Today I had the idea of trying the Moka coffee pot as I have never tried it out before.
To summarize the experience: “Coffee was not bad at all, I would dare to say it was really good, but the overall experience was not that great because of the work involved.” Not quite the convenience mind set we love with our Keurig machines.
The beans I used were a moka blend, finely ground. I used a mill to grind the beans. Note the grind size variation below. This was just for fun, and it is just to show a wide range of grind sizes. For a Moka pot, in fact, we would grind finer than the finest size in the picture below.
The Moka pot looks interesting. The pot I bought is very thick – good for any heat source. I paired it with a coffee cup set to match the color, and I am very pleased with the aesthetics of it.
The Moka pot below is one of the best on the market, it is a Bialetti Moka Express, and this model is renowned in the entire world. However, my preference was a model that had some personality and a bit of color.
Here is how brewing a Moka pot coffee looks like. You wouldn’t open the lid, normally, but here is just so you can see the coffee brewing.
I got the recipe from this Moka pot brewing guide. The author seems to understand the process very well, and it seemed one of the best recipes I have read.
I filled the water up to the line. I used pre-heated water, and it started to brew on the stove after 2 minutes. I then added some hot milk and sugar.
The coffee tastes quite smooth – not too bitter with a nice balance of acidity, which is perfect for people like me who don’t like strong coffee. However, I really didn’t like grinding my coffee with the mill; it is too difficult to clean. So I recommend using a blade grinder if you need a little more convenience.
Having said that, for a good cup of coffee it’s worth it! If you are interested in more brewing techniques, check out my French Press Brew guide.