The Moka pot is the coffee brewing appliance of choice for countless beginners because it is not only beautiful, light and easy to operate, but also more affordable than a coffee machine that costs several thousand yuan more. But in Front Street’s opinion, making a delicious cup of American coffee or latte with a small Moka pot still requires certain skills. Below, Front Street will teach you these details.
Because the coffee extraction method of the Moka pot is the same as that of an espresso machine, which is pressurized, it can produce a cup of black coffee with a concentration close to that of espresso. For this reason, many people use it as an alternative version of the Italian coffee machine. After making higher-concentration coffee, they can then reproduce various fancy coffees according to Italian methods. Such as American style, latte, mocha, etc...
Many friends say that the American style and latte made with a Moka pot tastes simply unspeakable. There is a coffee flavor, but the taste is very watery and weak, and there is almost no coffee aroma when drinking it.
This situation occurs mainly because the coffee concentration is not enough! Although the Moka pot uses pressurized extraction like the espresso machine, its pressure is far less than that of the espresso machine. According to conventional practice, the coffee concentration can only be closer to other coffees but not exactly equal to espresso. The proportion of coffee itself is important, but as long as the concentration of the coffee is not high enough, no matter how much we adjust the proportion of milk or water in the coffee, the Americano and latte will still not perform well.
To sum up, it is obvious that the object we need to adjust is the concentration of the Moka pot coffee itself. If we want to increase the concentration of Moka pot coffee on the original basis, we need to reduce the amount of water used and increase the extraction efficiency.
Why should we increase the ratio of powder to water?
The so-called coffee concentration refers to the percentage of dissolved coffee substances in the coffee liquid. When the amount of coffee substances remains constant, the less the amount of water, the higher the proportion of coffee substances, in other words, the higher the concentration of coffee; and when the amount of water is greater, the smaller the proportion of coffee substances, and the lower the concentration.
Therefore, if we want to increase the concentration of a cup of coffee, we need to minimize the amount of hot water used during extraction to reduce the proportion of water in the coffee liquid. On the other hand, if you want to reduce the concentration of a cup of coffee, you need to use more hot water.
Why improve extraction efficiency?
When the hot water used for extraction is reduced, the overall extraction efficiency will be reduced. If we want our coffee to have a fuller taste, we need to improve other aspects of extraction efficiency.
Similar to other extraction methods, the Moka pot can increase extraction efficiency in many ways: finer grinding of coffee powder, increasing the amount of coffee powder used, turning to low heat when discharging the liquid to extend the extraction time, etc.
About the choice of coffee beans
If we want the coffee we make to be more in line with our own taste, we still need to pay attention to the selection of coffee beans~
For example, if you want a cup of mellow, fragrant, and acid-free milk coffee, then it is best to choose medium-dark or dark-roasted Italian blend beans. We recommend Front Street Queen's Manor, Front Street Golden Mandheling, and Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain; And if you want coffee that is less bitter, a little more acidic, and fresher, you can choose medium-light roasted coffee beans such as Front Street Oiran, Front Street Xi Claw, and Front Street Strawberry Candy. These beans will have a richer floral and fruity aroma.
Ok, these are the only things you need to pay attention to. So without further ado, let’s take a look at how to use a Moka pot to make delicious Americano and latte coffee!
How to make espresso with a moka pot?
The coffee beans used in Front Street shared this time are the "old regulars" in the article - Front Street Sumatra Golden Mandheling. Dark roasting will have a richer roasting aroma, and it can also extract richer "fat" (although the fat is of no use). The parameters are as follows: the amount of powder is 20g, the thickness of the coffee powder is flour-like, the initial water temperature is 80°C, and the ratio of powder to water is 1:4 (to use 20g of powder, add 80ml of hot water). So first, we fill the Moka pot with water, coffee powder and other materials, and boil it until the liquid comes out.
When we hear the Moka pot start to make a sound and prepare to dispense liquid, we immediately turn off the fire source, and then use the residual heat of the stove to extract the coffee liquid from the Moka pot. This action can ensure that the coffee liquid is discharged slowly and steadily throughout the entire process, so that the coffee can obtain sufficient extraction rate.
After the extraction, we prepare a coffee cup with a capacity of 200 to 250 ml, pour 180 to 220 ml of warm water or ice water mixture, and finally pour the Moka pot espresso liquid on the surface. A cup of Moka pot hot Americano/iced Americano is ready.
If we are making iced milk coffee, we need to prepare a 300ml coffee cup, first put 100g of ice cubes, then pour 150g of fresh milk, and finally pour the Moka pot coffee liquid, and the Moka pot iced latte is done; if we are making a hot latte, we need to pour the concentrate at the bottom of the cup first, and then use 180ml of fresh milk to whip it until65°CWarm state, and finally blend the two evenly,
It can be seen from the color that the Americano and latte made with moka pot coffee are very close to the original latte of Italian coffee. In terms of taste, although the concentration of Golden Mandheling American Style is relatively light, the overall aroma of nuts, chocolate, spices, and pine wood are well expressed. Although the taste is not as mellow as the original latte, at least it does not have a heavy watery taste like the original, and it tastes very smooth, which is very good! !
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
