The strongest myth of the Moka coffee maker - The cleaning 

This is my 2nd Keurig coffee maker of this model. ru-vid.comUgkxBrV-RbF5Nk0Rlt9i15aao-YMzqzTG8Vf The first worked fine for more than 2 years, and I could still get a decent cup of coffee out of it if I fiddled with it when I decided to replace it. The problem I had with my first unit was this: When attempting to brew a cup of coffee, the unit would either keep brewing until the coffee was undrinkable or it would not run long enough and the coffee produced was way too strong. I cleaned the unit as best I could but it did not help. So in the end it was just too much trouble to get a good cup of coffee out of it, so I decided to replace it with a new one, which has been working great since I unpacked it.

thank you so much! I assumed that it could not be opened and the bitter taste was because the cafetera was old. Thanks to you my coffee tastes good again

god i cant stand that whissle music anymore

I have a 6 cup aluminum Bialetti pot that I completely disassemble and clean. I think it is easier to clean than the smaller moka pots. But instead of using soap, I use a white lint free flour sack cloth to wipe every surface with which removes the left over coffee oil as well as dries the pot. I also pour water into a cup and agitate the the screen in the funnel. Coffee grounds always come out of there too since I am using a pre-ground espresso grind. That is the only surface I really cannot reach with a cloth; the underside area beneath the screen in the funnel. With the 6 cup aluminum pot, I can remove the gasket with my finger nail pretty easily. I also wipe the threads of the pot. I agree with Il Barista Italiano's main premise which to me is leaving left over coffee oil and grounds will make the flavor worse. I also occasionally twist a corner of the flour sack cloth into the pipe the coffee travels through to reach the upper container. If you think I am OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) about cleaning the moka pot, I would agree with you. I do enjoy the cleaning ritual as well as the brewing ritual. I drink half the coffee and store the other half covered with plastic wrap. Microwaved the next day, it still tastes good to me. I drink it with no sweetener or dairy so if there were off tastes, I probably would notice them.

Thank you! I bought my first Mona Pot stovetop brewer (8 cups) two weeks ago and love the coffee it makes. There are many very informative videos on brewing coffee using a Moka Pot, but very few on how to properly clean a Moka Pot. I appreciate your dispelling the misinformation Moka Pots should NOT be cleaned using a dishwashing detergent. I use my Moka Pot at least twice a day so I give it a thorough dish detergent cleaning twice a week. Between dish detergent cleans, I clean my Moka Pot after each use with very warm water and white distilled vinegar; 1.5 cups warm water to a quarter of a cup of distilled white vinegar. I bought some inexpensive microfiber towels and a soft-bristle bottle brush to clean. the top chamber. I have ordered a smaller soft bristle bottle brush to clean inside the column of the top chamber. For stains, I put Baking Soda on a moist/wet soft microfiber towel/bottle brush. DO NOT use steel wool pads or even soft scrub pads on stains because they will eventually damage the soft metals (aluminum) most Moka Pots are made from and embed microscopic fibers on the inside. One observation, I suggest NOT using a metal instrument like a knife or fork to remove the gasket and screen and the bottom of the top chamber of the Moka Pot. Instead, use a plastic spoon or a wooden coffee stirrer to remove it. While most people might be careful not to damage or cut the gasket, some overly enthusiastic Moka Pot beginner could damage their gasket by accident using a metal implement.

I just knew that the gasket can be taking out manually using fork👍 Thanks man, it helps a lot.

I used baby bottle cleanser to remove the oil, and stains. it has no fragrance, and it’s formulated specifically for oil removal. Very good!

I'm new to Moka coffee or Italian cafetera. I do clean mine with water and I remove the pieces and let them dry before I use it again. It's a little bit tedious but Its part of the job. I prefer this than an electric coffee machine. I once had a really bad coffee at a coffee shop because the machine was dirty. The difference it makes when it's clean and not, it's huge!

Even if Bialetti comes back to life and tells you to wash it with only water you shouldn’t believe him 😂😂

You did not discuss cleaning the reservoir in this video so did not have the opportunity to mention one of the most important parts of cleaning the Moka, which is drying it. The inside of the reservoir needs to be dry before storage. I dry other parts, as required, with a cloth but I put the reservoir back on the hob after washing to dry it in the flame, then let cool before reassembling.

2:10 "It is extremely dirty". Comparing it to my Bialetti: Oh NO!

I have had a Giannini moka pot for a few years now. I have a coated magnet that I keep on my drying rack from a childproof cabinet kit. I use it to pop the screen and gasket out after every brew to rinse and dry. Only takes a second, and I don’t have to pry and risk damaging the gasket.

I feel so attacked! But I am so grateful for your instructions and advice. It makes so much sense. I will clean all three this week and learn to love homemade coffee again. I stopped brewing my own when it started to taste “dirty”. PS: I have 3 moka pots and a 4 french press because friends/family think, “oh she likes coffee, let’s get her this”.

Wooow I've never cleaned it for months, I just used to shake it for about 15-20 strong shakes, thanks for the info.

Wow! Very glad that I watched this video. I just got my first moka pot, and I want to make sure that I know the proper way to use it. I kept seeing people saying not to use soap: I guess they like the taste of dirt. I'll stick to listening to the professionals about how to use, and care for my moka pot! Thanks so much for this video!

Molta gracie!!!!!💖 I have always known this and always washed it with dishwashing liquid!!!! Because of course you would otherwise get smelly rancid oil!!!! Its logic. If you want a nice clean coffee you need to wash it with dishwashing soap and clean the filter as you showed! Every now and then I put vinegar water in the bottom with no coffee let it boil then second time with water only no coffee and then when i make a coffee i get a full amount and its clean and tasty!!!!!👍🍵☕💞😊

I just rinse mine under the tap and have done over 10 years, coffee tastes great and I'm not dead yet

Bravo this is what internet needed. To those who are saying not to wash with soap or not wash at all. Leave your pot cleaned with water only for a few weeks or months and see how rottenness is developing. After that only what you can do is to put it in the dishwasher to see how dishwasher destroys coffee maker.

Olá, obrigado pelas explicações. Eu sempre usei água e sabão para lavar a cafeteira. Moka é o melhor método e faz o mais gostoso café do mundo.

I always boil it with only water and it cleans it fairly fine. I once used neutral soap and it left some taste in it for a few months. If you use soap, do use a mild one and if possible one of the natural ones with flavours that don't collide with coffee too much. You'll be eating soap, but if it has cinnamon scent, it's not as invasive. I think that if you boil-clean it at least once a week, you should be fine.

Great info. Could be producing a bitter coffee if not cleaned. Should also mention to keep our eyes open for replacement gaskets. May be hard to find in different sizes. Keep some on hand.

I clean mine by separating the three main parts. Fill the kitchen sink with hot water and immerse and shake each part under water for nearly a minute and then rinse each part under the tap.

I think this is the way! A lot of people don't want to wash this, and they get VERY corroded and awful looking in time. I hear people say this is better, I don't believe it! I'm in Miami, it's very easy to get new gaskets, even clear silicone gaskets. I feel like some mild detergent or some alkaline cleaner would clear this up and rinse away easily. The suggestion to dry everything immediately might be the thing that FINALLY lets us keep one of these things in good condition. I'm going to get a new pot (a cheap one, sold everywhere locally, usually not even in a box) and try this, starting from the beginning.

I've never washed my Bialetti Brikka and the coffee tastes fine from it. I just rinse the collection chamber with a little boiling water so it isn't full of dried in coffee the next time I use it. I've had it for about 10 years and I use it every day.

I tried not using soap at first I just washed it with hot water But it didn’t improve the taste, it was still bitter. And I stripped it down and use a little bit of soap to clean the metal parts and the gasket let it all air dry, the next time I used it, it made a huge improvement I. The quality of the coffee ☕️ . Grazie.🙏

Thanks for fighting for the clean Moka pot 😃 all the stuff about keeping a layer of oily coffee on the pot does not make sense...it goes rancid and make the coffee taste worse.

I figured washing with soap and water made more sense, thanks for the confirmation 👍🏼

Bro, it's on the instruction manual that comes with Bialleti moka, no soap! The aluminum is porous and absorbs the soap that then goes into your coffee. Plus the oil that you remove keeps your coffee from having metallic taste. Use only water and then remove any remaining coffee stains with a paper or regular towel.

I'm trying a preventative maintenance strategy. I use a wooden pop stick to get the gasket out, use hot water, cleaning the spout with a paper towel like you do, then wipe dry. After that, I use a heat diffuser heated for 30 seconds, turn off the flame and let the radiating heat completely dry the pot of any moisture. So far, I have avoided having to descale the pot. To stop the build up of coffee oil and staining, I wipe the pot with a tasteless cooking oil after cleaning and drying it, then wipe the oil off. Canola oil is both tasteless and cheap for this. Again, I haven't had the build up of baked on oil staining the pot.

It's very easy, same thing with French press, people often never realize you can easily dissemble, or just don't do it, but it's even easier. I do it after every use, takes like one minute.

THANK YOU SOO MUCH!! all fairy tales disproved! especially the last cleaning; nobody told me so!

For me - I never use soap on the Moka. I use a solution of vinegar | water to clean it - using a toothbrush as needed. Also, I run brewing cycle with the vinegar | water solution thru it - cleans the boiler (removes lime, scaling, etc.) plus cleans the filter and internal spout. Works quite well.

You need also to wash Moka inferior tank with vinegar from times to times because the calcium crystals present in the tap water could deposit into limestone and block the safety valve. So then in case Moka filter is clogged, and the valve too, the coffee machine becomes literally a dangerous grenade... 😨

Grazie mille, barista! I didn't knew that I need to disamble my Bialetti Moka and now I know how important it is, in order to obtain a good coffee.

I fill mine with fresh water then heat it to run steam through the filter to clean mine. I then strip it and polish with a clean soft cloth. Sterile yet no soap to tarnish flavour.

I rinse every single part with hot water every single time, sometimes with soap too. I figured it all out on my own. It's nice to know that I'm doing it all correctly 😊

Thanks. I didn't think of cleaning the stem part. Will see how dirty it is...

I thought the lower left black dot was a spot on my screen and tried to scratch it off....

Thanks for sharing this, I'm happy with French plunger

The worshipful pronunciation of 'coffee' is beautifully complemented by the handling of the word, 'dirty', and then, to top it off, 'black' x 2. Bliss.

You can clean it with water and a clean cloth and it's fine. A little dark residue doesn't hurt anything. Check the filter and gasket once a month. Your just going to wreck the gasket picking at it all the time.

You are first man that i saw you say we should wash the this set.Thank you

I had a moka pot (before the town went up in flames), and I found it wasn't difficult at all to clean.

I wasn't washing the bottom chamber properly because I always thought it was steam, now I realised it's the water pushed up :(

The patina safes your coffee from the aluminium Thats also the reason why you should throw away the first few coffees you prepare when the moka maker is new When you wash it with soap ita very bad for your health This dude right right talks about some dirt but he dont ask for the reason why you should only wash with water Company Bialletti which produce the moka maker says the same You should know that 😉

This is great. Very important message across but in a funny way (you are drinking dirt :) ) I laughed out loud. Thank you. This is awesome.

The biggest problem is not so much that oil is greasy, but that oils, especially food oils, putrify. So oil residue that might smell ok right after use is going to smell gross several weeks later. He's absolutely right. Wash with soap after every use and once in a while pill out that gasket and clean it.

Thanks for the info about how to remove the casket and the filter. I had no idea you can get behind them.

It's really important to remove the gasket and clean the bottom of the upper part! I didn't clean it at first and after multiple uses, no coffee came out when I hit it up.

If you run water with some pressure at the gasket at an angle it will lift enough to get your finger under. No tools required.

The next morning: Went out in deserted Miami FL to buy a moka pot, found many styles and spare parts, too. Bialetti brand was available, plus many superficial imitations, some cost as little as five dollars! The Bialetti was about thirty dollars US for the 6 cup Moka express. It seemed much heavier in construction. I washed before and after use with ordinary dishwashing detergent, rinsed in hot water, dried immediately. It's easy enough! The machine looks exactly as new, doesn't smell oily. I guess if you're not going to maintain this machine you should get one for five bucks and replace it every year or so? But you're still going to get rancid coffee oil residue in every cup, and also I just don't like the boiler to look all corroded inside. No, I think Il Barista Italiano has shown us the way! I have to hurry up and type this before I start getting too shaky from drinking too much coffee. It came out good enough. I just used cheap promotional Cuban Coffee, which sometimes is one dollar for a little ten-ounce brick. Also, because it's Miami I put some sugar beaten up with coffee the way they do, but it was possible to drink it black. Thanks, IBI!

After each use i dissasemble my mokka pot clean everything with water and a toothbrush. Also the water tank. The filter where the coffee is put into should be soaked completly in a cleaning solution every two weeks.

Moją mam 10 lat i jeszcze nigdy nie rozkręcałem jej tak, jak to pokazałeś. A piję codziennie 3 kawy. Myję tylko wodą.

The nice patina of oily residue that sticks to the inner walls of the coffee maker will eventually become rancid. Cleaning the coffee maker will improve the flavor of your coffee​.

Thank you! Just had one gifted to me that needs a good cleaning, I was fighting to get the gasket out and didn't want to damage it.

Once a month check/clean gasket & rinse after use with running water will do.

I've clicked the "Like" button. Say no more.

Based on what my Italian friend taught me, this is correct in cleaning classic aluminum Italian moka pot (cafetiera). Just a thought on the practice of washing the pot without soap... Perhaps the instructions to wash only with water are meant for the designs of moka pots containing carafes that are made from less porous, highly polished materials- such as stainless steel, ceramic/porcelain, glass/vetro, etc. Just a wild guess ☺

Should be thoroughly washed with detergent and thoroughly rinsed after every use. For best results, final rinse should be with reverse osmosis/ demineralized/ deionized/ distilled water. No residues whether old stale coffee or detergents.

Every few months I just clean by using as normal without coffee.

Grazie per il consiglio!

Grazie Gionatan, Viva Italia! I appreciate you teaching me how to make good coffee, bless you!

A child`s small head toothbrush works well for cleaning the top part of the Moka.

Very hot water and soap with additional acid is great for removal of oils. Submerge the top half in soapy water & vinegar or ascorbic acid for 30 minutes then scrub before rinsing with hot water. To keep the gasket supple, or if storing rub in silicone oil. You need just a small amount, 1-2ml depending on the size of your pot. Leave over night then wash with very hot water and washing up liquid. To remove tarnish, that dark grey colour that occurs after long term storage. Bring vinegar and water to the boil, at 30% vinegar. Multiply the volume of water used by 0.3 to work out how much vinegar is needed. Place your pot in the liquid, let it cool until you can handle it then brush using a nylon brush. PS, don't use brillo pads.

Thank you for the tip with the fork and cleaning that part too. I always used warm water but the problem is smell...Especially when you want to try different kind of beans...you want it as pure as possible. Warm water not always help. Soap i didn't try because i thought it wil destroy the aluminum or something like they recommended but if you say(and some other people below here) no problem then no problemo! Its just soap...still strange why they say so probably just for you too buy a new 1 because over the years it gets stinky and dirty. In the past i didn't had a bur grinder and used illy grounded(almost powder texture). Which tastes actually fine too...extra strong why not . Its time to clean all that dirt out.

I dont wash my moka pot with soap at all. I wash it with water occasionally 😂 But most of the time, I just discard last morning's coffee remains and refill with coffee and go. That's how I float my boat. You are free to float your boat in any fashion you deem suitable. For me, I like the idea of my moka pot aging and god I love the waves on the sides and memories that it brings me. That's my thing, go do your thing.

I have a question, I have a 6 cups venus since Dec last year, and I noticed that the exterior of the bottom chamber (where you put the water) started to darken and have discoloration, what is the remedy for that and how to avoid it? I'm using it on a gas stove. Thank u and I look forward to your reply.

Can you use a bottle, straw, brush to stick in the skinny funnel part?

Personally, I clean mine with vinegar and baking soda. I use a brush and dish cloth to clean the inside and out. Oil build up causes a sour, harsh taste after a while. To the people who say that cleaning will strip the pot of its shine; I'd rather my coffee taste good than have a shiny looking pot.

I had been just rinsing mine until today. Gave it a good clean just like this. Wow it was filthy 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

I forgot to take my 6 cup pot off the stove the other day and it cooked the gasket. Instead of ordering a new one, I made my own using a sheet of 1/8" thick rubber and a razor blade. Only suffered one day without espresso

I wash mine with Dawn dish soap and a sponge after use. Once in awhile I take it apart and give it a deep cleaning like this. Thank you for the video, very informative.

Nice video and cute accent. Thank you. ☺️💕🙏

You make so much sense. TQ for the advice and video.

I've got one that is over 20 years old and still looks new. I've always washed it with soap and an old toothbrush to clean the crevices when they get bad and then dry it. I use a cotton dishcloth so as not to scratch the surface, which will only hold in dirt. If you think of it microscopically, you've created thousands of little crevices for dirt to get trapped. Also, the oxidation of aluminum helps to create a barrier so that chemicals don't leach out of the aluminum. If you are scrubbing it, then you are removing that layer. I don't see how this ever got started. Why would you want to be leaving old stale coffee in there to be mixed with fresh? Seems illogical to me.

Muy bueno el vídeo y la explicación. Me acaban de obsequiar una moka y voy a disfrutar de ella. Saludos desde el Perú.

You forgot to mention the part that holds the coffee, this has the fixed plate with holes in it that isn’t designed to be removed which is a very bad design flaw. It means it cannot be washed inside unless you do what I did and popped it out by ramming a chop stick down the end. It was very dirty but now gets washed with everything else

I would suggest using pipe cleaners for the central collumn. It does wonders

I always clean it inside out. I use a brillo pad to clean the dark stains. I also take the filter cover off where the coffee grounds go it gets awfully dirty. I use a long screw 3-4 inches to push it out.

Just use a sponge No dirt remains...

The main reason to use soap in washing a coffee machine is that lipids turn rancid over time. Traditionally we cleaned mokas by using vinegar or bicarbonate which removes the leftovers without spoiling the flavour too much. I say "too much" as that "rancid" taste is part of what makes coffee good just like mold is the whole point of blue cheese.

I just bought a stainless Bialetti, so I can keep it clean without worrying about discoloration. No, I do not want rancid coffee flavor.

you are the only one to show how to clean the filter .. a could find it before you

I have not cleaned the upper part of my moka pot for 3 years, since I don't even know it can be seperated like this. Thanks for your video.

Thank you so much for this great tuturial. I just disassembled my moka pot and cleaned the gasket and filter for the first time. Keep up the great work.

I'm in between a 6 cup and a 9 cup moka coffee maker. I read somewhere that the 6 cups is the biggest size you should go, because the 9 and 12 don't make very good coffee. Is that true? Also can I use a 9 cup coffee maker to make less coffee?

i use sodium bicarbonate (on my pans too). modern dish soaps have such a strong smell it is impossible to get rid of it.

Surely, it’s normal to keep things clean but some people are slobs. I always wash my Moka and Brikka pots thoroughly like this 😊👍🏼

Don't need soap if you use warm water after each use. Dry with a clean cloth or paper towel, then let air dry. Doing this with mine for years and it looks like new. If you wash it once a week then you are drinking coffee with old rancid residue most days.

Thank you for this!!

I WASH MY MOKA POT ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS, IS THAT ENOUGH

I have the Bialetti Venus moka pot. I love the high quality coffee that it produces. I have found that, in its upper chamber, in the circumference crevice below the bottom of the upper chamber, some slightly thicker oil residue doesn't come out with rudimentary cleaning. Inserting some folded, pressed napkin or paper towel into that circumference crevice does remove some of the resudue. Do you know of a method or substance that will help to remove the almost invisible coffee oil residue from below the bottom surface of the Bialetti Venus Moka Pot 's upper chamber? Thank you. Hope to hear back from you.

I have always used soap, because of the oils. I want no smell of coffee in the clean pot. I did not know to remove the gasket and filter. Thanks.

So how come the cleaning instructions on Bialetti's own web site say not to use soap?

Thank you. Going to do a better job now.

Super-cox gozel izah edirsiz-tewekkurler -thanks

Sei un doppio idolo.

Great video!!! Sooo useful!

that means for the first time in 3years I washed it today only?! Thanks dude, that was significantly helpful!

Mille grazia...excellent video. I'm going to clean my pot right now!