The Moka pot is a great coffee brewer that makes amazing coffee. It is looked at as one of the most old-school ways of brewing your coffee in modern days.
In this article, I’ll tell you all about the Moka pot and what makes it so great. And I’ll give you an equipment list, so you can be sure you have everything you need to get started with the coffee journey.
But that’s not all; a bit further down, we’ll go over how to brew coffee with a Moka pot. I made a step-by-step guide, so you can easily follow along and look back at certain steps if you run into trouble. Let’s get into it!
What is a Moka pot?
A Moka pot is a coffee brewer that brews coffee by heating water in the bottom chamber, where steam then pushes the water through the coffee bed. It essentially works exactly like an espresso machine you can find in your favorite coffee bar. But more on this later.
When I told you the Moka pot is one of the most old school coffee brewers we use to date, I wasn’t lying:
The Moka pot is named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was invented by Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933.
Wikipedia
It’s so cool to think that we can still buy (and use) the same kind of coffee brewer they used almost a century ago. And it still being a part of this modern age.
What kind of coffee can you make with the Moka pot?
A common misunderstanding of the Moka pot is that it produces espresso coffee without the need for big espresso machines. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Let me explain which coffee the Moka pot can produce:
The Moka pot produces espresso-like coffee, which comes close to an espresso made with an espresso machine. The liquid gold that the Moka pot produces tastes almost exactly like the espresso you get out of an espresso machine.
Both coffee brewers produce coffee under pressure. However, the espresso machine distinguishes itself by producing way more bar. An espresso machine uses between 7-15 bars of pressure to “push” the water through the ground coffee, leaving an espresso as a result.
Most commonly, 9 bars of pressure is used to produce amazing espresso using an espresso machine, whereas the Moka pot can only produce as little as 1.5 bars. Nevertheless, the Moka pot’s espresso-like coffee is amazing, and I really enjoy drinking it.
Moka pot equipment list
Before I get into the brewing part of this article, you’ll need to collect some equipment so that you can get started. Get yourself the following equipment:
- Fresh coffee beans
- Coffee grinder (if you own one)
- Scale
- Moka pot
- Kettle with boiling water
Down below, I’ll go more in-depth on why some of the equipment can make a big difference when brewing Your Dream Coffee with the Moka pot.
Why fresh coffee beans equals great coffee
Coffee beans have the most flavor in them, right after they have been roasted. Once the coffee beans come out of the roasting machine, they are cooled down completely and packaged.
From that moment on, the coffee beans are losing flavor. This means that you want to grab yourself a nice bag of coffee beans with a good roasted-on date on there.
The fresher the coffee beans: the better your coffee will taste.
Why I recommend using a coffee grinder
Coffee grinders come in different shapes and sizes, as well as manually and electric. There are tons of choices out there. If you want to learn more about the difference between manual and electric coffee grinder, I suggest clicking here, as I wrote an article about it.
The best combination will be when you’ve got a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans and a manual coffee grinder. For this brewing guide, we want to aim for a slightly grainy ground coffee bean. Which lies between the grind size of espresso and the grind size of the AeroPress. Down below you can see the grind size that I like to use:
If you don’t have access to a coffee grinder, however, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to brew great coffee using the Moka pot. You want to make sure to buy the pre-ground coffee beans, which come closest to the ground coffee I have pictured above.
When using a coffee grind that is too fine, you’ll over-extract the coffee, and it will start to taste sour, which you’ll want to avoid.
When the coffee beans are ground too coarse, the coffee might get bitter tones in it. Don’t worry if you don’t make the best coffee you’ve ever tasted the first time around.
The first few times when I started brewing coffee with the Moka pot, the coffee didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. Practice makes perfect.
Why a scale can make a big difference
For this brewing guide, you’ll be using 35 grams of ground coffee. This is just as much coffee to fill up the Moka pot coffee filter. If you don’t have a scale, just fill the coffee filter up to the edge and start from there.
I’m using this Bialetti Moka pot for induction, which I can recommend when you are still looking for a Moka pot and are using induction at home. When clicking on the link, you’ll automatically go to Amazon, where you can view the Moka pot.
The Moka pot can serve about 2 cups of coffee. If you have a different Moka pot at hand, either double or half the amount of coffee I used.
The next thing on the list is filling up the bottom half of the Moka pot with boiling water, which I will explain further in the brewing guide.
I found out that using about (1 cup (0.24 l) of water is enough to produce amazing coffee while using 35 grams of coffee. To give you an idea of what the coffee puck will look like after brewing the coffee, have a look down below:
As you can see from the photo above, the coffee puck is even distributed because of the right amount of coffee in there.
When using this ratio of coffee to water will get you the closest to an actual espresso taste, without the need of owning an espresso machine or ordering it in your favorite coffee bar.
However, I would suggest experimenting with the ratio of coffee to water if you feel like the coffee tastes stronger than you may like. You can use less coffee or adjust the water ratio by adding more. It all depends on your taste.
The great thing about making a good quality espresso-like coffee is that you can make multiple coffee recipes using espresso as the base. You can make a Flat white without going through much trouble.
The last thing on the list is a kettle with boiling water in it, you’ll need this to fill up the bottom half of the Moka pot when you start the brewing guide. Now that you have everything at hand, let’s get started on this brewing guide:
Moka pot brewing guide
Down below you will find the brewing guide of the Moka pot. Just to make sure you’ve got everything you need to get started on this brewing guide, you’re going to need the following coffee to water ratio, to begin with:
- 1 cup (0.24 l) of water
- 35 grams of ground coffee
I have dissected the brewing guide in a list of 7 steps so you can easily follow along. Let’s begin:
1. Start by boiling your water and filling up the bottom compartment of the Moka pot with the amount needed:
2. Now, add your ground coffee beans to the Moka pot filter cup. And place it onto the bottom half of the Moka pot:
3. Twist the top part of the Moka pot on top. Be careful: the bottom compartment is very hot, which can cause burns. Please use a towel to hold the bottom compartment while twisting the other part on top:
4. Place the Moka pot on your stovetop or cooking plate and turn the heat to a medium-high setting. You’ll now have to wait for up to a few minutes (depending on your heat setting). The water in the bottom compartment will start producing the steam needed to push the water through the coffee and into the top compartment:
5. You’ll hear a slight steaming sound when the first splash of coffee comes through the top. This is good. Now, wait until you start to see bubbles forming on the nozzle where the coffee comes through. Your coffee is now done and can be removed from the heat to prevent further extraction:
6. I recommend pouring out your freshly brewed coffee into your desired cups right after removing the Moka pot from the heat:
7. Leave the Moka pot to cool down completely before trying to open it as it will be hot for the next few minutes. You now have amazing coffee to enjoy. Read along to find out how to clean your Moka pot.
How to clean a Moka pot
Cleaning your coffee equipment and coffee brewers is a must if you want to keep brewing coffee with the brewers for the upcoming years.
The cleaner you keep your coffee brewers and all the added equipment, the longer your products’ lifetime will be. This is great, as this will save money in the long term.
Before cleaning your Moka pot, make sure that you have let it cool down a bit after you’ve brewed a great coffee with it. The Moka pot will get quite hot, and you don’t want to burn your fingers.
Now, twist the pieces apart. Start by twisting the top part lose of its bottom and thoroughly clean it with rinsing water. The coffee stains on the inside of the Moka pot are quite hard to get rid of.
This is why I suggest using warm water for this, I have tested using cold water only, and it, unfortunately, didn’t work.
Once the top part of the Moka pot is clean, place it on a clean towel to dry properly. It’s now time to clean out the coffee-filled filter of the Moka pot. Throw out the coffee grounds and rinse through as well.
Last but not least, check the bottom compartment of the Moka pot. Although only water has been in there, you want to check if it has been kept clean.
There may be some leftover water in there, along with some small pieces of ground coffee. Rinse this out and let dry as well.
Dry all your compartments using a kitchen towel and leave to air dry a bit more. If all the parts are completely dry, you can twist them back together and place the Moka pot in your favorite coffee place!
If you own the same Bialetti Moka pot, which is made specifically for induction like mine, then you can consider polishing the outside, so it looks brand new for years to come. I keep forgetting this step, but trust me, your Moka pot will look even better with clean outsides.
Conclusion
It’s staggering to get such great-tasting coffee out of this small stovetop coffee brewer. It keeps amazing me. You now have every piece of information to start brewing Your Dream Coffee at home using the Moka pot!
If you want to learn more about home-brewing coffee, I suggest checking out the beginner brewing guides I’ve listed below.
Will you be giving the Moka pot a try? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!
