The Moka pot was invented in Italy and is very popular there and throughout Europe, but it is also a divisive coffee brewing device. Most people either regard it as an unnecessary brewing method and feel that it is completely inferior to an espresso machine, or think that its streamlined design can brew good espresso and can be used as an alternative to espresso, which is already the greatest thing.
In any case, for home users who have just started to get into coffee, if they want to have the freedom of coffee at home without spending too much money, then the Moka pot is indeed a good coffee brewing tool. As long as you select the coffee beans and do the extraction details well, you can easily make freshly ground coffee with good taste. Next, here are the five most common Moka pot questions for novices, hoping to answer your doubts:
①How does a Moka pot make coffee?
The Moka pot is divided into three parts: the upper pot, the powder tank, and the lower seat. The lower pot is a sink that holds water, the powder trough is used to hold finer ground coffee powder, and the upper pot is used to hold the extracted coffee liquid. The principle of coffee extraction in a Moka pot is very simple. It uses the steam pressure generated in the lower pot. When the steam pressure is large enough to penetrate the coffee powder, it will push the hot water to the upper pot and brew rich coffee.
The operation method of the Moka pot is actually very simple: first fill the lower pot with cold water (hot water is scalding), then place the powder bowl in the lower pot, wrap the powder bowl in a circle with your hands, fill the powder bowl with powder until a small hill appears in the middle, and after the surrounding powder fills the gaps in the powder 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.
②What kind of coffee beans are suitable for Moka pot?
Out of the original intention of Moka pot coffee taste, what everyone wants is a cup of rich and mellow coffee. Compared with light roasted coffee beans, medium or dark roasted coffee beans can better reflect the solid taste. In addition, pressurized extraction is easy to bring in coffee oil, so it is recommended to give priority to fresh medium-dark roasted coffee beans.
To buy fresh coffee beans, choose Front Street Coffee, a time-honored roaster in Guangzhou. All Front Street Coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and can be shipped within 24 hours. The goods are usually received in 1 to 3 days, so that everyone can get the coffee beans in a fresh state. Front Street Coffee has a variety of moka pot coffee beans that are very popular among consumers. They are all formulated based on public needs and tastes and have very clear personalities. Among them, the most popular are the following four:
1. Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) Italian Coffee
Reason for recommendation: It has a balanced taste and nutty chocolate aroma, stable flavor, food positioning, and extremely cost-effective. It can be used in moka pots and home coffee machines;
2. Front Street classic blended Italian coffee
Reason for recommendation: The aroma of caramel and dark chocolate is obvious, the aftertaste is clear, low in acid, and the oil is rich and delicate. It can be used to make American-style and latte art, and is suitable for home and store use;
3. Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling SOE Coffee
Reasons for recommendation: The sweet aroma of pine wood, dark chocolate, herbs, nuts, and caramel makes the Moka pot coffee creamy, with a mellow taste and low acidity.
4. Brazilian Queen Manor SOE Coffee on Front Street
Reason for recommendation: The flavors of roasted nuts, cream, chocolate, and maple syrup are obvious, with the sweetness of sugarcane, a balance of sourness and bitterness, and a clean flavor.
③How to increase the extraction pressure of the Moka pot?
The increased resistance of the Moka pot hot water passing through the powder cake comes from the thickness of the coffee powder. When the coffee powder is ground finer, the gap between the powders becomes smaller, and the resistance of the powder cake is therefore higher.
When making Moka pot coffee, we try to use hot water. Because the extraction of Moka pot coffee requires heating the water in the pot to continuously generate water vapor, and then the water vapor continuously accumulates in the pot to form steam pressure to push the hot water upward, and finally contacts the coffee to achieve the purpose of extraction.
We can also use a Moka pot with a booster valve, such as a double-valve Moka pot, which adds a booster valve so that coffee requires more pressure to be extracted, so it can extract more oil than a single-valve Moka pot.
④When should the Moka pot be turned off?
When the coffee liquid gushes out like a fountain, it means that the coffee powder is ground too coarsely and the resistance to the water is too small. When you hear a low whine but the coffee liquid does not rise for a long time, you need to immediately pick up the Moka pot and keep it away from the heat source, and take safety measures.
⑤How to make American style and latte with Moka pot?
The American way of making a Moka pot: first prepare a 300ml coffee cup, pour 200ml warm water, then pour the coffee liquid prepared by the Moka pot directly into the cup, stir it and drink it;
How to make Moka Pot Latte: In addition to the American style, of course you can add fresh milk directly. If you want to add fresh milk, you need to heat the milk to about 60 to 65 degrees, which will create a perfect fusion of milk and coffee. In this way, a cup of freshly ground coffee 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
