What’s the crack cos I’ve had mixed results with mine. How much water, how much coffee, tamp down or level off, heat water a bit first?
Sometimes the top pot fills up with nice coffee & sometimes it only partly fills with stuff that takes paint off bike frames.
I’ve had no consistent results, what am I doing wrong?

Not being consistent with amount of coffee, grind and brew time, plus if you using bulk roasted pre-ground coffee it’s already on it’s way to going stale so the coffee from a bag that’s been opened for a couple of weeks will taste worse than when just opened (fresh roasted beans ground on demand will be a better option)

sometimes it only partly fills with stuff

Don’t tamp down – it seems to block it. I just level off

I also find it helps to fill the thing with boiling water first rather than start from cold

Just lightly level it, don’t tamp.
I use boiling water in it as well (quicker!)
Make sure you take it off the heat as soon as you start to hear the gurgling noise, otherwise you’ll burn the coffee and it goes very bitter

The instructions that came with mine said to fill with water just below the pressure relief valve, fill the basket with coffee, level and don’t tamp. Put on the stove top on a medium heat, listen for the bubbling water. When the bubbling stops you’re done. Has worked fine for me even with supermarket coffee.

just using bog standard nescafe freeze dried coffee, with hard water, and milk powder – perfect coffee….i await instant death from STW

tbh i gave up with moka pots , i found it was trickier than a real espresso machine – and that seemed easier to clean too!

Wobilliscott is right.
Back2basics is wrong according to my tastebuds Nescaffe is foul it does not even compare to the stale Luke warm product my mum used to make using a perculator .

@crankboy – hello crankboy, please meat Sarcasm… Sarcasm this is crankboy

I’ve been using my stovetop loads recently, the gaggia and aeropress have been a bit redundant this month.

I have the medium (4 cup) one. 25 grms of coffee, espresso grind, lightly tamped gives me my best results…

Damn, I wasn’t going to make a coffee…
/wanders off

I have the medium (4 cup) one. 25 grms of coffee, espresso grind, lightly tamped gives me my best results…

+1, although nines a 2 cup as the missus doesn’t drink coffee (wierdo) not tamped down like you would for an espresso machine, just pressed in enough that it’s consistent.

Warm, not boiling water, it needs some time to warm the whole pot up otherwise you’re putting boiling water through cold coffee and it won’t work and the espresso will end up cold because the top half of the pot wasn’t warmed up.

And get a stainless pot, aluminium leaves a funny taste.

And remove it for the heat when it’s nearly finished, better to have 10% less coffee than 100% horrible burnt stuff.

If you use cold water the pot heats up way before the water boils.

+1 for the stainless steel pot.

As others have said, the fresher the grind the better, warmed water, full funnel, not tamped down, take off heat before it all comes through. Job done.

as above – stick with it you’ll get the hang of it

tamping is a bad idea

You will work out the best combination of amount of coffee to use/ heat setting on the hob etc

Personally with my 3 cup pot (I drink all of it of course) I fill with water from the tap up to the line, 2 x spoons of beans which i then grind resonablly fine (not as fine as you would for a proper espresso machine, finer than caffitierre or filter). coffee in, no tamping.

On the hob at heat setting 4 out of a possible 6.

I actually prop open the lid with a teaspoon so I can see the coffee coming through and get the pot off the heat as soon as it begins spurting.

I fill with boiling water from the kettle, to just below the valve. I don’t use a fine espresso grind, just the “for all machines” stuff, and don’t tamp down at all.

full funnel

really, even when you only want a small espresso from a 4-6 cup one??

Stainless – agree – gone through lots of alu ones and there is a difference -that said i do still have a single shot one which i use every now and then.

Warm Water – agree – but not hot waiting is a pain.

Pre-ground, no no- agree i will be purchasing a mill soon, fed up with stale ground, it lasts tops 2-3 days in an airtight container and in the fridge.

Level off / lightly tamper – i’m doing this wrong then. Why in espresso machines is it tampered to within an inch of it’s life but not in stove tops?

Aluminium pots are fine, can’t say I’ve noticed any difference. Just make sure you’re not washing them up between uses – I occasionally wash the outside, the inside gets (at most) a rinse.

Espresso is different, you tamp down to pack the coffee and slow the water so it enfusrs more out of the coffee. The water is not boiling (there is an ideal temp which an espresso machine controls) and you end up with a stronger, fuller coffee shot with the oils extracted to give you a crema. A mokka pot doesn’t make an espresso. It boils the water which turns to steam which pushes through boiling water up into the basket and through the coffee. You don’t tamp as the steam is not at high enough pressure to push the water through the tamped coffee (espresso machines use a 15bar pump) and if you do tamp you just increase the temp of the water to generate higher steam pressure and the resulting water is to too hot as it passes through the coffee and burns it picking up a bitter flavour. So no tamping with a mokka pot to control the water temperature as it passes through the coffee.

really, even when you only want a small espresso from a 4-6 cup one??

Yes. There is a reason they do different sizes. A 1 cup that is full and making 1 cup is going to be way better than a 6 cup with a little bit of coffee in the funnel and 1 cup of water due to the way the steam/boiling water passes through the grounds.

mrsmith is right – you only make a full pot.
thx to wobbliscott for the description of why you dont tamp it.

the slower you heat it the better
also need to remove from heat, once you hear it or if watching see the change from thick brown to watery bubbles

go and practise now, till you have it right…… or you become dangerously high

ps. the pot im drinking now is rubbish cos i left it on the heat and got distracted for 20mins.

coffee boilled is coffee spoilled

every day is a school day. you wouldn’t think there is an Italian in the family 😳

I’m going to get me an “in-between” pot now.

Quality of stove makes a surprising difference as well (regardless of metal) some of the cheaper ones are not up to the job IME.

Just make sure you’re not washing them up between uses – I occasionally wash the outside, the inside gets (at most) a rinse.

never understood this. Old, stale coffee ‘oil’ is bitter, why would you want to keep it? mine gets cleaned after every use. and you definitely want to remove and clean the filter weekly, just like you would do on a mechanical espresso machine.

Stainless can go in the dishwasher without tarnishing.You can go above the valve a bit if you need more coffee no problems.Keep the rubber ring clean so it creates a good seal.Decent coffee in a tupperware in the fridge keeps fresh for a couple of weeks,if you need to keep it longer put it in the freezer.Always fill the code basket unto the top.Medium heat,turn off when it stops gurgling.

After tasting peoples fancy coffee machines unless they know what they are doing and have a really good machine you can’t go wrong with a Moka.

Ben

It boils the water which turns to steam which pushes through boiling water up into the basket and through the coffee.

No no no.. don’t boil it. The steam from non-boiling water is enough to gently force the hot (NOT boiling) water through the coffee nice and slowly. The amount of steam produced by boiling water will cause burnt bitter coffee to hiss and spit out of the spout. You are aiming for a trickle.