Moka pot woes...

[uberlegit]

I picked up a cheapy aluminium moka pot at Marshall's a bit ago, to give the brewing method a try, I think it was around $10. This is probably the source of my problem, however...

What happens is this -- the pot gets hot, the water starts boiling, I can see steam escaping the top and there is even coffee sputtering out of the internal spout. But that's all it does: sputter. There is no steady stream that I would expect. From what I understand, the increased air pressure in the water chamber forces the water through the grounds. This need not even be at the water's boiling point (is this a misconception on my part?) But boil the pot does, even violently, and it looks like the only coffee that makes it through to the upper chamber is from the water unfortunate enough to get bubbled up through the grounds. After 3-4 minutes at boil, about 3/4 of the water in the internal chamber remains there.

I've tried a few different grind sizes, pre-boiling the water, various heats and none of them have allowed the pot to brew properly. I have a decent grinder (Capresso Infinity,) not amazing, it does produce some powder. I'm fairly certain, however, that the filter is not being clogged. There is no visible escape of steam except through the internal spout.

Am I doing something wrong, or is this cheap pot just a dud?

 

[fleshdunce]

I don't have tons of experience with Moka Pots although I do own one myself. When I use mine I make sure the grind is pretty fine but not quite espresso fine. After that I put water from the sink in the bottom of the pot and I put my stove about 3/4 of the way up. Soon enough I can hear bubbling and I see the coffee start to sputter out of the top. This will fill up the top with all the water.

I'd make sure you have the proper grind and also make sure you have a good seal between the chambers. The whole thing does work through steam so if either of those things are off it won't work at all.

I'd try those...if that doesn't help then perhaps you purchased a bad unit.

 

[SiBurning]

I can see steam escaping the top

That's wrong. The bottom needs to be air tight except for the hole at the bottom of the funnel that's way under water. As steam pressure builds and expands, it forces the water up through the spout. If you can see steam coming out of the top, the bottom section isn't air tight.

Maybe the gasket's bad or the top's not screwed down tight enough.

 

[rcs914]

One thing to suggest - make sure there are absolutely no grounds on the edge of the aluminum filter basket where it meets the rubber gasket in the top half. Grounds here will prevent a good seal, although usually that leads to leaks out the side.
Like a previous poster I'm not sure how you are getting steam out the top - you shouldn't get any until it is done brewing and you then will get splutters.

Here are some generic suggestions -

A. Fill the bottom with hot water (this will reduce your time on the stove) till the level is just at the mid point of the small brass pressure relief valve on the side.

B. Grind enough coffee so the filter basket is full - tamp this down slightly, but don't compact it like you would if making real espresso. You want it all the way to the top though.

C. Put the filter basket/funnel assembly in the lower half, and carefully wipe around the edge making sure there are no grounds there that will interfere with the seal in the top half.

D. Gripping the bottom part (with a pot holder if the water you put in the bottom is really hot) carefully screw the top part on till it is very tight.

E. Put it on the stove - if you have electric, put it around 3, if you have gas, put it on medium low. This is not a process you want to rush. You do not want boiling water forced through the coffee, otherwise you'll burn it.

F. Eventually you should get twin streams of coffee just flowing out the center - if it starts to bubble, turn down the heat. I always found it necessary to constantly fiddle with the heat (being that I had electric at the time) in order to get the best brew. With gas, you would want to turn it to the very lowest setting, and even then you may have to remove it from the fire to control the temp.

G. Brew until the amount of coffee in the top bot is just touching the bottom of where the aluminum is shaped into a spout. There will still be some water in the bottom - that's ok.

That should be it. These pots are super simple, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be working like this, although it is possible you may have the fire too hot under it - you want to make sure it flows out, not sputters.

Hopefully this helps!

Chris