Moka Pot - Brewing Guide

Illustration by Claudia Casiraghi.

Despite some controversy among professionals, we are able to brew a nice moka with lighter roasted specialty coffee beans. To get a nice espresso style extraction, with lot of body and texture and at the same time avoiding overpowering bitterness these are our tips and tricks:

1) Favor a 2 cup moka pot.

2) Fill the bottom chamber half up with preheated water (92-95°C). For security reasons be sure to never cover the safety valve

3) Fill the filter with coffee ground a little bit coarser than fine and level it with the handle of a spoon. Make sure to fill it evenly but without pressing it on!

4) Screw everything together and put it on the stove at medium to high heat (3/4 of maximum heat)

5) Wait till it extracts your two cup volume and immediately take it off the stove (you can even rinse the bottom part of the pot in cold water to stop the extraction)

6) Stir the coffee in the top part of the brewer with a spoon and serve it!

This can also be the base for a home made cappuccino (for this you’ll need a french press or any other milk frothing device).