Many friends who have tasted Italian coffee will succumb to its rich flavor and long aftertaste. However, not all families can own an espresso coffee machine. If you want to simply make a strong cup of coffee at home, you might as well keep a Moka pot at home.
Speaking of Moka pot, Front Street would like to share with you the history of the emergence of Moka pot. As early as the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Italians became obsessed with coffee with strong flavor.
Even the first espresso machine was invented in Italy, on display in Turin. In 1905, La Pavoni produced a commercial espresso machine for use in bars and cafes, and quickly led the trend. At that time, the espresso coffee machine was placed directly on the heating device for heating. The water used was at a temperature close to boiling and the pressure was very close to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the espresso coffee at that time was not rich in oil and had a thinner taste, more like today's American coffee.
Even though the Italian coffee at that time had a thin flavor and a burnt and bitter taste, it could not stop Europeans from loving coffee. However, at that time, drinking Italian coffee was not an ordinary person, and the price of a cup of coffee in a cafe was relatively high, and ordinary families could not afford it. Thus, the moka pot was born. One of the advantages and disadvantages of making coffee with a Moka pot is that it replaced the espresso machine at that time, but the flavor was average.
According to historical records, the Moka pot appeared in Crusinaro in northern Piedmont, Italy in 1933. It was invented by Alfonso Bialetti. The inventor worked in the aluminum metal industry in France for more than ten years before returning to his hometown to establish his own workshop to make and sell aluminum household products.
The Bileti Moka Pot has an octagonal shape and is made of aluminum metal with a rubber handle for heat insulation. The device is divided into three main parts: the bottom container is used to hold hot water and heat, there is a metal filter in the middle to hold coffee powder, and the uppermost container has a tube connected to the lower layer and can be used to hold extracted coffee liquid.
When using a Moka pot to make coffee, the lower pot is filled with hot water, the middle filter is filled with coffee powder and installed on the lower pot, then the upper pot is screwed to the lower pot, and finally the entire Moka pot is placed on the heater. When the hot water in the lower pot boils, the lower pot generates water vapor and the pressure inside the pot increases, forcing the hot water in the lower pot to pass through the coffee powder in the middle, and then pushing the hot water into the upper pot container from the conduit that runs through the upper and lower pots.
Friends who have noticed the gap in the middle filter should know that the grinding thickness used by ordinary espresso machines is different from that of moka pot coffee powder. Because the holes in the Moka pot filter are larger, the coffee powder in the Moka pot is slightly thicker than that in the Italian style. Just make sure that the coffee powder does not fall into the lower pot.
What kind of coffee beans are suitable for Moka pot?？
Some friends started itching after buying a Moka pot and wanted to make a pot of espresso liquid themselves. However, a question often arises: Why can’t the Moka pot produce grease?
Coffee beans generally used to make Pour over(V60) coffee are lightly roasted. The coffee oil that everyone wants is actually composed of countless small carbon dioxide bubbles. Lightly roasted coffee beans do not need to remove as much carbon dioxide gas as darkly roasted coffee beans, so of course the coffee oil that everyone wants is less.
Since the coffee brewed by the Moka coffee pot is relatively rich, Front Street recommends using Front Street Sun-dried SOE coffee beans with a medium roasting degree. This can not only retain the floral and fruity aroma that many people expect, but also allow the Moka pot coffee to highlight a certain caramel aroma and mellow taste. So, how should you use Front Street Sundry SOE to make an American style Moka pot?
1. Pour pure water into the lower pot of the Moka pot until the water level is about 0.5cm below the pressure relief valve.
2. The coffee grinding degree should be slightly coarser than that of espresso. You can refer to the size of the gap in the powder trough filter to ensure that the coffee particles will not fall into the pot. Slowly pour the coffee powder into the powder trough, tap gently to distribute the coffee powder evenly, and smooth the surface of the coffee by spreading the powder into a small hill-like shape.
Filling the powder trough is to avoid extracting undesirable imperfect flavors. Because when the density of the coffee powder in the powder trough is closer, it will avoid over-extraction or under-extraction of some coffee powder, resulting in uneven flavor or bitterness.
3. Put the powder trough into the lower pot, tighten the upper and lower parts of the Moka pot and place it on the electric ceramic stove to heat over high heat;
4. When the Moka pot heats up to a certain temperature, and when the Moka pot makes a distinct "whining" sound, set the electric ceramic stove to low heat and open the lid of the upper pot.
5. When the coffee liquid in the pot is halfway out, turn off the electric ceramic stove. The residual heat and pressure of the Moka pot will "push" the remaining coffee liquid into the upper pot.
6. When all the coffee liquid is extracted into the pot, you can pour it into a cup. You can see that the coffee extracted by the Moka pot is very rich and can extract Crema. The taste is somewhat close to espresso. At this time, we can add warm water in a ratio of 1:3, so that a cup of Oiran SOE American style is ready.
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
