How to prepare coffee at home with a moka pot or italian coffee maker

In this article, we offer some recommendations for preparing a delicious coffee at home using the moka pot or Italian coffee maker.

The moka pot or Italian coffee maker has long been perhaps the most common method for making coffee at home. Who doesn't have a moka pot at home or has used one at some point? Very few people would answer negatively.

However, if we're not careful, this method can extract too many bitter flavors from our coffee.
So, how do you make good coffee at home with an Italian coffee maker?

We have seen and heard many—no, countless—misconceptions about how to prepare coffee using this method. So, we decided to conduct some experiments making coffee with this coffee maker and come to our own conclusions.

Let's identify the factors

In our opinion, play a role in coffee preparation with the Italian coffee maker:

Let's start in order...

1- Choosing a good coffee

The main thing to make good coffee at home or anywhere is obviously choosing good coffee. Avoid using torrefacto coffee and prefer specialty or artisanal coffees over commercial ones. Specialty coffee has a lighter roast and higher quality. Additionally, each bean is hand-picked only when it is ripe to ensure SCA quality standards.

Among specialty coffees, you can choose whether you want a roast for espresso (medium roast) or a roast for filter (a bit lighter). It is important to check the roast date first and ensure it is no older than 2-3 months at most. It's also not recommended for the roast date to be too recent (we will discuss this freshness myth in another article).

Consult with your trusted roaster about how long your coffee should rest. After 5-10 days of roasting, the coffee will have degassed and will generally be ready to use. This can vary between different origins and varieties of coffee.

Another consideration is to buy only the amount of coffee you will consume in a week or a maximum of a month. This way, you can try other origins and always have fresh coffee at home. If it’s difficult for you to buy coffee frequently or if you buy for more than a month, you might consider vacuum-freezing your coffee at home. If you do, always do it in small portions.

2- The Water

First and foremost, choose quality water with balanced minerals. Water with very few minerals can reduce the flavor of your coffee, and water with impurities or off-flavors will affect your final drink. You can learn more about the importance of water in coffee in this article.

3- Temperature

Logically, in the moka pot or Italian coffee maker, coffee starts to be extracted when the water reaches boiling temperature. Because of this, it is practically impossible to control the water's temperature. However, we will later see how we can control the extraction to get fewer bitter notes.

4- Grind Size

Firstly, always prefer whole bean coffee over ground coffee because the former oxidizes more slowly. It also retains its properties, flavors, and aromas longer.

Secondly, choose a burr grinder over a blade grinder. With the latter, the high speed of the blades raises the temperature of the coffee significantly, altering its flavor.

Thirdly, try to grind only what you need for your preparation. The fresher the grind, the more intense the flavor and aroma will be. Whenever you use pre-ground coffee at home, try to consume it within a short period, like a maximum of one or two weeks after opening the package.

Lastly, store your coffee in an airtight container at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. There's no need to keep it in the fridge, as coffee can absorb aromas from other foods. If you freeze it, try to do so in a vacuum and in small doses.

5- Extraction Time

The longer the extraction time, the more likely we are to get bitter flavors and overshadow fruity and acidic notes. In the moka pot, this is difficult to control. However, keep reading because we will give you some barista tricks to make better coffee at home.

6- Quantities

Obviously, the ratio of water to coffee used, along with the grind size, will greatly influence the flavor and body of our drink. You can play around with this and create different recipes until you find your favorites. Keep experimenting, but be sure to change only one variable at a time until you find your winning recipe.

Finally, our recommendation...

Steps to make a good coffee at home with an italian coffee maker

1. Grind your coffee at home a little coarser than for espresso. Or ask your trusted roaster to grind it for an Italian coffee maker.

2. Dose and level. Fill the filter of the Italian coffee maker with the ground coffee, leveling it without pressing it down. You can experiment by varying the grind size to discover which recipe you like best. For example, we have used 20 grams of coffee for an Italian coffee maker of 4-6 cups.

3. Fill the base of the moka pot with water up to just below the valve. It's important that the water does not exceed this level and that the filter does not float. This way, you prevent the coffee from becoming wet.

4. Immediately place the Italian coffee maker on the stove with the lid open. This will help you see when you should remove the coffee maker from the heat source.

5. When the liquid starts to splatter, close the lid and immediately remove the Italian coffee maker from the heat. Then you can cool the base by placing it under a stream of cold water.

6. Always stir the coffee before serving. Why? The first extraction is always more concentrated, so this way we homogenize our coffee.

7. Keep your coffee maker clean. Wash the coffee maker after each use to remove all residues and oils. This way, your next cup of coffee won't carry over old or unpleasant flavors. If you have a grinder, it's also recommended to ensure that no coffee remains before grinding the next batch, and to occasionally do a deeper clean to remove the oils.

To think about...

Myths about making coffee in the italian coffee maker or moka pot

We've seen in many videos and internet articles that say you should use hot water to make coffee at home with the Italian coffee maker. What do you think of this? Is it a myth or true?

Because we are very curious, we conducted some experiments, and you'll be surprised by what we discovered.

We used a device that measures TDS in liquids (total dissolved solids). And we found that the initial water temperature placed in the Italian coffee maker does not influence the extraction percentage. Additionally, as good tasters, we found that the flavor is even better with cold or room temperature water. So, for us, the hot water thing is a myth. Even more, it's totally unnecessary and impractical, as you'd have to be very careful not to burn yourself when closing the coffee maker.

Are you a coffee science enthusiast like us? We invite you to conduct your own experiments and let us know your findings.

Now, enjoy the best coffee in the comfort of your home prepared with your Italian coffee maker.

For moka pot or Italian coffee maker, we recommend

All Day
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Palmo
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Santamaria
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