Moka Pot

How to Use Italian Coffee Maker – Moka Pot Instructions

What is a Moka Pot?

Moka pot, also called Italian coffee maker or stovetop espresso maker, is a coffee maker in which steam under pressure of 2 – 3 bar goes through coffee grounds.

What type of coffee do you get from a moka pot?

Coffee from the moka pot is strong, has clean taste and has no crema. This espresso maker gives a potent cup of coffee and is an inexpensive, more accessible alternative to an espresso machine. It is a very underrated coffee maker, as brewing coffee with a moka pot is one of the best ways to make strong coffee at home. 

Coffee poured from a moka pot - Italian espresso maker - to a cup on a tanle with a newspaper

How to use Italian coffee maker

Moka pot instructions

  1. Grind your coffee beans fine to medium-fine.

    Tip: darker roast suits best the Italian coffee maker 

  2. Fill the bottom chamber of your stovetop coffee maker with water up to the lower edge of the valve. Never fill it up above the valve.

    Tip: you can use hot water – this way you will avoid heating up the coffee while the water is warming up on the stove to avoid a bitter tasting cup. 

  3. Place the coffee basket on top of the bottom chamber and fill the basket with coffee grinds. Don’t tamp the coffee, but level it with your finger without pressing down. Don’t leave any empty space in the basket.
    Clean the rim of the basket if there are any coffee bits on it.
  4. Screw the top chamber onto the moka pot.
  5. Place the moka pot on a small stove immediately after that.
  6. Remove the moka pot from the stove when you hear a gurgling sound. Leave it off the stove and wait until coffee stops flowing into the top chamber – this way you will get a cleaner, stronger cup and avoid making watery coffee. 
Stovetop Espresso Maker
Italian Coffee Percolator

Moka pot coffee ratio

The ideal coffee to water ratio for moka pot is 1:7 or 1:8 (in grams), meaning 1 gram of coffee per 7 – 8 grams of water. 

Moka pot coffee grind size

The best grind size for the Italian espresso maker is fine grind, around 0.8mm. If you want to get a cleaner cup or if your coffee tastes too bitter, use a slightly coarser grind (medium-fine).

What is the best roast for a moka pot?

The moka pot emphasizes the acidity in coffee, so a darker roast (which is less sour) is the best for a moka pot. However, if you like the sourness in your coffee, you can go for a lighter roast. 

When choosing coffee for the stovetop maker, you may also want to look at coffees from South and Central America with sweet and chocolate notes. 

How to get a cleaner cup of coffee from a moka pot?

There is one magic trick you can do to get a cleaner cup – place a paper filter under the sift and you will get a cup very close to an espresso machine. You can use the same paper filter as for AeroPress. 

3 common mistakes of using moka pot

  • Too fine grind
    When you use too fine a grind in the moka pot, your coffee may taste bitter.
  • Not keeping the Italian coffee maker clean
    Old coffee residue in the chamber and between the parts of the pot (the seal, the basket and the chambers can give a very unpleasant taste. 
  • Storing the moka pot screwed on

Moka pot maintenance

There are two things you need to do to maintain your Italian coffee maker properly and keep getting delicious coffee:

  • Replace the seal from time to time
    The seal in the moka pot is made from rubber, loses its elasticity with time. You can buy replacement seals for moka pot in many shops with kitchen accessories or online. 
  • Cleaning
    You need to clean your moka pot very thoroughly inside as well as each part separately. Because of the finely ground coffee used for this coffee maker, there is a lot of oils and other coffee residue staying on the surface of the pot. If you don’t clean your moka pot, you may get an unpleasant, burnt and oldish tasting coffee.

How to clean a moka pot

Proper moka cleaning is vital if you want to consistently produce a high quality cup of coffee.

Ideally, you should clean your moka pot this way at least one a week.

To clean your Italian coffee maker:

  • Remove the seal and the filter (you will find lots of coffee bits remaining in between the parts – this is what spoils the taste of your coffee)
  • Wash every part of the cafetiera really well. Use a cloth on a stick to clean the cafetiera inside (the cloth will be black!)
  • After the cleaning, dry it with a cloth, don’t leave it to dry on its own to avoid scale building up and bacteria from water developing on the surface (which will change the taste of coffee).

Don’t use a washing up liquid to clean your moka pot. You can use neutral soap or just very hot water to clean it. The point is to get rid of the oil residue. 

Moka pot coffee vs espresso machine

What’s the difference between espresso and coffee from a moka pot?

Coffee from a moka pot has an intense, rich flavour and may be on the bitter side depending on the roast and the way of brewing. An espresso machine gives a cleaner cup, more complex flavours and crema on top (you don’t get crema from a moka pot). 

Is moka coffee as strong as espresso?

They are both very strong, but an espresso machine gives a stronger coffee because of the higher pressure of brewing (8 – 10 bars), while a moka pot uses a pressure of 1 – 2 bar. 

Large Espresso Maker Pot
Italian Espresso Ground Coffee

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