The "Moka Pot" is a pressurized coffee extraction tool invented by an Italian engineer, Mr. "Aifonso Bialetti" in 1933. It is convenient, compact, and can extract fragrant and delicious coffee, so it has become a part of many people's shopping list.
If you want to buy a Moka pot because of its convenience and ability to make strong coffee, then there is no problem. But if the reason you buy it is because the moka pot can extract oil, and you want to use this oil for latte art, then you need to think again.
Why? Because the oil extracted by the Moka pot is very different from the oil extracted by the coffee machine and floating on the surface of the concentrate as we often mentioned.
What is coffee creme?
The oil in the coffee mouth is often misunderstood by people as oil in a broad sense, which refers to the water-insoluble substance secreted from animals and plants. In fact, the oil in coffee refers to a layer of tiny bubbles filled with carbon dioxide and the lipids of the coffee beans themselves.
Because this layer of bubbles is very delicate and rich, giving people a creamy and viscous feeling, people named it "Crema" which means cream in Spanish. Because of its existence, espresso coffee has more distinctive identifying characteristics. Later, after it spread to China, language barriers caused people to misunderstand it as a creamy grease, so it was called "grease" by everyone.
There are two conditions for having this layer of oil. One is fresh medium to dark roasted coffee beans, and the other is that the extraction method requires pressure. Coffee beans will store a large amount of carbon dioxide when they are heated, which will be released when they encounter water during extraction. Therefore, the darker the roast, the more gas. At this time, light roast beans should be avoided first, because they cannot release too much oil. Home novices who want better value for money should give priority to the Front Street Italian Bean series, including Front Street Black Cocoa Blend, Front Street Classic Blend, Front Street Commercial Blend, and Front Street Premium Blend. They all use medium-dark roasting, with their own caramelized aroma, and the espresso they make is rich in oil.
Through pressure and high temperature, the lipids in the coffee powder are broken down into very small particles, and then combined with carbon dioxide to form bubbles, and then the golden butter we see on the surface of the coffee.
Moka pots, like espresso machines, use pressurized extraction. Therefore, it can also extract similar substances. However, it is just similar, it cannot be as delicate, rich and lasting as the concentrated oil extracted from the coffee machine. Why? Because they have an essential difference!
What is the difference between the grease in a moka pot and a coffee machine?
The essence lies in the pressure they each use! The pressure of an espresso machine is usually set at 9bar. If the resistance of the powder cake is sufficient, the pressure will even be further increased during extraction. Such high pressure is enough to stabilize the structure of the bubbles, allowing the oil to have a richer aroma and last longer.
In comparison, the pressure of the Moka pot is only 2~3bar, and the same is true for the double valve. Such a pressure cannot extract bubbles with a stable structure, because the lipids in the coffee are not fully decomposed by the pressure and combined with carbon dioxide. Therefore, the "grease" produced by the Moka pot is not only rough, but also dissipates quickly in a short period of time (about two minutes), so it is not suitable for latte art.
Because of this, most people think that the oil extracted from the Moka pot is not the same "fat" (extracted by the coffee machine). But even so, there are still many friends who want to use a Moka pot to extract rich oils, which is not difficult. But we must know one thing clearly: more grease is not always better!
To use a Moka pot to extract rich oils, we only need to control the pressure during extraction and choose the right coffee beans. As mentioned before, the greater the pressure, the more abundant oil can be extracted; the more carbon dioxide contained in the coffee powder, the more it can promote the formation of oil. You can still get a relative explanation from the grease article above, so Front Street won’t go into too much detail here~
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
