EU guidelines say ( https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2018-03/scheer_o_009_0.pdf https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2018-03/scheer_o_00... ) "cooking in aluminium containers or preserving food in aluminium-containing cans or pots often results in statistically significant, but not biologically important, increases in the aluminium content of some foods". [emphasis mine] Considering the amounts we're talking about (of aluminum released, and of coffee from a moka pot), it's fundamentally a non-problem.
- gattilorenz 3y agoI was curious so I searched for extra context: from the same document, the mean diet-related intake quantities for aluminum in norway are 0.29 mg/kg bodyweight/week; this means that if you are 70 Kg, you would normally ingest about 20mg of aluminum a week. Assuming you drink a whole liter of "aluminum moka coffe" a week, you get 0.81mg extra aluminum in your diet. A liter is about 16 "italian cups". You would get a heart attack before noticing symptomps of aluminum intoxications...
- marcus0x62 3y agoThis Old Tony made one on his YouTube channel several years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrlyEreba8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrlyEreba8. It's worth a watch if you are into machining and/or welding.
- victor9000 3y agoMy favorite part is how the plastic handle sits an inch from the base yet completely melts over heat, simply brilliant.
- herbst 3y agoMy oldest pot is well over 10 years old and was in multiple open fires. It's magic plastic
- jeffrallen 3y agoI just got a fancy Delonghi automatic and I miss my Moka still. Sigh.
- d--b 3y agoThe main issue is that it’s actually fairly difficult to brew a good coffee with a Moka machine. If the stove is too hot, all the water will go through the coffee and then the whole thing will boil and spurt, and the coffee will be terrible. If the stove is too low, not all the water will go up and you’ll end up with not much coffee. And you have to stay close to be sure to not screw it up, which is annoying cause it takes a few minutes to boil. It’s also annoying to clean, and you need to cool it down before making a second pot. If you cool it down too fast, you’ll create a vacuum, and you won’t be able to unscrew the thing. I am not sure it works on induction stoves, and on gas stoves, you often have to add a little steel thing to hold the pot in place. It was a smart and cute little device when it was invented, but let’s be honest, it’s highly inconvenient, and it’s not making a particularly good coffee either. To me, it’s not the coffee snubs that should be shamed, it’s the people holding on to a less-than-ideal device, just for the sake of nostalgia.
- bondarchuk 3y agoSome of the best coffee I've ever had was from my moka pot. Now this is only 1 in a 100, but it's those few lucky brews that keep you coming back.
- throwaway290 3y agoIt doesn't work on induction stoves but induction stove converters are sold...
- imzadi 3y agoBialette has a stainless steel version that does work on induction without the plate
- throwaway290 3y agoWhere do they make them? Bialetti's aluminum moka is labeled as made in Italy but their steel induction plates are labeled as made in China
- zecg 3y agoIt's great, but if you want to do it right with most pots you should use pre-heated water at almost 90°C, since prolonged heating makes the rubber gasket smell and it marks the coffee.
- secretsatan 3y agoOne thing I heard about the problems with the company not mentioned in the article, the moka pots are very durable, once you buy one, you don't really have to replace it.
- downut 3y agoI used one for decades until I got a high end gas stove. A few months of perching it on the edge and I still cooked the handle. So I got another Italian gem, a Rancilio Silvia. Now people talk about the ritual of the Moka pot but with the Rancilio there's another attraction for the engineer/mechanical tinker types: the Rancilio is built to be maintainable and so once a year (after 15) I end up taking it apart and replacing something. It turns out a lot of people do this.
- theGnuMe 3y agoI got a chemex for xmas and I got to say it is awful.. can't make a decent cup with it for the life of me. Had no problems with a regular pour over into a pot.
- nunez 3y agoWhat problems are you having? Technique shouldn't be too different than doing pour over, except for a coarser grind.
- theGnuMe 3y agoMaybe that's the problem, I like a richer finer grind...
- larrywright 3y agoChemex needs a much coarser grind. I’d advise trying it - I have a half dozen methods of making coffee and the Chemex is consistently one of the best.
- nunez 3y agoYup. You need a sea salt-like grind for Chemex because of how thick the filter is.
- ubermonkey 3y agoI'd check out James Hoffmann's YouTube channel -- he's the Alton Brown of coffee, which is a reference I hope you get. I was a Chemex user for years before I went to espresso. You can get GREAT coffee out of a pour-over rig, but there are tricks to it.
- theGnuMe 3y agoThanks, I watched it. I like strong coffee.. I feel like the chemex overextracts and is bitter and overly clean. I am able to make a strong pot of coffee with a pour over no issues and a regular paper filter. But I'll try his technique tomorrow. I probably have my water volume measure wrong.
- nunez 3y agoI'm Dominican-American. The Dominican Republic LOVES these things. Incredibly cheap, very fast and brews super strong due to the percolation effect. Coffee via moka pot was my first exposure to coffee, and I still make coffee this way occasionally. It has a very unique "espresso but also not" flavor that tastes really great with certain types of beans.
- FergusArgyll 3y agoI thought I was the only person in the world that still uses this...
- bdsa 3y agoI like to put an Aeropress filter between the coffee and the integrated metal filter above, I've found it makes the coffee much smoother.
- Gud 3y agoI love my moka pot and I take it with me everywhere I go. I am by no means a coffee expert, but my 2 cents: A slow boil seems to work wonders on cheap coffee
- keiferski 3y agoStaying at an AirBnb, I once had a Moka Pot explode, spraying boiling coffee across the room. Luckily, I was shielded by my laptop. That was a funny conversation to have with the host. I'm not sure what exactly caused it, probably an issue with the pressure...but I've stuck to my trusty French Press ever since.
- WithinReason 3y agoThere is a valve that should prevent this from happening, it's that hexagonal thing on the side you can see in the picture.
- keiferski 3y agoYeah I'm sure it's a rare occurrence, but it just turned me off from using Moka pots in favor of a Turkish coffee cezve or French press, neither of which can explode.
- red-iron-pine 3y agoI've cracked a couple of french presses, though. Thin glass + cold + hot and back makes it brittle. The solution was to not use metal spoons for stirring -- wooden or plastic chop sticks work pretty well -- but it's frustrating. By comparison the drip coffee machine or the moke pot haven't ever had a failure.
- keiferski 3y agoI'm sure it's a crime in some countries, but I use a single wooden chopstick for stirring. It's the right size + doesn't damage the glass.
- Marsymars 3y agoWooden chopsticks are fantastic for stirring! I have a double-walled stainless steel French Press and still use a chopstick for stirring.
- adolph 3y agoChange my mind: Moka pots are no different than Nespresso but exchange water waste for some fractions of a gram of aluminum.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- exchemist 3y agoI was quite annoyed when I dropped my 13yo one and broke the handle. Then I discovered they sell replacement handles! 5 minutes with a hammer and punch later and it should be good for another 13 years (or till I next drop it)
- eschneider 3y agoReplacement seals and "performance" filters, as well. There's quite an aftermarket on Moka parts.
- agys 3y agoIt’s time to re-share Ubi de Feo’s “Moka Coffee 101”. Ubi is an obsessive compulsive hacker, engineer and coffee lover (among many other things). Check his (reasonable) opinion on cleaning the moka! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXCa5J7LcO0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXCa5J7LcO0
- l3x 3y agoI love that the guy who invented it had his ashes put into one when he was cremated https://qz.com/618734/italys-coffee-pot-king-was-buried-in-the-appliance-that-made-him-famous https://qz.com/618734/italys-coffee-pot-king-was-buried-in-t...
- mcc1ane 3y ago(2018)
- hbarka 3y agoThe writer did not credit Luigi di Ponti. https://www.seriouseats.com/moka-pot-history-coffee-maker-italian-caffetiera https://www.seriouseats.com/moka-pot-history-coffee-maker-it... “Bialetti didn’t invent the Moka. He just made it famous. A man named Luigi di Ponti designed the appliance in 1933 and sold the patent to Renato’s father Alfonso Bialetti, an aluminum vendor.”
- srid 3y agoI drink 3-4 cups using an espresso machine at home, but whenever I travel I find that my 3-cup moka pot makes almost as good tasting coffee consistently. Some tips: - use a quality hand grinder; I have comandante: https://twitter.com/sridca/status/1743941231112273969 https://twitter.com/sridca/status/1743941231112273969 - put the Aeropress paper filter in the moka filter so you don't get grinds in your coffee. - get freshly roasted beans.
- red-iron-pine 3y agoseconding the paper filter. it perfectly fits my 3-cup pot. it slows down the process a little, I found, which means the pot gets hotter and burns a little. I found that pouring out the coffee ASAP as it comes out -- like, let it run for a few seconds, pour, fill again, repeat until finished -- gets a better product. but you don't get any particulate, and the flavor is much smoother. not sure if it's raising the pressure significantly enough to impact extraction, but wouldn't be surprised if it can bump it up +0.5 BAR or more.
- rindalir 3y agoMy variation is that i heat the chamber until the water boils, alone. Then turn off the heat, plop in the portafilter, screw on the top, and turn the heat on low and watch it until the coffee coming out turns from brown to clear-ish and starts "strombolating". Then put the bottom chamber under cold water to stop the process.
- red-iron-pine 3y agobeen seeing Moka Pots everywhere lately. lots of vids popping on Tik or YT. New marketing campaign? That said, I've got 3 Moka Pots, and am a fan. Have taken the smaller ones camping and used on a fire, they're pretty small, robust, and travel well. I use a modified James Hoffman approach with a cut down Aeropress filter inside the Moka Pot. Medium-fine grind, usually a mix of whatever is on sale -- "the house blend", and hot water.
- buescher 3y agoI noticed Aldi here in the US carried an inexpensive knockoff late in their specials aisle last year.
- ravenstine 3y agoA few weeks ago, I was talking to my parents about coffee percolators, which is what the Moka pot seems to be. My mom and dad have a bunch from the 1950s, which they sometimes use. The cool thing about these percolators is they have a little glass dome that lets you see the percolation in action. If you're unfamiliar, you can see what that looks like in this old Maxwell House commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWEYjEQ75ZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWEYjEQ75ZM The reason I bring this up is that I asked my parents why percolators fell out of favor, and apparently drip coffee makers became popular because they are easier to clean and don't recirculate the liquid and, therefore, won't burn the coffee like a percolator might. I find this interesting because I then asked them whether their percolated coffee ever tasted bad or burnt, and they said no – and now Moka pots have become trendy. One generation's discarded tech becomes a new generation's hipster product. (no insult intended!) I actually don't like coffee, but I think it'd be cool if retro percolators could make a comeback.
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- teachrdan 3y agoA criticism I've heard is that percolated coffee tastes bad compared to coffee brewed with modern techniques, like drip coffee, French press, etc. I wonder if that's not something the older generation raised on it -- including my parents -- is conscious of, because there didn't used to be any other options. What I do know is that everyone from the percolator generation seems to have transitioned away from them despite the fact that those machines are indestructible. So I'm personally inclined to believe that, while they didn't necessarily think that percolators made bad coffee, they tried filter coffee (or whatever) once and then switched away from percolators and never looked back.
- epcoa 3y ago> Moka pot seems to be. No. The Moka pot is a water reservoir under a coffee filter basket atop which is screwed a collecting pot. (A home drip coffee maker also “percolates” so it isn’t useful to focus on how the water is moved) They don’t recirculate like a percolator and you answered the question why they fell out of favor. Unsurprisingly there are already percolator hipsters. You can make a hobby out of anything.
- jlund-molfese 3y agoSadly manufacturing quality has declined since manufacturing was moved out of Italy[0]. Or, Amazon commingled counterfeit inventory—impossible to know for sure unless someone buys and scans another one! 0. https://www.scanofthemonth.com/scans/coffee https://www.scanofthemonth.com/scans/coffee
- sloped 3y agoI just received a Moka Pot for Christmas. After spending a few weeks taking notes and adjusting the grind size and amount I am very happy with it. I found that the 7 setting on my Induction stove leads to very little bitterness. I think that the Moka pot on the induction range to be a nice demo of induction's benefits over gas or electric(resistant) ranges. Extremely accurate and reproducible heating, decently fast, and basically no waste heat. Instant off as well without needing to move the pot.
- ericpauley 3y agoHow are you heating the pot on induction if it's made of aluminum? Do you have a steel Moka pot?
- leipert 3y agoThe company sells induction ones: https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/moka-induction-rossa.html https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/moka-induction-rossa.html
- sloped 3y agoYep. Made the mistake of not paying attention to the material so I actually received the aluminum version. Was happy to find this and exchange for it.
- teachrdan 3y agoI got a Moka Pot for Christmas, too! I used this is great video from James Hoffman to optimize the coffee I made with it. (for deliciousness) In addition to the work you've done identifying the ideal grind size, he explains adding boiling water to the reservoir and other tips to avoid bitterness in the final product. https://youtu.be/BfDLoIvb0w4?si=DfuPURs5cJ5z-Adg https://youtu.be/BfDLoIvb0w4?si=DfuPURs5cJ5z-Adg
- fatfox 3y agoIf you buy an off-brand Moka pot, make sure you can change the rubber seal. That's the only part that deteriorates over time and should be regularly replaced.
- litoE 3y agoI bought my Moka pot in October of 1971 for $4.99, new. It has been in continuous use since then, with the only maintenance being the replacement of the rubber gasket. Try that with your Nespresso.
- notorandit 3y agoI won't ever give my moka up. A lot of value for the bucks I spent. Long life span, almost zero maintenance hassles and costs. And good coffee too. P.S. I am southern Italian.
- p4bl0 3y agoIf you are into coffee and/or moka pots, make sure not to miss the Moka Pot series by James Hoffmann: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-wseRXyO-XoVNx https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxz0FjZMVOl1Zot3qiJ-w... It is a series of four videos about the Moka Pot and, as is always the case with James Hoffmann, it's fascinating and interesting.
- christkv 3y agoI think every home in Spain has at least one Moka Coffee Pot.
- dang 3y agoRelated: The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot (2018) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29347665 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29347665 - Nov 2021 (308 comments) The Humble Brilliance of Italy’s Moka Coffee Pot (2018) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122182 - Aug 2020 (19 comments) Also: We tested 11 moka pots and both of our favorites were from the same iconic brand - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37427325 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37427325 - Sept 2023 (4 comments)
- davidinosauro 3y agoLate at the party as a reader of /front, but as an Italian that moved abroad I wouldn't change my Moka pot for anything else. - Small - Can get consistently good coffee It does need to change the rubber and a clean with vinegar every once in a while (6-12 months or so?) I do like the Nespresso-like pods things -- very convenient but: - Results in waste that is hard to recycle - Takes up precious room on the counter-top
- macgyverismo 3y agoI've had an electric one (heater in the base) for more than 15 years and it recently broke in a way that was not repairable. I really want to buy a new electric one with a reasonable volume, but they seem to be very rare. I'm thinking of brazing a heater element to a normal one, the automatic shut-off feature and consistent temperature profile is a must-have for me.
- t0bia_s 3y agoHow about aluminium toxicity for humans? Was that ever concern about moka?