Was the Moka pot invented by the Yemeni Moka people? Marco from Italy is the first to disagree! (Chinese and English)

May coffee become our daily love

There are benefits at the end of the article

Photo: Huashile Text: Marco Translation: Joyce

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About the Author

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By chance, I met Marco , an Italian who travels around Beijing in all sizes of coffee shops and is committed to promoting more interesting coffee shops to more people, just like us. Before coming to Beijing, Marco's coffee journey began in the kitchen of a restaurant run by his grandmother in Bath, England. He also worked at Starbucks in Edinburgh and ran a small coffee shop and coffee bean roasting factory in Ireland. Before following his wife to Beijing, he opened a cooking school in New Zealand, which also had a coffee shop and restaurant.

After arriving in Beijing, Marco founded his own website blackwhitefilter ( https://www.bwfbeijing.com ). As an Italian who doesn't speak Chinese at all, Marco drinks at every independent coffee shop he finds, takes photos, writes articles, and posts them on the website one by one. He told me that he hopes that foreigners who don't understand Chinese like him can see how wonderful the coffee shops in Beijing are.

“There’s so much great coffee here, it would be a shame if no one could find it!”

Marco's Website

As a foreigner, Marco said that he was very lucky to come to Beijing at this time. He witnessed the vigorous development of Beijing's coffee culture, witnessed many changes, and witnessed the moving tenacity of Beijing's coffee people under various external obstacles. He is willing and hopes to pass on this spirit to more people, and pass on these wonderful coffee people and the feeling of drinking delicious coffee to more people.

As a necessity in every Italian kitchen, the moka pot means a lot in Marco's life. However, he is now adapting to and learning many other brewing methods to experience the beauty of coffee from different perspectives.

The name of the Moka pot comes from the Yemeni Moka coffee, and the story of Moka coffee can be seen in this article "Goodbye Moka | The Sleeping Ancient Coffee Secret"

HISTORY + DESIGN

History & Product Design

The moka pot , also known as stove top or caffettiera (literally, coffee maker), is the most recognisable Italian coffee machine for home. Invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, it is now part of the morning routine of millions of Italians and many more in Spain, Portugal, and parts of South America (where is also known as the Neapolitan or Italian coffee maker ).

The Moka pot , also known as a steam-brewed coffee pot, is the most well-known brewing device among Italian home coffee appliances. Alfonso Bialetti invented the Moka pot in 1933, and now the Moka pot has become a tool used every morning by people in Italy, Spain, Portugal and parts of South America.

The name comes from the city of Mokha in Yemen , one of the first and most renown places of coffee production, particularly of Arabica beans.

The Moka pot is named after the Yemeni city of Mocha , which is also one of the most famous Arabica coffee bean producing areas.

To this day the moka pot has almost retained its original design. Its trademark octagonal shape, made in aluminum, represents the most recognisable trait of its industrial concept, permanently on display at MOMA in New York .

To this day, the Moka Pot has retained its original design almost entirely. The first Moka Pot, made of aluminum (now mostly alloys), has the iconic octagonal design that represents its most widely known industrial concept and is now on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York .

In designing the moka pot Bialetti was inspired by the washing machines of the time, which operated with a bottom tank filled with water that was heated and then passed through holes into the top tank.

Bialetti's design of the Moka pot was inspired by the home washing machine , which had a metal tube in the middle that sucked heated soapy water up from the bottom of the washing machine and sprayed it onto the clothes.

The moka pot is similarly designed, and its main parts are: a bottom chamber (or boiler) with a pressure valve, a funnel-shaped metal filter for the coffee grounds, a rubber seal, a top chamber (or collector) with a metal filter at the bottom, a central column for the coffee to pass through, and a Bakelite (a heat resistant plastic) handle.

The design of the Moka pot is very simple. The main parts include: a bottom pot (boiling device) with a pressure valve, a funnel-shaped metal filter for holding coffee powder, a rubber seal, a top pot (collecting device) connected to the bottom metal filter, a central pipe for coffee to pass through, and a Bakelite (heat-stable material) handle.

Moka pots come in different sizes, from the most recent and smallest 40mL to the largest size that makes 18 cups. The most commonly used brew 1 or 3 cups of coffee, consisting of about 80% of the market.

There are various capacities of moka pots on the market, from the smallest capacity of 40ml to the largest capacity that can make 18 cups of coffee. The most commonly used is the moka pot that can make 1 to 3 cups of coffee at a time, and about 80% of the moka pots currently on the market are of this capacity.

BREWING COFFEE

Brewing process

The boiler is filled with cold water half way up to the pressure valve. Warm water can be used to make the process faster, while hot water is not recommended. The funnel-shaped filter is filled with finely ground coffee (between 20 and 22 grams , ground as fine as for espresso), which is not hardly pressed but just piled on. The top chamber is then screwed on and the moka is placed on medium to low flame (or electric stove at minimum). If on a gas stove, the flame should be at the most as large as the base of the mocha pot. The top lid can be left open, in order to see and especially hear when the coffee starts spouting out.

Fill the bottom pot with less than half a pot of cold water (hot water can speed up the brewing process but is not recommended). Fill the funnel-shaped metal filter with ground coffee powder ( 20-22g , the grinding size is equivalent to the grinding size of espresso). Then install the top pot and place the moka pot on a gas stove with low to medium flame (or an induction cooker with the lowest modulation). If placed on a gas stove, the flame should just be able to fully contact the bottom of the pot. The lid can be opened to the left, so be careful not to overflow due to excessive internal pressure.

After 4 to 5 minutes the water slowly starts boiling, creating steam in the lower chamber, and at this stage the pressure valve and the rubber seal make sure that nothing leaks out or the pressure gets too high. Eventually the pressure is high enough (between 1 to 2 bars) to push the water through the funnel-shaped filter and into the ground coffee. The water never reaches more than 90C, like in other most common brewing methods. The process of passing through the grounds and producing liquid coffee is called percolation .

After 4 to 5 minutes , the water in the kettle begins to slowly boil, and steam is produced at the lower part of the kettle. At this time, you should pay attention to the state of the pressure valve and rubber seal to ensure that the seal is complete and there is no leakage, otherwise the air pressure will be too high. Eventually, when the pressure is high enough (between 0.1 and 0.2 MPa), it will squeeze the hot water through the coffee grounds in the metal filter. As with other common brewing methods, the water temperature will not exceed 90°C. The process of water passing through the coffee grounds to produce coffee liquid is called percolation .

When the lower chamber is empty, the coffee starts bubbling through the collector chamber, a phase aptly name ' strombolian ', after the Stromboli volcano. It is recommended to lower the heat down, to prevent the coffee spilling out too quickly and also to avoid burning it, producing an undesirable taste. It is also time to close the top lid (to prevent the coffee from spilling everywhere), and once most of the top chamber is full to turn the heat off – the process will continue until all the coffee has come through. To get an even brew, it is also recommended to stir the coffee before pouring, so to mix the (possibly) stronger coffee that comes out first with the coffee brewed last.

When the bottom pot is empty, the coffee will start to enter the top pot, a process called the stromboli process, named after the stromboli volcano. It is recommended to lower the temperature to prevent the coffee from overflowing too quickly and burning and producing unpleasant flavors. At this time, you should pay attention to the lid (to prevent the coffee from splattering everywhere) and turn off the heat source when the top pot is about to be filled - the whole process will continue until all the coffee has entered the upper pot. In order to achieve an even and full brew and a balanced taste, it is recommended to shake the pot before pouring .

MOKA POT COFFEE CHARACTERISTICS

Features of Moka pot coffee

As for other brewing methods, the taste of the coffee produced with a moka pot depends on the type of beans used, the roast level, the finesse of the grind, the water profile, and the level of heat used.

Like other brewing methods, the taste of coffee brewed in a moka pot depends mainly on the variety of coffee beans, roasting degree, grinding degree, water quality and water temperature.

In Italy the beans most widely used are 100% Arabica, coming mainly from Brazil and Colombia , and are dark roasted (but not as dark as a French roast). This gives a strong nutty taste, almost chocolatey, with a long finish and a slightly bitter aftertaste. It is also fundamentally important that the beans are not ground too long before they go into the moka – the fresher the beans, the more flavorsome the coffee. Pre-ground coffee needs to be stored in a cool, dark place, preferably in an air-tight, dry and moisture-proof container.

In Italy, people usually choose 100% Arabica coffee beans, which are more common in Brazil and Colombia , and Italians prefer dark roasted (not as dark as French roasted) coffee beans. This combination gives the coffee a more prominent nutty and chocolate flavor, with a long aftertaste and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Of course, very basic common sense is not to leave the ground beans for too long - the fresher the coffee beans, the more obvious the flavor. The ground coffee powder needs to be stored in a cool and dark place, preferably in a vacuum, dry, moisture-proof container.

The finesse of the grind effects the results in two ways, in the same way it does for any other brewing method: if too fine, the water will struggle to pass through and the coffee will be bitter and possibly burnt; if too coarse, water will run through too fast, and the resulting coffee will be weak and bland. Tampering the coffee too hard in the filter can also cause clogging and an increased pressure, which can be dangerous.

The right grind size affects coffee in two main ways, and also applies to other brewing methods: If the grind is too fine, water has difficulty passing through the coffee powder smoothly, resulting in a burnt and bitter taste. If the grind is too coarse, it will result in insufficient extraction, a weak flavor, and a bland taste. If the coffee powder is pressed too hard in the filter, it may clog the filter and increase the pressure, which is also a very dangerous operation.

The quality of the water used also affects the results, so it is recommended to use cold filtered water. Warm filtered water can be used as well, as in some cases it might avoid over heating the grounds and over extracting.

Water quality will also affect the final result, so it is recommended to use cold distilled water. Warm distilled water is also recommended because it can sometimes avoid over-extraction.

The level of heat used in the brewing process also affects the coffee. If the flame is too high the brewing will be too quick, resulting in a coffee that lacks depth of flavor, as the ideal temperature is reached quickly but passed before the entire brewing process is completed. A high flame could also lead to melting the rubber seal. If the flame is too low, the process might take too long, possibly affecting the coffee by giving it a burnt aftertaste. heat, to avoid the coffee to 'boil over'.

The temperature during the extraction process will also affect the taste of the coffee. If the flame is too hot and the brewing process is too fast, the coffee's flavor will lack development because it will reach the final ideal temperature too quickly before the entire brewing process is fully completed. Too high a flame temperature can also melt the rubber seal. If the flame temperature is too low, the entire brewing process may take too long to complete, and the coffee may have a burnt and bitter aftertaste. Finally, after the coffee is brewed, be sure to move the moka pot away from the flame in time to prevent the coffee from boiling over.

The coffee extracted by a mocha pot generally has more caffeine than drip coffee, despite the smaller dwell time (the extraction contact time with water). A small layer of crema (the flavoursome, aromatic, brownish froth formed when air bubbles combine with fine-ground coffee's oils) can also be created, depending on the beans and grind used.

Compared to hand-brewed coffee, coffee brewed in a Moka pot generally contains more caffeine, despite the shorter brewing time. Depending on the beans and grind size, coffee brewed in a Moka pot may also have the crema that is found on the surface of espresso (the rich, aromatic, light brown, dense foamy oil surface produced when steam foam combines with the coffee oil produced after grinding).

MAINTENANCE AND TIPS

Care and maintenance

Before using a moka pot for the first time, it is recommended to season it with a couple of rounds with just water, and a couple with old coffee to be discarded. This also cleans the moka pot of any residual materials from the factory, eliminating the risk of adding a metal taste to the coffee.

Before using a new moka pot, it is recommended to rinse it several times with water and then with coffee. This will clean out the harmful substances left over from the production of the moka pot and eliminate the risk of drinking coffee with a metallic taste.

Between brews the moka pot should be cleaned only with hot water and not with any detergent, to avoid the removal of the internal protective layer of the chambers that could lead to unwanted flavors being passed onto the coffee. Washing the moka pot in the dishwater is also not recommended, as the sodium present in the dishwashing liquid can deteriorate the protective layer and create corrosion, especially damaging the aluminum parts.

When cleaning the Moka pot, you should avoid using any detergents, but only use hot water to rinse it, so as not to remove the protective layer inside the pot and cause any undesirable substances to be mixed into the coffee. It is also not recommended to use detergent to clean the Moka pot, because detergent will dissolve the protective layer inside the pot and cause metal oxidation corrosion, especially for aluminum parts.

Other recommendations are to regularly replace the rubber seal, to double check that the pressure valve is clean (calcium deposits can obstruct it) and tightly attached, and to clean the filter at the bottom of the top chamber (a screwdriver can be used to safely remove it). A vinegar and water solution can also occasionally used to remove mineral deposits – this is done by leaving the solution overnight in the lower chamber.

It is also important to regularly replace the rubber seals and to triple-check the cleanliness and tightness of the pressure valve. Also pay attention to cleaning the filter above the bottom pot. You can use diluted white vinegar to clean scale and other sediments - leave the diluted white vinegar in the bottom pot overnight, pour it out, and then wash it with hot water.

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