The Moka pot is one of the essential coffee making utensils in every Italian household. The well-known brand "Bielloti" is from Italy. Not only Italians love to use it, but Europeans also like to use Moka pots to extract coffee.

For Italians, drinking coffee is a very common drink, just like drinking soy milk in China. In addition to drinking "espresso" in coffee shops, almost every coffee shop has a moka pot, and often more than one: because there are different sizes, which are suitable for different occasions.

Of course, in addition to the classic octagonal pot, the Moka pot also has limited editions in various colors or shapes: such as the color of the Italian flag, cartoon shapes, double cups and double tubes for couples, etc. If friends who are addicted to collecting go to Bialetti's store, I'm afraid they will be unable to walk. From large to small sizes, various shapes and colors will make you have a big choice.

Limited Edition Couple Edition Double Tube Moka Pot

Green Army Hat Collector's Edition Moka Pot

Cappuccino Cow Jug

Many people in China also use Moka pots, but there are many misunderstandings about the extraction process of Moka pots. Moka pots are often criticized for being difficult to operate and prone to over-extraction, resulting in a bitter and burnt taste. In addition, the powder-water ratio of Moka pots is difficult to control, and it is not as precise as hand-poured or siphon pots. It also does not look as "high-end" as hand-poured and siphon pots, so it often becomes a dusty device.

In fact, the Moka pot is a completely underestimated device! I often recommend friends who want to buy an Italian semi-automatic coffee machine but have a limited budget to buy a Moka pot. A few hundred yuan can fully meet daily use needs. Let's take a look at the tips for extracting coffee with a Moka pot!

The structure and working principle of the Moka pot

The Moka pot consists of the following parts:

It consists of an upper pot, a lower pot, a powder bin, a gasket, and a filter, as shown below:

The working principle of the moka pot is that the water in the lower pot boils to generate steam, which creates atmospheric pressure and squeezes the hot water into the powder bin. With the help of the sealing ring, the coffee powder is successfully pressurized. Then the hot water flows through the coffee powder to extract the coffee liquid, which flows into the upper pot and the extraction is completed. In fact, its principle can be said to be similar to that of an Italian coffee machine, but it is impossible to achieve the stable pressure and temperature of an Italian machine. The pressure of an Italian machine is 9 bar, while the pressure of a moka pot can reach about 2 bar.

Some friends are entangled in whether the moka pot can brew coffee crema, I think it is unnecessary, first of all, its inherent pressure is not as strong as that of the coffee machine, even if there is some crema, it is not very stable and thick. I think there is no need to worry too much about whether there is crema, but you need to be more skilled in operating the moka pot, after all, it is still espresso, for those friends who "buy espresso machines are too expensive, and hand brewing is too light", the coffee brewed by the moka is added with some milk (although it is not very good at drawing flowers), as a cheap home device, this cup of latte is also delicious!

Detailed steps for making a moka pot

Now let's explain the operation of the Moka pot in detail. Some friends may ask, what is there to say about brewing coffee with a Moka pot? It's nothing more than adding water, filling in powder, screwing on the pot, and cooking it on the fire. There is nothing wrong with the process, there are many details that need to be paid attention to, which can make your espresso taste better~

1. Boil a pot of water first, separate the upper and lower pots of the Moka pot, and check whether the gasket and safety valve are normal.

Tips:

• Gaskets are consumables, and manufacturers recommend replacing them once a year. It is best to replace them according to the recommendations to avoid the danger of reduced sealing performance or even failure to seal.
• Safety valve inspection: You need to press the safety valve to see if it can be pressed and popped up.

2. Add hot water to the lower pot. Be careful not to exceed the lower part of the safety valve . If it exceeds, the safety valve will fail. If the pressure in the lower pot is too high, it is very easy to cause danger.

Just add water to this position.

Safety Tips:

It is recommended that the moka pot should be kept by others during the coffee making process, and the safety valve should not be pointed at others.

3. Grind the coffee beans. Note that the pressure of a moka pot is not as high as that of an Italian coffee machine, so it is not necessary and cannot be ground into a very fine powder. A medium fineness slightly finer than fine sugar is enough. Therefore, a general hand-cranked grinder can also do the job. If the grind is too fine, the brewed coffee will be too bitter and have a strong burnt taste.

4. Fill the coffee powder into the filter and gently shake it flat. You can use the following method: the coffee powder should be slightly higher than the tip of the filter, then smooth it from left to right with your fingers, and discard the excess coffee powder. If it is not flat, smooth it again in the opposite direction. Then shake the powder bin vertically on the table and gently shake it, so that the filled powder is about 90% full.

Use your hands to spread the coffee powder evenly

Thumb it lightly on the table

After the coffee powder is filled, there is no need to use a tamper to "press the powder" like an espresso machine. You just need to ensure that the coffee powder is evenly distributed and flat. If the filling pressure is too high, the "channel effect" is likely to occur.

What is the channel effect?

The channeling effect is that the inertia of water causes water to choose places that are easy to pass through, while ignoring other paths. Water flows quickly through the cracks of the coffee powder, producing a thin and under-extracted espresso. It often leaves some small holes in the coffee powder.

5. Put the powder bin back into the lower pot and wipe off the residual powder and water stains on the edge and threads.

If the residual powder is not cleaned up, it will easily scratch the rubber gasket and affect the sealing performance.

6. Tighten the upper pot and place it on the heat source. The heat source can be an induction cooker, an open flame, or an electric ceramic stove. However, smaller moka pots and some aluminum moka pots cannot be used on induction cookers. It is best to read the instructions.

When using an open flame, the flame should not exceed the bottom of the moka pot, as there is a risk of burning the handle.

7. You can see the coffee liquid slowly flowing out of the upper pot. When you hear a "puffing" sound from the upper pot, turn off the fire immediately and wrap the lower pot with a cold, wet towel prepared in advance to cool down the lower pot quickly and stop extraction.

Coffee begins to flow out

It's time to turn off the fire.

8. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then pour it out and start enjoying.

Pour it into the milk, a cup of latte, it's part of my breakfast

9. You can see that the powder is relatively dry, with a complete shape and a smooth surface. This is the correct extraction.

The actual test shows that a total of 10g of coffee powder was used, 113g of water was injected into the lower pot, and 35g of water remained in the lower pot (this part of water is protective water). That is, the powder-water ratio is 1:7.8. Generally speaking, for Mocha pot extraction, the powder-water ratio is between 1:6 and 1:8.

Moka pot maintenance

Developing good usage habits can make your moka pot last longer. Bilodi claims that it can be used for decades without replacement, and only some wearing parts need to be replaced.

1. When cleaning, do not use sharp objects such as steel wool to scrape, and do not use detergent to clean. Aluminum kettles are handmade and look rough. After using them for a long time, the lower part of the kettle will become ugly, like this:

2. After each use, unscrew the upper and lower pots, knock out the powder (I like to save the powder to absorb the refrigerator odor), clean the upper and lower pots, and separate the parts. If you want to store them, you need to wait for them to drain the water, and do not tighten the upper and lower pots too much when assembling them to prevent the rubber ring from being in a state of fatigue.

3. The filter behind the rubber ring needs to be cleaned regularly. Be careful when taking out the rubber ring and do not use sharp objects to pick it out. If it is not cleaned, the filter will accumulate a thick layer of coffee stains and clog the filter holes.

Finally, let's summarize the key points of making a moka pot: don't use too fine powder, make sure the powder is evenly distributed, and reduce the extraction time of the moka pot. The concentrated extract made in this way is also very charming~

I am Tian Dessert Research Institute, a food blogger who loves to eat and cook. Follow me to get more interesting baking knowledge and free recipes.