#1: dont grind your coffee too fine! #2: dont pack the grounds down! #3: dont go past medium heat! #4: leaving it on the burner too long! #5: not cleaning your moka pot!
@@patrickallard2520 Inox makes a much better cup off coffee too. I live in Italy and most sold are aluminum. Terrible!!!! I won't even drink out of it. I have my grandparents vintage Vev Vigano and it makes a huge difference. Or I use my inox or Le Creuset french press.
I never experienced a bad tasting coffee from my moka pot and i dont put hot water before it brews. I just put regular temperature water and let it boil on the stove
I was literally taught by an actual Italian (not an Italian-American) from Verona-- to do it all wrong! 20 years ago, when I was living in Germany as an exchange student, Alberto moved in with me... we became great friends, one of the few roommates I still talk to today... but oh boy, did he ever steer me wrong about using the Moka pot. Even now I associate the smell of burnt coffee with that residence room in Germany...! Through trial and error and research, I realized the proper way to use the Moka pot-- exactly as you described in this video. Your mention of aluminum is quite interesting... lots of industrialists from Northern Italy around Verona where he was from... I remember he had a box full of promotional beanies from his friend's father's aluminum factory... I still have that aluminum factory beanie sitting in my closet.
Hey, glad to have another person onboard with defying the peremptory authority of Italian grandmothers! If you're interested in the aluminum aspect of the moka pot, here's a video about whether your moka pot will give you aluminum poisoning: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qV3Us0KkIMo.html
@@loodog555 I will certainly check out that video, thank you! I am sure you must be aware of Adam Ragusea, who also goes quite a long ways in debunking some of the Orthodox wisdom of Italian grandmas, haha. I am not of Italian heritage at all, but I grew up in an Italian-Canadian neighborhood in Toronto called _Corso Italia._
Nah, the dutch way: fine ground, pack it down add some more, keep it on till it starts spitting, never clean the heat sterilises it for you. The bitterness is the good morning turkey-slap in the face im looking for.
Damn straight. It's ESPRESSO, so it's going to be bitter! I don't know what all these people are expecting from espresso coffee. If they don't like the bitterness, then they SHOULDN'T DRINK ESPRESSO!
My 2 biggest problems with them is everyone tells you how much water to use, but no one ever mentions the amount of coffee to use, and second, it just takes way too long to get the coffee volcano going, even when you start with boiling water, like unreasonably long. You can brew 2-3 coffees in the same amount of time with literally any other brewing method.
I've found moka pot is as fast as any brewing method except AeroPress and certain much faster than a French Press, especially using the 8-minute James Hoffman technique: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-13GGreDHowQ.html
Between 1g of coffe per 16 mL of water (stronger) - 1g of coffee per 24 mL of water (lighter). That's the values you could use as base but there are no rules, give a try and see how it pleases you.
I brewed my first cup today.. from start of heating to finish, it took 3 minutes in a 2cup Pot. And it was very cheap. My electric kettle takes longer than that just to boil water.. and another 10 minutes to brew tea…. ….such that I’m thinking of getting a separate Moka Pot just for tea.. If you know a faster way to make espresso or tea, other than instant, teabags or microwave.. I’m all ears.
Washing with soap is what they mean you dont need to do. Even Bialetti on their box says environmentally friendly as you just need to rinse off the oils under a hot tap and then dry off with a tea towel. That takes care of all the cleaning meeded. Best stored in pieces completely dry.
Hi thanks for the comment! Bialetti themselves specifies occasional washing with lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda: www.bialetti.com/it_en/inspiration/post/how-to-clean-the-coffee-pot-at-home-natural-and-effective-remedies
Hi, thanks! It's a balance between keeping it simple and including all the details. You can pour through these 1374 comments to see just how many people want to raise the detail to the next level. I basically wound up making another 10 videos for people who want to nitpick things like 1. Preheating the water: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html 2. Filling the coffee basket up all the way: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bCSn2CXWZOE.html 3. Using an AeroPress filter: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fy1YKqrPYCw.html 4. The leftover water: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F1ofrthmrV8.html&pp=ygUJI3dvY2R1YmFp All that said, this short simple video is by far my most popular.
I use hot water from the water cooler/heater, medium heat until it bubbles and turn off the heat and move it off the stove immediately. Pour into my cup and it's perfect every time. I've heard not to boil the water and that it should be slightly less than boiling, so the water from the water heater seems to be perfect. My first few times I over brewed both with too much heat and too long of a brew, so I know the bitter taste he's talking about. It was almost enough to put me off Mocha pots, but so glad I stuck with it!
@@zorawarsingh9373 yes, but i honestly feel like everyone just has to experiment and see what works best for their moka, their coffee grounds, their stovetop etc...and don't get too frustrated! i'm finally happy with my brew in the morning starting with room temperature water, grinding beans to a little coarser than fine, heat at medium. simple. i don't run my moka under cold water like in some videos. starting with boiling water kept giving me sour coffee. i stopped stressing, and started to just do what felt right, and yay delicious, rich moka pot brew!
You have to use the best coffee which is from Ethiopia. In Ethiopia there is the Harrenna Forest and located near the eastern boundry of this forest there is Mt. Batu. On the south slope of Mt. Batu, the soil conditions have a high concentrations of minerals that give the local coffee a special flavor which is deeply rich and robust yet, not bitter. About 1 kilometer south-east of the Mt. Batu, there is a very small village and there the local growers harvest the best coffee in the world.
There is no such thing as best coffee. Regions all over the world can produce high quality coffee. You must buy high quality fresh coffee if you want good coffee out
Thank you for sharing, I can't stand what passes the average American acceptable standards of "coffee" i.e anything pre ground, instant, burned, old, or worst of all a combination of all; paying 3$ for 4 hour old perpetual sludge from a 30 year old bunn coffee pot found in every chain establishment because the waitress/cashier/clerk isn't paid anywhere near enough to maintain the equipment let alone brew fresh coffee on the reg so they just top it off with water occasionally so its always a burnt, cigarette, watery combination, - you know who you are. Stay coffee snobby indeed.
The pre-boil is so that you don't walk away from the pot doing other things and come back after it has already bubbled over with that fizzy bitter end brew.
Actually, preheating helps with extraction temperature, in addition to making the brewing more timely. Here's a video I made about the topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html
Thanks for the great video. just to recap: 1) no need to grind the coffee too fine / leave it on coarse 2) no need to press the coffee / so water can penetrate easily 3) temperature better on medium and not too high 4) don't let coffee to overbrew, remove it before the last bubbly part starts to come out 5) clean the pot right after The truth is I was using cold water, so great tip on the warm / hot water in advance. I still find it challenging to clean the tank after I left it few times with the water in. I used dishsoap, I used vinegar and even the metal-wire to rub it. Ay tips would appreciated.
Im having a small Bialetti (2cups) so im cleaning it after every brew and having fresh brew every time. I used to have a bigger one(5-6 cups) and no matter what it left coffee stains because the coffee was sitting in there for two days. Now if u have a bigger moka just buy some contanier cup and pour out the fresh coffee there and A, immidiately wash the moka or B, rinse and fill the moka up with water until clean water is in there then worry about washing it properly later. The bottom and the filter part isnt really matter. Also once in a while replace the rubber ring in it. Take a picture of a fresh one the you can compare it to it how burned it gets after time.
Don't clean it with soap! Only use hot water to clean the moka pot. Be careful about the water tank, there is a protective layer that goes away if you clean it with soap. Put the flame to the minimum possible, and as soon as you hear bubbling remove it! Before serving use a little spoon to mix the coffee inside the moka pot, it is more dense at the bottom and more "watery" (?) at the top. Putting the hot moka under cold water can damage it, only do this if your coffee does not go up (usually this means that the filter is clogged) Sorry for my english, i'm italian
to clean it, you can try to use citric acid, it is sood in small packages for backing or for peackels (at least in my country). You need to put couple of packages into bigger pot, boil it an put moka pot inside. This is the same method as winegar, but without bad smell, so you can put any amount there
@@mr.priman The Bialetti Moka is made of aluminum, and aluminum does not pair well with acids ... This is only if you want to ruin the coffee maker or want to find unwanted aluminum salts in your coffee. Instead, it might be possible with the stainless steel coffee pot.
There was a guy that tested various variables in regards to brewing a moka pot, with sensors and everything. In his tests using preboiled water didn’t give good results, i always used room temperature to start but i will try this method also.
Hi, thanks for commenting! It sounds like you're talking about the paper I explain here by Navarini et al (2009): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2jLdGi7kjzk.html&pp=sAQA though they never vary the starting temperature. The only paper I've seen that experiments with starting temperature and gives recommendations is the 2009 paper by Warren King, which I explain here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html&pp=sAQA If you really have found a different paper that varies starting temperature, I'd love a link so I can make a video on that paper too! Personally, I find the starting temperature of the water doesn't matter at all: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html&pp=sAQA so I found the whole debate kind of silly. An AeroPress filter, for example, is a much more important tweak to make: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fy1YKqrPYCw.html&pp=sAQA
My grandma has brewed her coffee in a Moka pot for 60+ years with simple supermarket espresso, that's a fine ground AF. She not only pats the coffee down, she puts all her weight to it and fills the basket up again for another round of compression, so that that thing is PACKED! Then she brews it on a medium flame with a heat dispenser disk on the hub. It's hella strong, but still one of the best coffee I've ever tasted.
I stopped using mine after I noticed the aluminium staining staining my dish-cloth after drying. Now it remains a charming ornament on the dresser. Shame... as I found his burbling oddly comforting. 😊🇬🇧
Sour coffee = underbrewed. You'll want combination of finer grind size and/or longer brew time. Leave the pot on the stove a bit longer and grind your beans more finely and you'll be good to go!
Never , never pour cold water over the pot after you brew coffee , the difference in temperature will destroy the pot , cleaned as you like , I clean mine with soap and water for years and still make an excellent coffee and brew it at medium flame , high flame can make the overflow if you did put extra water . Enjoy one of the greatest invention.
Never, never? Two nevers?! 😂 Who gave you such a ridiculous idea that aluminum was so brittle that it couldn’t be cooled? Maybe you’re confusing it with steel, which does get brittle at cold temperatures, whereas aluminum is known for being ductile.
"You're probably gonna need an oven mitt..." Damn right y' 'ar'. And with that oven mitt on, you're gonna find it extremely difficult to tighten the mechanism the required amount. USE ITALIAN MINERAL WATER "naturale" and good coffee and it's not as complicated as this fella makes it out to be.
Never had a problem myself with the oven mitt but you do what you need to! As for water, I do discuss about best water to brew with in another video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V-zqiitKUYg.html
that randomic deposit of coffee in the filter is another mistake. Coffee should not be pressed, but must be evenly distributed in the filter. Otherwise, the difference in pressure will let the water literally bypass che coffee grinds (2:45 in the video shows this clearly) and go straight in the collector, giving you a more diluted coffee.
I don't like using this mocha pot. You may avoid scewing the coffee too much but the problem is the pot itself. It requires the water to boil (over 100 °C) so the coffee will always taste kind of bitter (and loose flavor). Use french press (just don't push the press yourself, let it go down by itself).
Thanks for this comment. Actually, it’s very surprising but a moka pot does not usually boil water to brew coffee! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html French Presses are great! Search for “James Hoffman French press” for his awesome technique, gives super smooth coffee every time.
My moka pots interiors are blackened, I start with cold tap water, gas stovetop heat on high (until it starts to spit then turn down to medium), pour a bit of flavored cream into the pot (Creme Broule...mmmmm) and pour as needed into an espresso cup! Never a bitter cup of coffee!
I am Italian, I am a chemist, i brew my coffee with moka three times a day since i was a teenage. And I guarantee, this video is wrong in so many ways I can't even explain
Thanks for your input! My intent was not so much to piss off half of Italy, but rather to give people some basic guidelines if they want to know what they can play around with! Please check my follow up video for more discussion if you would like to get into the details: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html If you are a chemist, you might be interested in the physics paper by Warren King where they model the process numerically and show, among other things, that coffee initially extracts before any water is even boiling.
Also, maybe as an Italian chemist you can comment on why Italians don’t care about the bitterness that comes with 2,4-decadienal, 4-ethylguiacol, and 2,4-nonadienal. I guess they’re just used to it?
Hi! A number of people have posted this suggestion before and I'll give you my recommendation, though honestly do whatever works for you! The issue is that some "momentum" builds up on the heating process so that the coffee continues to brew after you've removed the heat source so pouring out the coffee immediately won't stop the superheated steam from coming through and possibly scouring some of the remaining coffee. This is why i recommend cold water to stop it. That said, experiment around and maybe it doesn't matter at all! This is just my theory!
Hello! Thank you for this review! I'm wondering if you or anyone knows: If I get a 300ml pot, I assume that if I fill the chamber with coffee I'm making what's essentially a coffee with 3-shot intensity? (I've only really had cafe espresso - flatwhites and lattes, coz that's all anyone sells around here. No percolator or plungers.) Will the coffee chamber cope with being filled only a half/third? Must the water chamber be filled to the valve, or can I run the whole thing at less-than-full for both grounds and water on a lower burn?
Although I'm late in seeing this video, I just wanted to say yes, you can half fill (in your case 150ml) the water chamber. You'll get a stronger brew by doing this.
Thanks! I definitely stand by the tip of using an AeroPress filter on your moka pot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fy1YKqrPYCw.html&pp=sAQA Improves the taste way more than this silly debate about what temperature water to start with.
Hey Herman, just realized that I did not post this in the video description so thanks for pointing this out. It’s Nocturne Op. 54 No. 4, by Edvard Grieg, performed by me.
Why preheat the water? The stove burner heats it up. Seems like an extra step. Not setting the stove past medium just means it takes longer for the water to boil. The water in the lower reservoir needs to be heated to 100C for it to be pressurized and pushed up through the coffee, setting the stove at a lower temperature just means that it takes longer to heat up. Everything else makes sense.
@@loodog555 You are correct about the water temperature. I checked it this morning and the water in my stove top espresso is 85C when it come up from the bottom. Cool how they work. I did watch your other video. I never thought there would be so much research. It does make sense . The water is still "boiling" but st a lower temperature. Like how water boils st a lower temperate the higher altitude. I think around 4000m waters boils at 85C. Thanks for the content.
@@twinmike1 I see you put “boiling” in quotes, but honestly, it is pretty similar to why water will boil at a low temperature when at higher altitude: saturation vapor pressure is lower in that context, so the vapor pressure of water exceeds it at a lower temperature. What’s happening here is The vapor pressure of water is getting supplemented by the pressure of the ever-warming air, so The water gets pushed through, before the base starts boiling.
do you know why you should use boiling water to start with? i always use cold water and set the stove to low-mid and it brews (very) slowly and it's really nice every time
I preheat the water to conserve energy and to save myself time. On the merits on whether you *should* for better coffee, I'll refer you to my follow-up video, where I discuss this at length: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html
@@loodog555 thanks, watching it now. i will try pre-heating the water tomorrow, makes sense that heating the water also heats the coffee and adds extra bitterness. i really enjoy bitter taste though, so that's why i didn't even notice anything wrong with the method i used (cold water)
Just to be Technical,...I was told this unit makes ESPRESSO. You are saying COFFEE. Which one does this make? Traditional Coffee or Espresso? Thank You.
Hey, great question! I would say it *technically* makes a strong brew of coffee, as true espresso comes out of an espresso machine at 9 bars of pressure, while a moka pot only reaches typically less than 2 bars (and a highly variable pressure that is!) Wikipedia, for instance, talks about how moka pots are sometimes called "stovetop espresso machines" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso_machine) 'As such, their characterization as "espresso" machines is at times contentious, but due to their use of pressure and steam for brewing, comparable to all espresso prior to the 1948 Gaggia, they are accepted within broader uses of the term, but distinguished from standard modern espresso machines.' On more of a "feels like" definition, I'd say a moka pot makes neither coffee nor espresso, but something that's a bit of a mix of both.
I do NOT agree with preboiling water. Bialetti does not recommend this, and I figure if this was a good idea, they would have already figured that out. Also, regarding cleaning, I do what bialetti recommends: douse with boiling water and wipe clean. That's all you need to do.
I find it hilarious how much people fixate on the issue of preheating the water! IMHO, it's the least important factor to be worth considering, but it seems everyone has a flag to plant here. To answer your question more completely, most big names in the Third Wave Coffee community like James Hoffman and Tristan Stephenson preheat, arguing that you don't want to heat the grinds, while the UK roasters Bould Brothers argue to start cold, on the argument that you want the coffee to spend more time in contact with the water. Italians, of course, defer to their grandmothers who have been doing it for decades, and use cold water and most seem to get offended at the thought of doing it any other way. Their argument is along the lines of yours, "Surely, the time-tested traditional method must be best!" I myself have created a through follow-up video, which I've stickied at the top, where I discuss this issue (and others) at length (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html), instead of trying to get my finer nuances into a 4-minute snappy video that people seem to appreciate for its brevity. I personally can't tell the difference in taste whether I preheat or not so I do it to save time and electricity, but IMHO, the definitive word comes from Warren King's paper "The physics of a stove to espresso machine", which I discuss here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html King runs numerical simulations utilizing standard physics models and reveals that when you don't preheat the water, the coffee brews at 69C, far too low a temperature to be optimal. Hence, preheating the water solves the issue.
Definitively. And a little hack I didn't know about was to remove the gasket every once in a while to get inside the spout with a Q-tip: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yRW3V7Q0oQY.html&feature=emb_logo
First you do not boil the water before, you fill the bottom chamber set it to low and you turn off the fire when you hear it gurgling you turn off the fire, mix it before you pour it into the cup and add what you want to add, sugar cream ECT. And bevi. buon appetito.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html As for adding cream and sugar, you can do what you want, but then I don’t see the point of anything else as the cream and sugar will mask whatever specific flavors come out of your careful brewing process. Good luck!
I do most of this except I don't bother running it under cold water... as soon as I take it off the burner it stops coming out the top so I don't see how anything that stays out of the brewed coffee is going to affect the taste. Maybe my pot cools fast enough when I put it on the steel stove between the burners (my pot is stainless steel not aluminum so that may be the difference). I also occasionally use cold instead of hot water and don't see a huge difference.... maybe when I'm too lazy to heat the water I'm also too sleepy to notice the taste.
Cold water versus hot water is just a religion. It mostly doesn’t matter, but somehow everyone needs to convince the world that their method is better.
No. 4: I do not agree, I wait until all water come out and never had problem with bitteer taste. Unless I waste cca 1/3 of water that remains in the tank and result is a less coffee than I want.
Hi and thanks for the comment! Fortunately, I have in-depth answers to the couple things you've raised. Regarding waiting until all the water has come out vs. cold quenching as soon as you seem pale bubbly fluid: 1) It doesn't seem to be your experience re: getting bitter coffee, but I've experimented around and DEFINITELY notice the difference if I don't stop the brewing: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aA8KoZbtl84.html But no need to change if you like your results as they are now. It might be that you're just used to that flavor and don't mind it. 2) On the question of leftover water, yours is a common misunderstanding regarding how moka pots operate. The truth is that once pale bubbly liquid is coming out, there's only drops (less than 1 ml) left to get anyway because everything else left in the bottom is inaccessible, just based on how the moka pot is designed. It's certain nowhere near 1/3 of the water. I explore the design and basic physics of that issue in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F1ofrthmrV8.html
I really need to buy a gasket for my mocha pot which I've been avoiding for years. I guess this is a sign that its time lol. PS: We have the same coffee mug! :D
Glad to help! For more detail than a snappy little glib 3-minute video, check out my follow-up video linked above: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jcgMeDDAT-s.html. Also, I have noticed a substantial improvement with using an AeroPress filter in the basket: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fy1YKqrPYCw.html
Bitter yes, bad tasting though? I always make two espresso with mine when I am hiking, I think the taste of the coffee when made over a camp fire is always good.
Thank you, been using high heat until now. Seems contradictory to pre-heat the water and then only use medium heat. Medium heat does seem to be better, high heat must send the water a little too fast through the grinds so medium heat slows that down a bit. Maybe pre-heating the water makes up for time but it takes time to heat it to the side and then handle it hot. 2 take aways for me are using medium heat instead of high and removing it once the smooth flow ends and the splattering begins.
So honestly, I really don’t think it matters that much whether or not you pre-heat, though everyone seems to really super strong opinions about it. I pre-heat because it saves time and is more energy efficient. The notable names in third wave coffee like James Hoffman and Tristan Stephenson do it, but the most compelling argument for me is that there is a 2008 paper by Warren King (I explain here: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html) that uses computer simulations and Darcys‘s law to show that whether or not you preheat the water affects the extraction temperature, since you are always heating the air at the same time you heat the water. The result is that the pot does not brew at the same water temperature no matter what, but depends on whether you’ve preheated. The reason for not using too much heat is basically that it becomes very easy to overpressure the thing. The water does not need to be forced through; it will flow just fine with far smaller amounts of pressure. The higher pressure can blast your beans in an undesirable way and lead to overextraction. All this said, this is mostly theory and my experience. If your experience leads you to something different, then go for that. Don’t take my word for it. Good luck!
In general, good fresh beans are good fresh beans. The brewing method doesn’t have much effect on which beans are optimal. If you find that your moka pot is causing your coffee to come out bitter and overbrewed, don’t use anything dark roast/espresso/Italian/French roast. Anything roasted dark is designed to be extracted easily at low temp. You moka pot might pull too much out of them. I personally like a medium roast.
Just put the water in the pot and put it on the burner... You can screw on the top half with the coffee filter when you see water fuming... This save a lot of time and effort with the same desired effect
Screw it on, once the water is boiling?!? Like with the heat still on? Otherwise, you're just choosing a different heating method than me. I preheat the water is that it saves the time and energy of heating the water on the burner. But, hey, whatever works for you!
@@loodog555 yea you lift it off the heat using oven mitts and put on the filter and the top half - pre-heating 1 liter of water versus 300ml or so in the pot takes less time.
@@Brocious4 I mean, it does take more energy to heat more water, that's true, but electric kettles have far higher thermal efficiency than electric or gas ranges so.... I don't know how much difference it will make.
The main problem is not boiling water before or not. The real problem is always getting a good powder of coffee and put more coffee in the brewer... the video shows a poor quantity... specially for a 6 cups Moka brewer. I use 7 grams for cup at least. So you have to put not less than 42 grams or more into the brewer Simple....
Hi, Jo Black. Since so many people have brought up the fill level of the moka pot basket, 8 months ago, I actually went out and made a video exploring this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bCSn2CXWZOE.html. How much does the fill level matter? Spoiler alert: not so much as everyone seems to invested in yelling at people on the internet about! As for the question of boiling the water or not, oh man! You're just going for the greatest hits of moka pot controversies with this comment! Here's why you should preheat your moka pot water: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html
Funny you should mention that! I just made a video for people who just want simple solutions for better coffee: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vvt0jJ19pG4.html
The problem for me is that if I remove it from the fire when it gets pale or bubbly, I get very few coffee... Like less than half of its capacity. It does not look very efficient.
It can be your coffee too, I 've had the worst results with "pre grinded" coffee and since I grind my coffee daily all is well and I use a lot more coffee without packing it!
Preground coffee goes stale after 1-2 weeks and you don't know if it's ground to the correct fineness. I grind every morning right before use = BEST FRESHNESS!
Mistake #4, for me somehow it gives the unfinished feeling if water is being left in the tank. But yeah, this could be my biggest mistake, atlhough I dont find it bitter at all at the end
Hey, thanks for contributing this. You’re right. This does adjust how strong your coffee is, because some water is left in the lower chamber. For me, I am willing to take the trade off towards stronger coffee if it reduces the risk of overextracting the beans. Your mileage may vary. There’s no “wrong” way to do it really, except the way that produces coffee you don’t personally like.
Simple tips: cold water, low heat, remove as soon as coffee is out, always clean your moka properly (remove the rubber and filter before cleaning), use a fine brand mix of coffee, also put enough coffee without compressing it. 100 times better than the (in)famous coffee of foreign countries.
@@OwMeEd Because hot water doesn't make sense, makes me waste way more time, clutter the kitchen, and turns a good coffee in watered down flavour coffee, would it result in a better coffee at least.
@@switchstatement568 Ah I see - for me it isn't so much extra effort because I have an electric kettle (which is more common in my country) - but I can see why it wouldn't make sense to boil water beforehand without one!
@@OwMeEd Yes but for me it's also because I don't like the results, I like regular intense coffee, which is not bad at all and since I always clean the moka even inside the rubber and filter, I never got that weird burnt taste that some people manage to make when not cleaning, burning the coffee, or just using a very low quality mix.
@@switchstatement568 A 2008 paper by Warren King disagrees! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html. Also, James Hoffman and Tristen Stephenson also preheat! But I don't personally find a difference, either way. Do what makes the coffee you prefer, my friend!
Q: do you have to use ground beans? A: only if you want to make coffee. Every method of red coffee requires grinding the beans. For best results, buy yourself a burr grinder. The Barraza encore is a favorite entry level Choice among home Brewers. The reason to buy a good grinder is explained in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dgM-_nPPKgw.html& As for filling up the holder, you basically should. If you don’t fill it up, you will wind up with weaker coffee: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bCSn2CXWZOE.html
Hi, I’m Italian so basically the 100% most accurate source of information on moka setup. You got almost all points right, just a couple of good advices to increase the taste and texture of moka coffee. 1) Fill with water, put the filter on and without adding coffee, slightly tap on the filter. If water splashes through, there’s too much water. You want to have minimum to no splash , just some tiny drops 2) Ground coffee. This represents 80% of a good moka, and you’re right, it has to be more coarse to allow water to pass easily. But you have to fill the filter (you have too much space left) and leave a small “mountain” of coffee over the top, do not press manually but leave the moka press it naturally when you screw it. This will allow some additional resistance and give water the time to extract most of the flavour. It will also allow for some minor “cream” creation, even if it won’t be strong enough to stay there. 3) Temperature. I never saw anyone boiling water first, but nothing wrong with it. What I recommend is having the flame or the electric stove on a very low heat, this way steam is created slowly enough to avoid reaching boiling temperature (absolutely not necessary and number one cause of burnt coffees) but have the right time to rise up steadily without actually boiling. Moka coffee does not boil when it comes out, if it does you went too far. Give it time, moka is not made for people constantly on the run, espresso is very different in that aspect, moka requires patience. 4) Perfect advice, remove from heat when it starts to come out clear!!! This is crucial!!! But washing the chamber with cold water is not necessary, it does not do anything you already have brewed all of the coffee. It’s just so you can unscrew it faster later 😅 5) Last one. DO. NOT. USE. ANY. SOAP. Just rinse with water constantly, use your fingers and nails to thoroughly clean the filter and the gum ring, clean the inner chamber, run water all over inside it, no stains have to be left behind. But NO SOAP AND NO CLEANING AGENTS, I avoid even using dirty towels on it. That’s all. Hope you continue to use your moka, it’s the most common coffee machine in Italian homes. A true and long lasting tradition.
Hey, grazie for your comment! I'm a bit amused that you're telling me, with your credentials as an Italian, that I'm basically right, while so many of your countrymen have also chimed in to tell me how WRONG I am! My goal here is not necessarily to do the *most* authentic Italian thing, (mountain of coffee, starting with cold water, etc...) but to explore the options for people to be able to tweak the flavor of their coffee to their liking, and this involves considering the typical barista model of overextraction vs underextraction to reduce the production of the bitter compounds that come out. You've probably noticed I don't even fill the filter basket completely, which is madness to Italians I'm sure! My impression is that most Americans/Brits have given up on their Moka pots because of the flavor they get, but I'm getting lots of comments that this video has given them the motivation to try again. A hot tip I got the other day was to put a paper AeroPress filter above the filter basket. This is most certainly a very UN-Italian thing to do, but the coffee came out the smoothest tasting I'd ever had out of a Moka pot.
@@loodog555 I'm not Italian, but I have learned that when it comes to food, there is no such thing as "Italian." Every region, city, and probably even neighborhood has its own twist on the proper way to do things. The way one cooks in Milan may be considered sacrilege in Rome. I think a lot of that is because of dependence on fresh, local ingredients and the surprisingly large variety of weather and soil conditions found throughout the country. And some of it is simply because of the length of history and rivalry between various places. There is probably even a regional dish that combines cheese and seafood.
@@loodog555 Hey, I am not here to be a dick to anybody, right? 😅 I think it’s amazing that our little country has developed so many crazy traditions that others are willing to follow and preserve, people take it for granted but I don’t. Just the fact you took the time to research the origins of the moka and understand how it works it’s great. I can just show you how we do it every day, but if you like it your way is all good. Italians on the internet are generally self centered nazis, I hate that aspect.
@@orlandocfi Oh, interesting! Very lovely interpretation. Although I find the trills a bit too fast; but to be frank, that could just be my envy. Because they're just lightning fast. Very impressive.
Firstly, fill the container with cold water. The coffee softens and eventually runs as the steam intensifies. You never get a bad taste. Secondly, give zero shits with cleaning. Rinse after use. That's it. That's all. Replace the ring seal every year ($5?). Thirdly, blast the heat right up. What is the benefit of turning it on just a little. Fourthly, 'grinding too fine' makes stronger coffee. It does not make it too bitter. Just nonsense. Fifthly, pack the coffee pocket with lots of coffee and positively mash it in tight. Cause what you get is a real strong healthy cup of Joe. Do you even lift bro?
The hot water versus cold water debate is something everyone has very strong opinions about, but I’ve personally found it’s the least relevant thing to consider. That said, all the notable third wave baristas such as James Hoffman and Tristan Stephenson recommend preheating the water, and a 2008 paper by warren king models this using Darcys law for fluid flow to show the preheated water aids in extraction temperature. I discuss and explain this paper here (m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O14BIH-9KTA.html). With regard to cleaning, I’ve experimentally found agreement with you, that it doesn’t matter that much, though everyone again has strong opinions. In terms of blasting the heat, though I’m going to disagree with you strongly. It has been received wisdom among third wave baristas, and research papers have affirmed this, that moka pots tend toward over extraction and bitterness. If you want to go to the extreme of this, I recommend doing a search for “moka pot voodoo”, which specifically recommends keeping the heat so low with you actually turn it off upon first coffee. At the end of the day though, what matters is whether or not you have a cup of coffee you enjoy. Leave the question of convincing the world of your technique out of it and you’ll live a happier life :)
@@joeyc8622 Well, that's a confusing response to the video I posted in last comment. Do you believe that 69C is actually the best volume-averaged extraction temperature, or do you just not buy Darcy's Law as an appropriate basis for modeling the extraction process?
@@joeyc8622 still not understanding your response. Are you saying that the lower volume-averaged extraction temperatures are necessary to avoid the excessive temperatures at the end or that Ernesto Illy’s 2002 recommendations of 92-94C are inapplicable here because of the differences between espresso and moka pot brewing? Or that you question Warren King’s model altogether?
