Just bought an espresso. I mean moka maker

[RUSHd]

I just ordered the bialetta moka express 6 cup stovetop. I'm trying to wane off my recently acquired (expensive) starbucks doppio espresso habit.

Any advice? Are there any common supermarket brands I should look for or stay away from?

(I'm new to The Cafe - go easy on me)

 

[Dr Roadrash]

Good choice, now buy some fresh whole bean coffee roasted within the last week or so, and inexpensive burr grinder, not the whirly job grinders. This will put your starbucks habit away within weeks you will not tolerate their coffee!!! I strongly recommend fresh whole bean coffee ground just before brewing. Not store bought year old ground coffee.
Aaron

 

[Saxman11290]

Good choice, now buy some fresh whole bean coffee roasted within the last week or so, and inexpensive burr grinder, not the whirly job grinders. This will put your starbucks habit away within weeks you will not tolerate their coffee!!! I strongly recommend fresh whole bean coffee ground just before brewing. Not store bought year old ground coffee.
Aaron

+1

The main variables in coffee are where the bean is grown, WHEN the bean was roasted, how light / dark it was roasted, WHEN the bean was ground and how coarse / fine was the grind. These are all some pretty easy aspects to manipulate to find what you like best and explore the various colors of the coffee world. Of course, if you are only using a moka pot, you probably want to stick to one grind setting on your home grinder and just leave it there.

If you aren't into the home grinding scene yet, it's perfectly acceptable to start out getting 1/4 - 1/2 pound freshly roasted beans at your local coffee roaster and ask them to grind it for a moka pot setting. The only downside to this is (depending on how much coffee you drink), you may need to make a weekly trip back to the roaster to get more, and by the end of the week, the coffee may loose some of its flavor. Grinding on your own eliminates the loss of flavor part, and generally, you can buy a larger quantity of beans which will stay longer than pre-ground beans. Of course, the flavor of the beans is also related to time past from the roast date, so that should prevent you from buying more than a pound at a time or so, to be safe.

Best of luck, hope it goes well!

 

[galopede]

I have found over the years that even stale supermarket ground coffee is better than Charbucks!

I have had one of those coffee makers for many years. First save them when I was about ten years old as I lived next door to an Italian family who had a huge one! Tomaso, the father, had come to Wales as a prisoner of war and never went home!

I prefer the cafetiere/plunger pot whatever you call them these days though.

Most anything you make yourself will be better than the nasty burnt stuff Charbucks sells!

Gareth

 

[barrycv]

When they say 6 cups, I'm guessing they mean 6 demitasse cups? I have a few of these Bialetti guys, but never really paid much attention to the 'capacity' they claim.

I'm not in to home-grinding or roasting, so I do 'slum it' with store-bought stuff. For espresso, I usually do Lavazza (I find the d'Oro better than the 'plain' stuff) or Illy. Esse is a little harder to find.

 

[TickTock]

Moka pots are great. Here is the advice an old italian woman gave me years ago--

--Don't ever wash the pot with soap, just rinse with hot water. (I think this makes sense for the aluminum pots--it builds a nice patina on them and keeps it from pitting.)

--Grind coffee is a bit finer than drip but nowhere near as fine as espresso, and don't pack it in really at all (you can stall it or the coffee will need so much pressure for the water to go through that it will really boil which is too hot and scorched, harsh coffee is the result--I just pour it in til it makes a little mound on top, then give it a little tap and level off). I think it used to be that all the coffee from Italy marked 'espresso' was really moka pot grind, though I think with the advent of real home espresso machines this isn't true any more. Trial and error!

--Then regulate the heat so that it just bubbles gently while brewing. You don't want it spitting until the very end. (I usually just heat the water first in the microwave and put the pot together with hot water already in the bottom, it's faster.)

--Once it starts to spit, it's done, take it off the heat.

--You can put a teaspoon of water in the top of it, to keep the first few drops of coffee from drying out/burning.

A Cuban-American friend told me here's the way to make the Cuban variation of this: while it's brewing, pour off the first tablespoon of coffee into a little cup (put the pot back on the stove to finish). Then beat up some sugar in this little bit of coffee with a spoon until it froths up. When the other coffee is done, pour this sugar froth on top.

50/50 with hot whole milk is my favorite. YUM.

 

[CoffeeJunkie]

Great little write up explaining what Tick Tock was talking about. There are also a couple good articles on using a Moka pot listed on this website as well as other brewing methods.

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/06/moka/

I own both a Moka pot and a french press and like them both for different reasons. Today was the first time I followed the instructions on that site for making a Neapolitan coffee and it was amazing. I used a bit too much sugar so it was a little sweet but it was a great starting point. Good luck and enjoy.


EDIT: Forgot to post a link.

 

[Legion]

I start with cold water, and I tamp the coffee very gently. Not even really tamping, just using the tamper to make the coffee flat and even in the bowl.

While it is brewing I put the milk in my mug, and then pop it into the microwave for a minute to warm it up.

 

[mosomoso]

Here's one tip that even many Italians would not agree with, but I'll stand by it. Never let more than half the brew come through a moka pot for drinking. Pour off the dark first half (or less!) and, should you want a longer coffee, just add fresh hot water to the concentrate. You won't lose any flavour that you might want. On the contrary!

If you are wondering about all this, just follow the instructions and taste the front-of-brew, concentrated or with fresh water added. Then taste the pale back end of the brew, separately. It's foul. Don't let this unwholesome muck mix with your delicious extraction. You are not wasting anything by chucking it.

My belief is that, by avoiding unhealthy and pointless over-extraction, you can make beautiful hot coffee with a moka pot, that's different to espresso, vacpot etc, but just as good.