How do I use a moka pot?

Moka pots have a reputation for bitter coffee that comes almost entirely from one thing: filling them with cold water. The base then sits on the heat for several minutes with the coffee above it, effectively baking the grounds before the water ever reaches them. Starting with hot water removes that entirely.

What you'll need

• Moka pot
• Kettle
• Medium-fine ground coffee
• Tea towel or oven glove
• Scales (optional)

Step by step

1. Boil the kettle and fill the base with hot water to just below the safety valve.This is the single biggest improvement. It cuts the time the grounds spend heating from minutes to seconds.
2. Use a tea towel to handle the base — it's now hot.Obvious once said, easily forgotten in the moment.
3. Fill the basket with medium-fine grounds and level it off.Coarser than espresso, finer than filter. Don't tamp — a moka pot has nothing like espresso pressure and tamping chokes it.
4. Assemble and put it on a low to medium heat.Low heat gives a slow, steady extraction. High heat rushes it and produces harshness.
5. Leave the lid open so you can watch the flow.You need to see the colour change, which is the only reliable signal for when it's done.
6. Take it off the heat as soon as the flow turns pale and starts to sputter.That pale gurgle is steam rather than coffee, and everything after it is bitter.
7. Cool the base under a cold tap for a few seconds.It stops extraction immediately rather than letting residual heat continue pushing through.
8. Stir and serve.The first and last of the flow differ considerably in strength — stirring evens it out.

Tips

• Don't wash a moka pot with detergent if it's aluminium — rinse with hot water. Detergent residue in the alloy taints subsequent brews.
• Replace the rubber gasket every year or so. A perished gasket leaks steam and the pot never builds pressure properly.
• A medium roast generally suits a moka pot better than a dark one, which can taste harsh at this extraction level.
• If the coffee tastes metallic, check the gasket and the filter plate for old grounds, and make sure the pot is properly clean.

Common mistakes

• Starting with cold water — The grounds bake on the heat for minutes before brewing starts, which is where the classic moka bitterness comes from.
• Tamping the grounds — A moka pot generates low pressure. Tamping chokes the flow and can force water past the gasket.
• Leaving it on the heat until it stops — The final pale, sputtering flow is bitter and ruins what came before.
• Using high heat — It rushes extraction and produces harsh, thin coffee.

Questions people ask