Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.

[tupacboy]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

I think I read something to the contrary a while back; am traveling this weekend but will test mine, milkless, next week if you wish.

Your time and testing would be greatly apprecaited

[htown]

My wife brought one of these home, but we can't get it to work. It creates steam, but no coffee comes out of the top.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by htown

My wife brought one of these home, but we can't get it to work. It creates steam, but no coffee comes out of the top.

One of these?



That sounds disappointing. Never heard of a problem with a Mukka or Brikka.

[htown]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

One of these?



That sounds disappointing. Never heard of a problem with a Mukka or Brikka.

Not sure what brand it is.

[tupacboy]

just wanted to follow this up mr moo... any news?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by tupacboy

just wanted to follow this up mr moo... any news?

thru the cracks... tomorrow!

[Mister Moo]

I made four Americanos from different sized Mukkas; results were essentially identical, large pot or small. The quality of the cup is highly dependent on the quality of the coffee. Due to circumstances I am drinking commercial "First Colony" Costa Rican whole bean from Williamsburg, VA, this week. Being kind, it is slightly above average commercial. I tried some regular moka in a Bialetti Express with it last week and it was flat, too.

Mukka instructions say to use milk only in the top pot. I subbed water and ran the machine as per cappuccino. All four pots tasted the same; less water in the north pot might have made a little difference. Milk and sugar added in the cup still left it tasting like McDonalds coffee with milk and sugar. Not bad. Not good. Basically, it made a marginal americano using marginal fresh-ground coffee.

I am certain freshly roasted coffee, freshly ground to espresso fineness, would have made a decent americano. A Mukka without proper grind would be wasted; Bustelo from the can would probably work as well as this mornings First Colony.





Mom moved in last year (she's 97) and, although she really likes good coffee, she occupies a lot of my (former) spare time; a problem exchange student from Belgium moved in last January; and I developed a pinched nerve in my neck two weeks ago. I REALLY want to roast some coffee but it's gonna be at least two more weeks before I get around to it. When I do, I'll try another Amukkacano. Absent good coffee I am sliding by on Percocet and water. Not all bad.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Mom moved in last year (she's 97) and, although she really likes good coffee, she occupies a lot of my (former) spare time; a problem exchange student from Belgium moved in last January; and I developed a pinched nerve in my neck two weeks ago. I REALLY want to roast some coffee but it's gonna be at least two more weeks before I get around to it. When I do, I'll try another Amukkacano. Absent good coffee I am sliding by on Percocet and water. Not all bad.

You are a hell of a guy Moo

I will trade you some fresh roast for some Percocet, a Percocet makes a 1 months old cry sound like angles singing. I should still have your addy and I need to roast tomorrow so I will get some done for you and send it off, I hate to think about the poor Moo mug having stale coffee in it.

Yup, I have your addy as long as it has not changed.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

You are a hell of a guy Moo

I will trade you some fresh roast for some Percocet, a Percocet makes a 1 months old cry sound like angles singing. I should still have your addy and I need to roast tomorrow so I will get some done for you and send it off, I hate to think about the poor Moo mug having stale coffee in it.

Yup, I have your addy as long as it has not changed.

This is a mokapot thread; you need to waltz this topic over to the Percocet thread. Cigars & Percocet thread? Pipes & Percocet thread? Oops. Wait. There isn't a Percocet thread. Not until now. We shall allow this is a Mokapots, Moka, Stovetop Espresso & Narcotics" thread. Coffee... codeine... what's the big difference?

Never took a Percocet before last week; I gather this is (was?) the brand name of the Rush Limbaugh drug of deafness, etc. I am too old and poor to start a new career as a junkie and too busy to commence a yet another hobby so I am laying out on the narcotic thing. Not sure, firsthand anyhow, what the entertainment value of the pill is. Therapeutically speaking I am a big fan, though. After two weeks of sleep constantly interrupted by sensations or tingling, pressure and pain - the kind you can deal with in the daytime but it's just bad enough to bounce you from sound sleep - it was P'cet to the rescue. One at 10:00pm and I sleep pain free for at least six hours; it is quite the miracle. No side effects. Percocet, physical therapy, home traction and cortisone epidurals might do the trick but my neck is feeling like spinal fusion is in the future; don't think I can exercise my way out of this one.

Coffee? I bought two 24-oz. bags of this First Colony brand two weeks ago - it's just being introduced here in NC and was on sale 2:1 at Food Lion and I thought, "How bad can it be?" And it is OK, for sure, and that's what Mrs. Moo and I have been drinking. I figured it would run out in three weeks or so and spare me needing to go out and roast beans for little while. Then Mrs. Moo comes home the other day with two bags of the same stuff and says, "Look! I found a great deal on a new brand of coffee! You can take a break from roasting!" So now there is another 48-oz. I am sick of the ****. It was OK for a week or so in a pinch but, mercy... I am accepting charitable contributions without discussion. Thx Germ.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

You are a hell of a guy Moo

I will trade you some fresh roast for some Percocet, a Percocet makes a 1 months old cry sound like angles singing. I should still have your addy and I need to roast tomorrow so I will get some done for you and send it off, I hate to think about the poor Moo mug having stale coffee in it.

Yup, I have your addy as long as it has not changed.

Dag, Robbo.... that last batch of ethiopian was fantastic! It was all about blueberries. Major "Wow."

[tupacboy]

thank you so much for taking the time and pic!

[tupacboy]

so i picked up a electric mukka off ebay... works like a charm!

however the bottom portion has a bit of corrosion... i know its ok... but visually not appealing... what's the best way to clean it?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by tupacboy

so i picked up a electric mukka off ebay... works like a charm!

however the bottom portion has a bit of corrosion... i know its ok... but visually not appealing... what's the best way to clean it?

Water quality and aluminum corrosion issues vary; this corrosion issue is a new one on me. If it's calcification, soak with vinegar.

[tupacboy]

sorry it probably is calcification..

also there's a slight leak between the top and bottom when it starts to boil.. will a couple drops of mineral oil hurt ok? i think the coffee won't be affected cause mineral oil is tastless...

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by tupacboy

sorry it probably is calcification..

also there's a slight leak between the top and bottom when it starts to boil.. will a couple drops of mineral oil hurt ok? i think the coffee won't be affected cause mineral oil is tastless...

Any leak is bad, explaining perhaps, why this pot was on ebay.

1. Mukka lower pots are round/large and hard to hold so be sure it's screwed down tightly - I use a rubber "jar opener" pad to get a good grip and a snug fit;
2. make sure threads and gasket are coffee-free before tightening;
3. make sure gasket is clean and pliable - replace a brittle or hardened gasket;
4. sometimes grounds get under a gasket making it impossible to flatten out. Pick it out carefully with a convenient large-animal dental tool and make sure nothing is trapped under it. If it feels rock-hard or brittle enough to crack when bending, replace it.

[galaga]

I wondered why you had that "large-animal" dental tool in your coffee supplies. Now I know.....

Wife ran my Brikka through the dishwasher yesterday and now it's a doorstop. Do not do this if you have an aluminum pot and like it.

[tupacboy]

added a couple of drops of mineral oil on the gasket.. no more leaks

going to try and make the ammericano tonight with some decaf

[T.G]

For anyone with the 1-cup Bialetti Moka Express, does it really make enough for one cup or do you loose a lot of water to the grinds and residual in the boiler?

Also, anyone have the 2-cup model with the platform for the cups and the copper fill pipes to the cups rather than the upper caraffe tank? Does it work any different than the Moka Express with the tank? Can both of the nozzles be swiveled over to fill one cup?

(this machine is only going to be for me, the 1cup seems small, the 3 would be too much)

thanks.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by T.G

For anyone with the 1-cup Bialetti Moka Express, does it really make enough for one cup or do you loose a lot of water to the grinds and residual in the boiler?

Also, anyone have the 2-cup model with the platform for the cups and the copper fill pipes to the cups rather than the upper caraffe tank? Does it work any different than the Moka Express with the tank? Can both of the nozzles be swiveled over to fill one cup?

(this machine is only going to be for me, the 1cup seems small, the 3 would be too much)

thanks.

Damn hard to find a 2-cupper anymore - don't know why. I have a Bialetti Dama and a Guzzini pot both in the 2-cup model and they're just right for me. I like the way the 1-cuppers brew best but, yes, they don't brew more than a double shot. They make one great Americano or cafe-au-lait, but not one and a half.

Never used that bent-spigot double thingie; REI sells them and I keep thinking it'd be fun to try each time I'm in the store. Memory says I read some bad reviews on it a while back but I can't say that firsthand. A Bialetti Express 3-cup isn't so bad but you might want to cruise the net hard looking for an real 2x. Or get an AeroPress.