you have a see-through stove top?
No I open the lid to see coffee coming through very slowly. Boiling water makes it spurt out with steam.
Many times I have left my stovetop on a low heat and gone off to do stuff and when I have returned I don't have coffee. Not until the water boils does it function.
I think the only way you could get nasty coffee is by leaving it to boil dry and leaving the heat on. But I am guessing now.
Ahh, seems I was right...
[i]The steam eventually reaches a high enough pressure to gradually force the surrounding boiling water up the funnel through the coffee powder and into the upper chamber (C), where the coffee is collected. When the lower chamber is almost empty, steam bubbles mix with the upstreaming water, producing a characteristic gurgling noise.
As with percolators, the pot should not be left on the stove so long that the coffee boils. Ideally, with a little practice, it should be removed from the heat before it actually starts gurgling - usually, when only about half of the top chamber has been filled.[/i]
So are you simply leaving it on boil for too long Mol???
that's a sure fire way to get blinded by volcanically hot coffee. someone call H&S
Many times I have left my stovetop on a low heat and gone off to do stuff and when I have returned I don't have coffee. Not until the water boils does it function.
Then that was too low. You need enough heat to make it brew, and not so much that you scald the coffee. Again I don't like scalded coffee, you may do.
You can. I have sat there and watched non boiling water rise through coffee.
You've no idea what's happening in the base. How exactly do you think the water rises without turning to steam first?
See above amend Mol...
No I open the lid to see coffee coming through very slowly.
Amazing, thats what I've managed to do for years and years, without ever having to be told how to do it, becuase the contraption is so simple, you can only operate it in the correct manner.
Why would you try to flash boil the water in the bottom? I honestly think people [i]enjoy[/i] over-complicating their lives.
I don't think mol should be allowed near naked flames, or sharp edges.
Thinking about what you are saying Molgrips, the above italics describe exactly what you describe as the problem you find. I think your problem is simply when you boil yours too quickly you get caught out and don't take it off the heat quickly enough so you boil it (yes, you still have to boil it) slightly slower so you have more chance of getting it off the heat before the 'gurgle'.
You've no idea what's happening in the base. How exactly do you think the water rises without turning to steam first?
As I said, the air above the water gets hot. Parts of the water in contact with the bottom of the pot boil creating some steam above the water, which is enough to push the remaining non boiling water through the coffee (since the intake is not exactly on the bottom.
ADH - you can vary the coffee you get by adjusting many things including the amount of heat.
I do enjoy complicating my life - I get a kick of of as deep an understanding of the world around me as I can. The amount of heat changes the coffee you make, I suggest you try it. I have found through personal experience that coaxing the coffee through with gentle heat produces very strong but mild tasting coffee which I prefer to the thin scalded taste got from boiling it.
No matter how much some blokes on the net try to tell me I'm wrong because they have thought about it LESS than I have, I will not erase the results of my own experiments from my brain. Thanks tho 🙂
It does boil at the end, it always does. And it tastes fine! The funnel only comes to about half the depth of the water in the base. That said, I've never yet managed to get bitter coffee from one, so either it works flawlessly every time or I've mysteriously managed to avoid mistakes in the last 5 years of coffee making!
No matter how much some blokes on the net try to tell me I'm wrong
And stop (with a perfect coffee) for a minute to think others may not need telling your way is correct either.
Jeez, molgrips it's the simplest thing in the world, bung on the stove, whack on the heat take off as it starts gurgling, it finishes off the heat.
non-burnt coffee everytime.
d'you want my 12yr lad to come round and show you how it's done? (he makes mine in the morning and gets it right)
molgrips is the kind of person who buys electron alignment crystals for his hifi and has confused a vervent imagination for an exemplary palate.
Nespresso is ok, but the last one I had from a blue "pod" tasted absolutely rank - like cigarettes and not very nice ones at that! I like the gold ones.
molgrips is the kind of person who buys electron alignment crystals for his hifi and has confused a vervent imagination for an exemplary palate.
No I'm not.
d'you want my 12yr lad to come round and show you how it's done?
Clearly not.
You stupid sods are obviously missing the entire point which is that we don't share the same definition of what 'right' is.
Now bugger off*
* please note the angry tone of this post is due to things happening in real life at the same time as this.
EDIT: plus, whilst we're at it, I am sick of people telling me I'm stupid or wrong-headed just for paying more attention to detail then they do. It's been happening all my life. Maybe I should get part of my brain removed to be like everyone else?*
* again this rant is really about something else happening in real life
You stupid sods are obviously missing the entire point which is that we don't share the same definition of what 'right' is.
That's not the point at all. The point is I don't seem to get any variation in flavour regardless of how I treat the mocha pot - so how do you end up with scalded coffee to class it as different and requiring careful process?
I do, however, happily accept, and indeed encourage, your right to over-complicate matters.
Would Molgrips care to enlighten us on the correct way to boil an electric kettle full of water too?
[img] 
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I agree with Molgrips. You lot clearly don't understand what good coffee tastes like.
Entering this debate late, water boils at 95° for me, so I'm sorted. 😛
Just got into coffee myselfover the last couple of years (since I've been living out in France!). Starting to think I'd like something to make some decent stuff at home, but not sure what. My other half doesn't like coffee at all, so looking for something cheap and minimal fuss to make a cup for myself now and then. I like espresso, black with a bit of sugar. Nothing milky (bleeurgh!).
Thinking a wee stove-top is probably the best solution.
Another late entry to the thread, said it before and I'll say it again....
Jura FTW (see page 1 of thread) and
[img] 
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not cheap but it gives a fantastic Coffee EVERY time at the touch of a button.
Well thanks for not getting offended when I posted a mardy post there. Work are trying to suck ALL the life out of me now instead of just most of it.
The point is I don't seem to get any variation in flavour regardless of how I treat the mocha pot - so how do you end up with scalded coffee to class it as different and requiring careful process?
If coffee is scalded then it tastes bitter. I thought this was widely known, I've experienced it certainly. As a summary, Wiki has this to say:
Almost all methods of preparing coffee require the beans to be ground and mixed with hot water for long enough to extract the flavor, but without boiling for more than an instant; boiling develops an unpleasant "cooked" flavor.
So the temperature of water is important. As it is with tea.
In the case of the Moka pot, the heat used also affects the speed of transit of the water through the coffee, which also affects the end product. I like to have the coffee just trickling down the spout, not spurting.
[i]I like to have the coffee just trickling down the spout, not spurting. [/i]
Is this a euphemism?
Are you really worried about something else entirely and you're just 'transferring' that towards coffee...hmmmmm?
my face is still waiting to be moisturised 😐
Lol 🙂
Still waiting for my espresso 😛
Ok, so it's not an indoor solution to making coffee (although, come to think of it, why not..?) but this guy's quest for a good, repeatable cup of coffee on the go is worth reading 😉
[url= http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/30/perfecting-my-travel.html ]http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/30/perfecting-my-travel.html[/url]
Staying in a rented appartment in Paris this week and lo and behold they have a Nespresso machine. Pretty good, makes nice coffee quickly and conveniently.
I suspect we've been waiting in different locations.
Where would you like your next espresso?
Simonofbarnes gave me a good one last night, really strong 🙂
iDave - Member
I suspect we've been waiting in different locations.Where would you like your next espresso?
same place - where were you!!
I cannot deny it 🙂
same place - where were you!!
That's where I was. Couldn't you smell the coffee? More creamy and richer than sfb's.
Same time next week?
go on then
splendid, just remind me where i was waiting and at what time?
More creamy and richer than sfb's.
she takes it black...
The Rancilio is a firm favourite on coffee forums
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Rancilio-Silvia-Espresso-Machine-%28New-Model%29.html
I have a Isomac Venus Coffee Machine
http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/products.php?cat=53
brought from coffee-bay in surbiton
Highly reccoment the shop!
It is true you need a decent grinder.
mine has a crema 'head' 😯 - like it should. You're not using mellow birds are you sfb?
You're not using mellow birds are you sfb?
freshly roasted Java beans ground on the spot...
wow - clearly you rock
... and roll ?
