MOKa LOVE
STEP-BY-STEP BREWING GUIDE
Written, designed and Photographed by Daria Pyshna.
Written, designed and Photographed by Daria Pyshna.
Updated: June 2nd, 2023
Have you noticed that a Moka pot can be found in almost every home? Maybe it’s hidden somewhere in the back of a cluttered kitchen drawer that stores rarely-used kitchen appliances purchased in the hopes of ones developing a cooking hobby. But it’s there, and it can make your morning just a little bit better by giving your tastebuds a pleasant hit of strong yet delicate coffee notes. Unfortunately, Moka pot is underrated as much as it is historically appreciated. Significantly underrated within the specialty coffee community. I have learned to enjoy this simple piece of equipment for brewing a stronger cup of coffee than my V60 can manage, but it wasn’t always like that.
It has been tough to come about writing this blog. In particular because I never truly liked Moka pot. I didn’t get why many people would rather have that than a filter set up in their house. Despite this, I have forced myself to understand it. I set a goal to find a way to enjoy the Moka pot and its coffee. To do that, I had to erase my preexisting expectations and experiences going into this trial process.
The closest person to me, Dania, was the only one who made me a great coffee in a Moka pot. He introduced me to this new world and shared his knowledge that stands as the foundation of the methods I will discuss today! So a special thank you to him!
It is not Espresso!
As you are probably aware, the Moka pot cannot produce espresso. Still, I’ve noticed that everyone wishes it would. It uses a different principle of physics to extract the coffee. It doesn’t have 9 BARs of pressure like an espresso machine. So WHY do we expect the coffee made using a Moka pot to taste like espresso? Why did espresso become an example when they are nothing alike? Your love for Moka pot might develop when you stop expecting espresso-like qualities. It’s not that; it will never be that, and we can move on now.
Sooo, using a clean slate we have created, we can start layering the building blocks to understand how we want it to taste…
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:
Fill 3/4 of the bottom chamber with water.
Preheat the water that you pour into the bottom chamber. It doesn’t really matter if it’s boiling or not. Something around 85-100 degrees Celsius would work great. Preheating the water lets it rise to the coffee basket faster and submerges the grounds to start the brewing process almost immediately. Usually, while the water is heating up on the stove, the coffee grounds already start burning without the liquid being able to penetrate them, leaving a bitter taste to the cup.
TIP:
2. Place the coffee basket on top and pour your coffee grounds inside, almost filling it to the rim.
(If your basket touches the water below, make sure to pour a little bit out. We don’t want the coffee to be wet before brewing) .
I don’t know why people started tamping the coffee (“Tamping- a method a barista will use to take a loosely dosed amount of coffee grounds and turn them into a tightly compressed, evenly dispersed puck within the portafilter”) inside the basket. While experimenting, I noticed that it only makes the brewing time longer and the coffee more watery due to passage blocking. Unlike espresso, the lack of high pressure doesn’t let the water through tightly pressed grounds. Instead, I’d recommend taking something thin like a toothpick or a chopstick and gently swirling the grounds to eliminate big lumps and evenly distribute them. I’d even go to the length of poking a couple of holes with the chopstick and leaving them to let the water penetrate the coffee easier.
TIP:
3. Take the upper chamber and screw it to the bottom pot.
(!Hold the bottom chamber with a towel because it will already be hot from the boiling water)
The most important investment I have made to improve the flavor of the coffee from a Moka pot was Aeropress filters. Similar to V60 paper filters, they are essentially small, round paper pieces that fit perfectly at the bottom of the upper chamber (see picture above). All you have to do is flip the upper chamber upside down, place the paper on the filter plate attached to the chamber, and pour some water on it to stick. Then you connect the upper chamber to the bottom as usual. DO NOT place the filter into the coffee basket itself! It will slow the water rising towards the coffee, making the process much longer and burning the coffee. We want to keep the filter in the upper chamber to help minimize the bitterness and the coffee grounds that get into the upper section. (they are not welcome there)
TIP:
4. Turn On the stove and place your moka pot on top.
TIP:
As our water is already preheated, turning up the heat on your stove is unnecessary. Instead, turn your heat to the minimum to let the coffee slowly develop its taste and prevent over bitterness. The brewing time will be the same as filling the pot with cold water and turning high heat on, but the flavor will be much different.
5. Once the Upper chamber is 2/3 filled, turn off the heat and enjoy your fantastic coffee!
I would say, don’t wait for the coffee to start splashing everywhere. Try to turn it off when you feel this moment is coming. James Hoffmann advises taking the Moka pot and carefully running the bottom part under cold water. He says it will immediately stop the brewing process. Personally, I didn’t find much of a difference in doing so. Still, I encourage you to experiment with it to see if it makes the taste better for you.
TIP:
Due to these small changes in the Moka brewing process, each morning, when it’s time to make my coffee, the question “V60 or Moka pot?” pops up in my head. I am not saying I am head over heels for this method, but it’s certainly become a small part of my morning ritual occasionally.
Take away
I hope this blog will inspire you to get that dusty Moka pot out of the depth of your pantry and give it one more chance. If you love filter but sometimes crave something stronger and richer. Maybe something that has more body and texture. Then, introducing a Moka pot into your rotation might be a great idea. You never know; it might become your new obsession.