In this era of booming hand-brew, siphon and high-end espresso machines, Moka pots seem to have been synonymous with being old and difficult to operate for making good-tasting coffee. Front Street has observed that coffee lovers will choose to brew a cup of single-origin coffee at home or go to a cafe to order a cup of cappuccino and other Italian coffee with milk. However, with the popularity of Italian home-grade products, some friends are also paying attention to this Moka pot, which also has home-pressure extraction function.
Moka pot extraction principle
The structure of the Moka pot is very simple, consisting of a lower pot that holds water, a powder trough that holds powder, and an upper pot that holds coffee liquid. When heating the Moka pot, the water in the lower pot will form water pressure after boiling, and the water in the lower pot will be sucked up through a thin metal tube. Under the action of pressure, the water will penetrate the coffee powder layer and flow to the upper pot as espresso liquid.
Front Street would like to emphasize one more point here. The coffee liquid extracted directly from the Moka pot has a high concentration. Drinking it directly will taste very irritating and the aroma will not be felt. Therefore, we can add a certain proportion of water or fresh milk to make it into a "Moka Pot American" or "Moka Pot Latte". This will not only make it easier to drink, but also allow you to feel the fragrance brought by the beans.
Why were so few people using Moka pots before?
The reason is very simple. As a household appliance, the Moka pot is not as professional as the Italian coffee machine. China itself does not have the habit of drinking coffee, so it is an imported product. When China started to get into contact with coffee, they were among the first to get rich. Of course, they had to study coffee professionally, and they rarely took a fancy to household appliances like these.
As more and more people get rich and the coffee community grows larger, naturally some people will like simple household appliances like Moka pots. Although the coffee produced by the Moka pot is not as good as that of a professional espresso machine in terms of fat and concentration. However, a professional espresso machine costs tens of thousands of yuan, and an ordinary home coffee machine costs several thousand yuan. However, spending a few hundred yuan to buy a moka pot can produce a coffee machine that is 60 to 70% as good as that of a coffee machine, which is enough. This is why the Moka pot has become the choice of many coffee lovers for making coffee at home.
Moreover, the coffee made by the Moka pot coffee maker can also be added with milk latte art, which is completely sufficient for home use.
Most people who use a Moka pot want to make rich coffee crema, so it is recommended to buy it.Front Street. Front Street’s classic blend. This coffee is medium-dark roasted and takes a long time to heat. In order to avoid releasing too much bitter substances during extraction, the grinding should be made coarser (a little coarser than fine salt);
If you are looking for Moka pot coffee with a strong fruity aroma, you can buy Front Street Strawberry Sugar Italian Blend and choose a finer grind (the degree of fine salt), which can release more rose fragrance and tropical fruit aroma into the coffee.
If you want to drink moka pot coffee with a unique flavor, it is best to choose Pour over(V60) single-origin bean extraction. If you like a balanced taste, buy the Front Street Queen's Manor SOE, which can taste the aroma of buttered peanuts, roasted nuts, and chocolate; if you prefer fruity flavors, it is recommended to buy the medium roasted Front Street Grana Gesha SOE. The extracted espresso liquid will exude citrus, caramel, and light floral flavors.
How to make milky coffee with a moka pot
First fill the lower pot with cold water (hot water is hot for your hands), then place the powder bowl in the lower pot, wrap the bowl with your hands to form a circle, fill the powder bowl with flour until a small hill forms in the middle, and after the surrounding powder fills the gaps in the bowl, directly press the upper pot and tighten it.
Then heat it on an electric ceramic stove (a gas stove will also work). When you hear "Woo-Woo", it means that the coffee liquid starts to spurt out. At this time, just turn off the heat and wait for the coffee liquid to spray up.
The surface of freshly brewed Moka pot coffee is covered with a layer of golden grease, but most of the grease dissipates quickly, so add milk as soon as possible. Here, Front Street uses a French press to froth 200ml of warm fresh milk, then blends them evenly and performs latte art. A moka pot latte is completed.
Generally speaking, latte art has higher requirements for milk foam than espresso. The coffee liquid with oil can make the liquid surface more stable and can make some complex patterns. However, without oil, the liquid level is not so stable, and latte art such as embossing will be more difficult to achieve.
Although the Moka pot has a simple structure and is easy to operate, there are still some issues that need to be paid attention to when using it. The water base of the Moka pot will have a marked pressure relief valve. When adding water, the water level should not exceed the pressure relief valve, otherwise it will easily lose the pressure relief effect and increase the risk of explosion. The flow rate of the coffee liquid also feeds back information to us. If the liquid is sprayed out directly, it means that the water temperature is too high. If the coffee liquid flow rate is very slow, it means that the water temperature is too low. We need to turn up the feed and pay attention to the control of the heat at all times.
In addition, since all coffee powder can only be extracted once, and it is difficult to grasp the specific coffee liquid weight when using a Moka pot, the actual extraction amount is mainly judged by experience. Therefore, Front Street recommends that everyone must be careful and attentive during the operation, otherwise it will easily cause the coffee to be over-extracted and become bitter.
If you want the espresso liquid extracted from Moka pot coffee to have a rich oil layer, Front Street recommends using freshly roasted medium-dark roasted coffee beans. As the roasting degree of the coffee beans deepens, it undergoes a caramelization reaction and produces a large amount of gas, which is "compressed" by pressure and released during the extraction process. As the storage time increases, the beans lose a lot of gas, making it difficult to extract the fragrant oil. The coffee beans shipped from Front Street are freshly roasted within 5 days, so that everyone can enjoy them during the best tasting period.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
