How to Brew Coffee in Moka Pot - Step By Step Guide

The Moka Pot is an instantly recognisable symbol of Italian coffee culture and one of the world's most well-known brewing devices. Its iconic design, wide availability, and ease of use make it an accessible entry point for speciality coffee.

While it's often used to make an intense, heavy coffee at home, the Moka Pot is extremely versatile. With a small amount of experimentation, home coffee drinkers can use it to explore speciality coffee and even recreate well-known coffee shop hot beverages.

So, whether you have just picked up Moka Pot or have had one for years, read on to learn how to brew excellent coffee with it.

Preparation of the Stovetop Coffee

If you happen to own an induction stove, a stainless steel Moka Pot like the Bialetti Moka Express 4 is your best choice. Stovetop coffee makers make aluminium, such as Bialetti Moka Express, which will only work with induction if you put a pan underneath.

For fans of the 8-side classic look, Bialetti has made a Moka Pot, especially for induction with a vintage feel to it.

Clean all removable pieces of your brewing device to avoid any unwanted flavours. The main parts of Moka Pot include:

•       A knob
•       Lid
•       Small column
•       Coffee collector
•       Handle
•       Filter plate
•       Heating vessel
•       Funnel
•       Gasket
•       Release valve

On a little side note, double-check that gasket and all other parts are in the right place. My Moka Pot exploded in the kitchen once I had to repaint the walls. True Story - without wanting to sound like a broken record,  I always recommend freshly grinding your beans before brewing.

When you are ready to fill your Moka Pot with coffee, it is vital to pick the appropriate grind setting. To clear the air, though the Moka Pot is also referred to as the Italian Espresso Maker or Stovetop espresso maker, it's impossible to prepare true espresso with it.

You would ideally need 9 bars of pressure to create a thick Cerma on top, whereas the Moka coffee is extracted with only 1 - 2 bars of pressure. Find out more about the perfect pressure for your espresso.

Therefore, do not grind your coffee as fine as you'd for espresso to avoid over-extraction. I use a Eureka Atom Grinder and pick a grind setting among espresso and drip coffee, which translates to 15 to 20 clicks.

What type of Coffee do you use in a Moka Pot?

As a general rule, the best coffee is the coffee you like. Though, as the Moka Pot over extracts by design and therefore tends to highlight undesirables bitterness, medium or medium-dark roasts are more suitable for the refined palate than a dark roast when made with the Moka Pot.

After experimenting with all types of roast levels I achieved outcomes with medium roasted coffee from Guatemala, Brazil, and Colombia. As for light and fruity roasted coffee from Ethiopia and Kenya, I found them to flavour considerably better when brewing espresso-style coffee with Aero Press. I personally use Lavazza gran espresso but again that's my personal flavour of choice.

Instructions  to Brew Coffee in Your Moka Pot

• Step 1 - Preheat the water. Bring kettle water to boil and eliminate heat. We do this to keep the temp of the Moka Pot from getting too hot and cooking the coffee, imparting a metallic flavour.
• Step 2 - Grind your coffee on a drip coffee setting, about as good as table salt. You need enough coffee to fill the filter basket, which is about 15g to 17g for a four-cup Bialetti Moka Pot.
• Step 3 - Add the heated water and fill the line underneath the brewer.
• Step 4 - Now insert the filter basket into the brewer's bottom
• Step 5 - Fill the basket with coffee, little mounded, and level the surface off with your finger. Brush away loose grounds on the edge of the filter basket.
• Step 6 - Screw the top and bottom together. Use warm pads and do not over-tighten.
• Step 7 - Now put the brewer on the stove, use a moderate temperature setting and ensure that the handle is not subjected to heat. Leave the lid open.
• Step 8 - The coffee will start to come out and you'll hear a puffing sound and see a rich-brown stream that'll get progressively lighter in colour. Once the stream is the colour of yellow honey, remove it from the warm with hot pads and close the lid.
• Step 9 - Wrap the bottom part of the pot in a chilled bar towel or run below cold tap water to stop extraction. We do this to prevent the coffee from developing a metallic taste. The basic idea is here to get a relatively small amount of coffee that is very concentrated and super-rich.
• Step 10 - As coffee stops bubbling out, pour it into cups or carafe. You might wish to dilute with warm water depending on preference.

Tools to improve brewing with a Moka Pot

Some limitations are inherent with any method of brewing coffee. For making stovetop coffee, this includes the difficulty of controlling the water temperature, which puts coffee lovers in a little pickle.

It is tricky to find that sweet spot to remove the Moka Pot from the heat before it starts extracting bitterness. By following the steps outlined in this blog, though, you'll be more likely to receive great results.

If you're struggling with hitting the right water temperature, it might be worth your while to invest in an affordable thermometer to gain more control.

While the Moka Pot does not give much space to experiment with brewing recipes due to the limited size of the water chamber and coffee collector, there're a few other tools available that'll improve your overall Moka Pot experience and decrease bitterness, such as paper filters.

With or without an additional filter, by following the simple instructions listed here, you will be well on your way to enjoying a constantly tasty cup of espresso-like coffee from the comfort of your home time and time, again.

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