Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

This is a wonderful tool in the coffee arsenal.
For those who are JUST READING...
This is so VERY EASY.
Reading all this stuff seems to make it difficult or that you need to FOCUS on this while heating.

Just low heat and a watchful eye.
Fill the basket full
Grind the coffee fine

Enjoy the 3 ounce results

I do.
Today was an espresso with sugar and cream. heated the cream to warm not hot.
Smokin a PERDOMO RESERVE CABINET SERIES
Wonderful combo.

Course I follow it up with Aricha 27 coffee press..16 ounces of goodness
Tom

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

No! Not! Never! It takes a LOT of words and a LOT of reading and a lot of physical conditioning and expert coaches and it is VERY, VERY difficult even on an indoor rink with perfect wind conditions. Ignore what this man says. I guess he doesn't know squat about ice hocke... Huh... coffee? My bad. Nothing to it, especially if you're a Brikka-sissy (which I don't believe Tom is).

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Here, above, it is explained why big mokapots are not for most people. The little whippers make plenty enough coffee for most moka drinkers. The big pots are for crowds and, by and large, it's still hard to find a crowd of moka drinkers in most of our houses.

If I ever drank a six-cup pot of moka they would find my remains orbiting Jupiter. GermantownRob, contrary to laws of normal human physiology, can drink enough moka to kill a horse and then enjoy a cigar. Except for Icelandic fishermen, Rob is the only exception I know to the "small pot saves lives" rule. :tu

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Do you have to use expresso, or can you use any coffee?

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Any coffee, just make sure the grind is right. It's part of the fun to experiment with not only different roasts, but mixes of roasts and beans of different origin. The difference in flavors can be striking, just the right kind of variety to keep you coming back year after year.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

I find moka made from espresso blends less satisfying than moka made from a single origin bean or the typical drip-brewing blends. Can't say why that might be. I pretty much avoid espresso blends with the mokapot. Could just be me. Try it all!

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

hmm...I was under the impression that you had to use expresso so thats all I have been using. I will have to go try out some new stuff, I love this thing!

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Like Muziq said, any coffee works as long as it is ground fine enough and, of course, the fresher the roast the better.

Good espresso blends reward the brewer after a 9-bar+ extraction. The lower pressure mokapot leave espresso blends a little bite-ie, IMO. What passes for "the utterly stunning complexity of vanilla-scented 17-year old Madagascar arabica" under 9-bar of pressure might finish from a mokapot as, "just a little too bitey for me, thanks." Not to say you won't like moka made from espresso blends but you might like some single origin beans or conventional drip blends even more.

Lotsa kinds of coffee out there, each with its' own bright spot. Don't limit yourself. I don't ever recall saying this-or-that kind of coffee made moka I couldn't drink... it ALL drinks pretty good if it's fresh.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Sound advice. I've learned that for my Mukka/Mokapot brewing, I tend to like single bean in medium and dark roasts: South and Central Americans I'll do at either roast, but for the African beans I don't enjoy the dark quite as much (with a very few exceptions). When it comes to experimenting with my own blends, which I've been doing a lot lately thanks to a gracious and patient local roster, I'm now trying out mixing not only origins but roasts as well. It's great fun going through the combinations and finding unexpected flavors in your coffee every week or so.

For my french press, I make other choices. But that's another thread.

Will someone now please direct me to the crispy, thick bacon thread? :dr

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Great advice guys thanks! Everything and more that I needed to know

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...3205#post63205

The official thread of thick, crispy bacon.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Thank you, thank you kind sir. Okay, back to Moka/Mukka talk...

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

What is moka without bacon?

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Enjoying a particularly nice blend of El Salvador medium and Peruvian medium in my Mukka this morning. Excellent flavors, good crema. We need some coffee smilies...:hm

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

This is all very interesting! I'm hoping for one for Christmas! Although, it's interesting the comments about the size. I have read many comments on Amazon that the 3 cup seemed too small. So, I figured the 6 cup was the way to go. Although, I'm concerned now that my grinder will make insufficient sized coffee (since I do not have a burr grinder and my current grinder does not make fine ground coffee). Although, I'm still hoping to get one for Christmas :D Although, with the way the economy is going, I might be just happy to still have a home and family :(

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

So I picked up a SS mokapot this afternoon, loaded it up preparing for excellent coffee but the coffee was bitter and somewhat bitey. Any thoughts? How packed is packed? like a pipe bowl or tighter? I did use my whirlyblade on med/coarse (after the preliminary pot to the coffee gods per the instructions) using some one origin beans and the results are nice but it sure didn't make a lot of coffee :)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

The moka pot I have yields 3 ounce of liquor.
I'm told/believe that a whirleybird cannot grind fine enough for the Moka...I use a burr grinder on the finest setting and when the 1-3 mokapot is finished making delish faux espresso the remains in the basket is removed as a hockey puck. VERY dense.
Pack it tight...or should I say FILL it tight
hahahahaha

PIPE joke...

As you've read in this forum you have to pack the basket pretty tight...without packing it down...I know this seems counter to what I'm saying...but the water will swell the coffee somewhat...
I think.

Also...I did a first pot of coffee and tossed it out to clean the pot out.."cure"it?

Best
Tom

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

A six cup pot (for your first and only moka brewer) IS too big. For sure, get a one one-three- cup brewer to start. Amazon comments are not the true path to coffee perfection. There are dedicated coffeeheads here (with nothing to sell you) who care about you getting the best from your efforts.

Problem: if you're not grinding coffee with a burr grinder you will have better luck buying preground coffee. Don't let yourself down by trying to make moka with a whirley-blade. Irregular grind from a whirley blade lets water channel thru the puck creating bitter, under-extracted coffee. If you're not buying preground, grinder comes first.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

I never made good moka with a whirley blade chopper, not that I invested years trying. (And I am sure someone will claim they make fabulous moka with a Ronco herb chopper, two rocks or a hammer. Maybe so.)

Simple straight skinny:

1. moka is moka because it's made under pressure.
2. the pressure comes from resistance to the upward movement of water thru the coffee grounds.
3. even resistance (REALLY EVEN resistance) to the water causes all the grounds to be wetted during the brewing period.
4. all the grounds being wetted extracts the most stuff from the puck.

5. (this is the real deal) - if you grind for moka with a whirley blade, the grind will be irregular and lumpy and the upward moving water in a brew cycle will cut a channel thru the path(s) of least resistance, failing to extract much from the larger chunks or the areas distant from the channel(s).

A mokapot really needs medium fine, evenly ground (read "burr" grinder) coffee to do well.

(Now, for the guys who are happy with a mokapot and a whirleyblade, the hammer (or two rocks), I honor you in advance and respecfully request you start you own "how to" mokapot thread. I am also sure there are some people who paint "show quality" vehicles with Krylon from Lowes and a 4" nylon bristle paintbrush from the Sherwin Williams store. I'm not saying it can't be done. And I'm not saying you can't put a man on the moon with SCUBA gear and lots of gunpowder, either. I'm just saying I never tried and won't pretend I ever got good results with anything but a burr mill plus mokapot.)

Tom - I guess it can't hurt to season a new brewer. Most folks do pitch the first pot or two I think. The pack is the critical thing. It needs enough to let the water thru slowy but not so much to plug up the process and blow the safety valve. All I can say is, when you get it right with a little experimenting, it's easy to keep it right. Like riding a bicycle. :)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Let's not make judgments on how thermonuclear, scalp crawling with buzzy happiness some of us would prefer, now, Moo-san... :D
My only Moka right now is a 2 cupper, and it, (for me), is far too small.
Of course a 12-16 oz Moka Latte for me can be a "gulper" at times, and when the voices in my head argue a little too vehemently with the angel and devils on my shoulder, I may have had one too many. I was at Williams Sonoma yesterday getting a part for my ISI foamer and longingly looked at the incredibly overpriced coffee equipment. Lots of pretty stuff there, but they rarely get my hard earned dollar.


Do we have a "source listing" of places for procuring our "coffee things" at appropriate bottom feeder pricing?

I know a guy or two.....

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Well gave it another try this morning and I think Im getting it, FWIW when I cleaned the filter basket out there was a disk of grinds that came out as a unit in a puckish form. I'll give some preground stuff a try and see what happens :D Now to find a suitable grinder for no monies

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

... or try some fine-grind from grocery (Bustelo, for example) or local coffee retailer. The post-brew puck is a good thing. When they come out in one uniform rock-solid piece you will probably have just finished a smart looking brew. :)

I de-puck my filter by turning it upside down and running warm water into the filter tube. It'll fall out in one piece, showing a clear imprint of the filterbasket holes. You can do coffee technique archeology by breaking the puck apart and seeing if it was uniformly wetted though the interior. If you find dry spots inside then the extraction was incomplete.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

"scalp crawling... buzzy happiness..."?

Please to forgive my presumptiousness. Some people DO like the feel of invisible ticks, snakes and spiders crawling all over their bodies and I did not account for that. Each should explore toxicity in his or her own way. For those who have never experienced tachycardia and wild blood-pressure swings accompanied by sweats, uncontrollable trembling and distorted vision a six, eight or 10-cup mokapot would be a great opening salvo on an otherwise stable vascular system. :salute:

:r:r:r

All I'm saying is, it's usually easier to get good results from a smaller pot than a larger one. And it's more useful (for most of us) to have two three-cuppers rather than one six-cupper. However, for those who want to go willy-nilly off into moka-universe with a big pot, have at it. I am sure many people cheerfully use a six-cup mokapot for their own daily brew. People like Bruce Banner. Heh heh heh.

http://urgh.files.wordpress.com/2007...anner-hulk.jpg

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

What TERRIFIC spresso I made in the 3 cuo Moka today. 3 cups back to back....
2 for Kevin...he's off to base so gotta get him primed.

It's 16 degrees here...

I am learning to tamp a wee bit AND to be patient for the bubbling of the coffee to stop.
Takes me 15 minutes from lighting stove to finished spresso..
WONDERFUL stuff..


I was just about to order a 6 pot spresso and remember that Mr Moo has some reservations on the 6 cupper.
Perhaps uses more coffee grounds???

t5hat is a consideration. I would think that the size of the 6 cupper is exactly twice the size of the 3 cupper...

WHAT happens when we assume?????

RIGHT!!!

ANYONE???
Is there a reason/s to have two 3 cup MOKA POTS instead of ONE 6 cup pot???

Is there noticeable increase in grounds consumed....
Share your thoughts and experiences. please

:)

Seems like a good Q?????
Tom

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

The 3 cupper is easier to control, consistency-wise. At least until you know what youre doing. The volume of water and amount of grounds you have to use make it very easy to either under, or over pack. You dont really need two three cuppers, by the time you drink your first three, the pot should be cool enough to handle, and re-load. (you might wanna use a dishtowel when unscrewing the base)

Just rinse out and dry the filter basket before you re-load it.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Ahhh but I want to drink with a partner and enjoy the cup together..
That's why I want to complete two pots at the same time..or one 6 cupper...
Good thought. Thanks for the tip on easy cleaning.

Tom
Tom

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Will have to pick one of these up and give it a shot

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Well, as I was doing a little on-line Christmas shopping last week, I stumbled across a 3 cupper and thought what the heck.

It's a cute looking little bugger. Sometime in the next day or two I'll take it on a maiden voyage and see what I can get out of it.

Just hope the 3 cupper is enough for me. Seems so, well, small. :r

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

The 6 cupper is a three cupper for me, and my demitasse aren't that big.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Hawthorne Appliance in Rochester,MI has the 6 cup aluminum Moka Pot by Bialetti for $13.99. I made sure Santa's helper grabbed me one...can't wait for Christmas morning!:D

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Just picked up my first name brand Bialetti Mokapot. Way better than my original BonJour. Makes better coffee, with less mess. 3 cups is the way to go. Had two pot fulls this morning, I was feeling good on my way to work. :dance: Now I need to order some beans and start trying out different coffee. :)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Go 'bonger. Any crema yet?

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

First round had some crema, I think getting good with the harder to use BonJour made me an instant success. Now must work at getting copious amounts of crema to the cup. :dance: I love this thing, even bought one for my brother for Christmas, and scored me free shipping from amazon :tu

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Well, two brews under the belt and I'm pretty pleased with the 3 cup Brialetti. The first brew was strong but a bit harsh. Switched to a different blend with the second brew, and it was better. Whether that's the beans talking, or the pot going through a break-in period, I don't know. The grounds are coming out in a puck, so it looks like the grind is in the ballpark.

The 3 cupper produces just over half a coffee cup, which is just about right for me. Cool little toy. :tu

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Sounds just right - great start to what could be a lifetime of spectacular coffee.

Mokapot done badly, not a rare thing, is way below awful. I regret so many people - not CA people, I hope - get mokapots with expectations of instant no-brainer rich, Euro-coffee that they believe will exemplify "espresso". Bad grind and/or bad packing means no compression during the brew. The result is always underextracted, bitter, stringy nasty brown water. The stale beans most use for their morning electric drip coffee might make an OK drink with cream and sugar; the same stale stuff run thru a mokapot makes super-enhanced bad stuff.

Nice to see so many folks starting of with a smaller pot. That's always a plus for an easier, better brew. Understanding in advance that burr ground med/fine is required is another key to success. And, of course, freshly roasted quality beans brewed for 45-seconds approx. is the finishing touch to perfection. :tu

Who's next up?

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Well, I have two out of three covered.

I'll have to work on the fresh bean part.

This is a great thread. I certainly appreciate all the tips. :tu

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Spoken like a true moyle.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

That's just not right, Moo...:eek::p

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Top 10 Ways You Know You Are Really Into Coffee (READ: YOU HAVE CROSSED THE LINE)

by Christian Di Bono


1. The "Coffee Fairy" leaves coffee beans under your kid's pillow in exchange for their molar.

2. You quiz the pimple-faced teenager at McDonald's on the exact roast date of the "100% Arabica" coffee being served that day.

3. You vandalize the local Starbucks by breaking in and taking a hammer to the new Super-Auto espresso machines, and as you leave, you spray paint a message that reads "Real Baristas grind and tamp their own coffee!!!"

4. You ask for the espresso machine and grinder in the divorce settlement, but agree to give your wife the house.

5. You enjoy watching squirrels after eating nuts into which you have cleverly embedded a coffee bean. You repeat this dastardly behavior on other animals like dogs, cats, armadillos, and blue jays.

6. You had your pool made into the shape of a coffee bean when viewed from above. Unfortunately now that the divorce is final, your wife gets to enjoy it now, with along with the pool guy.

7. You contend that Elvis' favorite snack was actually a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, 3 Qualudes, and a non-fat, 2 pump, extra shot, caramel macchiato chaser.

8. Your favorite BBQ rub includes ground coffee, and you insist on using it on that $52 hunk of Filet Mignon, despite your guests telling you that it tastes like crap.

9. You spent $6300 on a new DSLR Digital Camera setup, simply to take close-up photos of coffee beans and naked portafilter shots. Your current girlfried is considering a palimony suit.

10. You roast your own coffee, but you insist on roasting each bean individually for the ultimate in quality.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Well, Im starting to get hard pucks (while usually ~1/2 the basket worth is a hard puck after I beat it out of their). But I am confused by this brew in 45 seconds thing, mine almost always takes longer, generally on the order of 2-3 minutes to full brew. Is this a function of the 3 cupper vs my 6 cupper?

I have been using low heat to get a nice pressure build up but Im not sure if I should try high temp to spike the pressure then let it finish on its own seperate from heat?

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

I call "brew" time the time from the first spurt out the post until the spurting stops. If you're getting dribbles and drools of coffee for 2-3 minutes (instead of 45-60 seconds), how does it taste? Good? Sweet? Crema? Not bitter?

45-60 seconds is the "rule" someone taught me but, to be sure, I've made good coffee that took one or twominutes to brew. If it tastes good, that's all there is is. If it tastes a little on the bitter side, try a slightly lighter pack for a slightly faster extraction. 3 minutes does sound a bit too long too me, though.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Alrighty, I'll give higher temp a try tommorrow or maybe tonight. I have been very carefully monitoring my pack and have been tamping it down to maximize the pre-puckage before brewing. Thanks Moo!

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Alrighty then! Sounds like you're getting ready to blow the safety valve! Very excellent! Learning where the edge of the envelope resides... love it - love it. This is real courage folks, tap dancing with a kitchen covered in boiling water/coffee spew.

(If you're mooshing in a filter full of coffee plus a dome on the top and it's taking 3-minutes to run a pot, you either need more heat to make more pressure - and risk blowing the valve or blowing up the pot - or a less dense pack, or a coarser grind.)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Stainless mokapot and false crema do not seem to go together. The stainless pot makes excellent moka but I cannot make it produce crema. I've tried a dozen different kinds of freshroasted coffee and played every trick I know on the Bialetti Eleganz stainless pot to make it drool crema but it will not. I have called and written anyone and everyone who knows squat about coffee but there is no answer as to why this is. In fact, I discover, many so-called coffee experts didn't even know that a mokapot could produce the globs of crema that many of us here take for granted. Rookies, guys. We are surrounded by rookies. The best of them told me they had no idea why I can't get a stainless pot to make crema (not that any of them could). Except that my skills must be lacking there was no better answer.

I always felt the metal itself was suspect but couldn't figure out how to prove it.

Now, slightly off topic, I am suddenly struck by something I've known for a long time. My 18-10 stainless steel ibrik will not make AND HOLD decent froth when making turkish coffee. See where this is going?

Since this is now moving outside the scope of mokapots I will continue the discussion at the turkish coffee thread. Good day.

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

I have to thank (or is the proper term "blame") all of you for steering me to that wonderful little Bialetti (yes I bought the six cup at Target, and I mix 1/2 & 1/2 with hot whole milk). YUM!! What an amazing brew. I didn't know anything like that even existed.
I also bought a Capresso Infinity burr grinder on sale just after Christmas, it has greatly improved my regular bean experience with my drip maker; I was using a whirly blade grinder (UGH!).
I need to try some beans for the Mokapot, have been using ground Seattle's Best I received as a present, but that is almost gone. What do you guys recommend I try for maximum goodness from the Bialetti?
Thanks for your sage advice.
Chris

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Uncle Beanz goes back online tomorrow, give Norman a call and he will surely help you take that next step.

BTW don't forget to congratulate him on his recent marriage. :)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

What Richard said. UncleBeanz is the cat daddy but not the only daddy depending on where do you live. So, where DO you live? Sometimes it's easy to shop with a local, or nearby, roaster.

Great to hear you're loving the moka cafe con leche. When it's on it's hard to beat. :)

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

I am just across the river from Omaha in Western Iowa.
We do have at least one (maybe two) local commercial roasters, I think Pears and MJ Java both roast locally.
I have thought about contacting them to find out what days they actually roast and picking up some beans at that time.
I do like to support my local merchants.

And I treat this moka-leche like a snifter of good brandy.
Give me a Padron 4000 and a mug of this magical brew, and I am good for a couple of hours.
This is "sippin' coffee".

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

Ah... hope you're not right downwind of the packing house and that all your dog-track trifectas are winners. (I used to know the neighborhood.) :D

I would encourage you to try the local roasters if it's convenient. You might have some jewels in Omaha or even Council Bluffs. You have to consider that, just because something is roasted locally, though, doesn't necessarily make it better than anything else. The local guy may have bad skills, blend poorly or just buy crappy beans. But! It won't take long to figure it out. It all comes out in the moka. Please let us know what you find.

FWIW, beans out of the roaster usually improve dramatically with at least 1-3 days of rest. Todays roast never drinks as well as yesterdays...

Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.
 

So I got a Moka pot for Christmas, and I use it mostly to make Mokachinos. I tried several different methods to heat and froth milk until I found this little gem.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2.../Nespresso.jpg

It heats and froths milk in about 1 minute, and I think it does a great job.

Does anyone else here go to the trouble to heat and froth milk for their Moka?