An Italian coffee maker was first discovered in Italy in 1933. Initially, it was called Stovetop espresso but is now a Moka pot or Italian coffee maker. Over time, Moka pots have become so popular worldwide because of the high quality, rich and tasty coffee they make. Moka pots come in varied qualities.
The best quality Italian moka coffee maker also should come with Italian safety valves. The work of the safety valves is to ensure that the coffee percolator in the Moka pot is strong enough to withstand the high-water pressure in the Moka pot once you start brewing the coffee.
How would you describe a Moka pot?
The Moka pot is a classic and stylish Italian coffee maker that produces rich, tasty espresso-like coffee. Most people love the strong coffee the Italian coffee maker produces but do not know how to use it.
It is tricky to use since you need to know where to put water and the coffee grounds, the heat levels to use and the amount of time required for them to be ready. Luckily, we prepared this step-by-step guide to show you how to use the Italian coffee maker.
How to Use Italian Coffee Maker
When using the Italian coffee maker, you need ground coffee or some fresh coffee beans and filtered water whose quantity depends on the amount of coffee you intend to brew. Therefore, it would be best to have equipment such as the Italian coffee maker, gas or electric cooker, a spoon and the coffee grinder.
You can buy already ground coffee if you do not have a coffee grinder. Below are the steps to use when using the Italian coffee grinder:
Grind your Coffee
The first step is to grind twenty to twenty-two grams of your coffee until fine to the level of the espresso. If you do not want the hustle of grinding the coffee from scratch or do not have a grinder, you can always purchase pre-ground coffee, such as café Bustelo.
The goal should always be to achieve the required level of fineness.
Add Water to the Lower Compartment
The second step is pouring distilled water into the lower compartment of the Italian coffee maker to the level of the overflow line.
Put the Coffee in the Metal Filter
Use the spoon to put the already grounded coffee in the metal filter. Fill the filter to the brim, level it well, and place it at the lower compartment above the water.
Put the Pieces of the Italian Coffee Maker Together and Place on the Gas or Electric Cooker
In this step, you need to assemble all the parts of the Italian coffee maker before placing it on the gas or electric cooker. Then, feel free to turn the heat to your desired levels once the Italian coffee maker is well settled on the stove.
Give it A few Minutes for the Water to Boil.
Allow the water in the Italian coffee maker to boil until you see the steam from the water moving out of the Italian coffee maker. Give it time until it reaches the boiling point. It would be best to stay close since this process might take a little more time than expected.
You will know the coffee is ready when the Italian coffee maker produces a hissing sound.
Remove the Italian Coffee Maker from the Heat
Remove the Italian coffee maker from the heat once you are sure that the upper compartment is full. Give it time until the coffee finishes overflowing to the upper compartment. Your coffee is ready to serve now!
What Type of Water Should we Use with an Italian Coffee Maker?
No water is the same, nor does the coffee brewed from it. In your quest to brew high-quality coffee, you need to identify the recommended type of water, or the results will not be pleasant. We recommend distilled water since it has few minerals.
Undistilled water tends to build up inside the brewer, preventing it from working as it should. What happens when you use tap water? Well, tap water is so essential. However, its quality depends on the surrounding environment. For example, is the water soft or hard? Do you filter or use it directly from the tap?
Whatever type of water you choose to use, be ready for either a positive or negative outcome. Mainly, the water will interfere with the making of coffee because of the mineral buildups in the Italian coffee maker.
Do not beat yourself up, though. You are not miserable for using tap water, but if you want to treat yourself to a great cup of espresso, then there are better choices. Therefore, you can use the available water as you save up for distilled water.
How do you Clean an Italian Coffee Maker?
Keeping the Italian coffee maker clean is essential in ensuring consistency in achieving high-quality coffee. If you are brewing coffee using the Italian coffee maker, you have no choice but to keep it clean.
You do not want to experience the consequences of using a dirty Italian coffee maker. An Italian coffee maker creates a lot of pressure on the bottom compartment when brewing coffee, so you must keep the safety valve free from dirt to prevent unwarranted explosions.
In addition, the safety valve may clog due to the remains of coffee residues or from mineral buildups. The Italian coffee maker comes with numerous removable components which you need to keep clean at all times. In addition, most parts of the Italian coffee or stovetop espresso maker, are made of metal.
This means that you need to wait for the Italian coffee maker to cool down before you start cleaning its components. To have an easy time cleaning the Italian coffee maker, you need to clean each part of espresso machine separately.
Always use soap and water, especially for the filter and the top compartment. For the bottom compartment, a simple rinse off will work. It would be best if you kept checking for mineral buildups inside the Italian coffee maker.
Any time there is buildup, use water and vinegar when cleaning. You need to check the inside of the Italian coffee maker regularly to ensure that there are no mineral buildups that might clog it. Areas with hard water are more likely to experience mineral clogging because of calcium and magnesium in hard water.
What are the Pros and Cons of Using an Italian Coffee Maker?
Moka pots are known for brewing a high quality, rich and nutritious cup of joe. The Moka pots have become a staple in most households due to their numerous benefits. Nevertheless, they have some advantages and disadvantages just like any other item.
We shall discuss all the pros and cons at length to get insight into what to expect once you purchase one. Let’s dive in!
Pros of a Moka Pot
Moka Pots Make High Quality and Nutritious Coffee
Moka pots are the ideal brewer for the most robust and nutritious cup of joe. Moka pots use steam to brew thick and fluffy coffee, which is espresso-like. You will achieve the most out of the coffee grounds since the steam slowly extracts all oils on low heat, thus the rich and robust coffee in the end.
You will know you achieved great results when the coffee turns out dark and fluffy. It would be best to use the Moka pots correctly to achieve excellent results.
Moka Pots Are Easy to Use
Compared to other espresso machines, Moka pots are easy to use. You do not need any special tools to brew the best espresso-like coffee. Moka pots use more steps than all the other coffee brewers but are more straightforward.
Who doesn’t like a self-contained coffee brewer? The parts of a Moka pot are made from metal yet easy to remove and assemble back. After assembling everything back, you only need to heat for a few minutes, and your coffee will be ready. You can be sure that your mornings will be so effortless with this brewer. Why not purchase it?
Moka Pots are Long-Lasting
Moka pots are a significant investment. The pots are known to last for over fifty years, thus a viable investment. Almost all parts of a Moka pot are made from metal, making them unbreakable thus long-lasting. Most coffee lovers consider Moka pots a lifesaver. Even with other coffee brewers, you will find the Moka pot in their homes.
Moka Pots are Small in Size
You will never think of storage space when you have an Italian coffee maker. The Moka pot is smaller than a tea kettle thus uses minimal storage space. You can barely notice it even when on the kitchen counter.
The best thing is that it fits in a backpack and is thus easy to carry around when going for your camping escapades. Coffee lovers who would not want to miss out on their cup of joe are lucky since it is easy to carry a Moka pot around.
The Moka Pots are Versatile
Most coffee lovers go for a Moka pot because of its versatility. With this Italian coffee maker, you can mix spices and coffee beans to achieve different flavours. As a result, you have a chance to be creative to achieve the taste you would want in your coffee.
The versatility of the Moka pots makes them so famous, thus a to-go-to coffee brewer.
Cons of a Moka Pot
Coffee from a Moka Pot can Turn out Bitter
To get excellent espresso-like coffee, you need to use the Italian coffee maker correctly. Whenever you brew coffee, and it turns out bitter, you got it all wrong with the Moka pot. Misusing the Moka pot can ruin your coffee in minutes.
You need to be keen and follow all steps closely to achieve espresso-like coffee. Keenness enables you to prevent the coffee from over-extraction of coffee. The bitter taste comes from the overcooked coffee, which you can avoid by being extra careful. Expert Moka pots users advise new users to put off the burner once it starts emanating a burbling sound.
Moka Pots can be Messy.
Moka pots brew coffee through the use of pressure. The force from the pressure may sometimes make them leak since the pot spurt out coffee when brewing. The spurting makes messes up the stovetop, whereby you end up with burn messes, and in the end, you have to use a lot of time cleaning the mess.
It would be best to use suitable coffee grounds to avoid such messes. Also, you need to ensure good maintenance of the Moka pot. You will be avoiding the messes hence a smooth brewing process.
Some Moka Pots can be Difficult to Clean.
As stated earlier, most parts of a Moka pot are made of metal. The metal parts can be challenging to clean, especially when there are burns from over brewing the coffee grounds, especially when you leave them on the stove for too long.
Also, some metal parts of the Moka pot are too sensitive to soap. Detergents and soap may get stuck on the metal parts of the Moka pot, especially on the interior parts causing the coffee to have a soap-like taste which is so unpleasant. When cleaning a Moka pot, you should only use warm water, then rinse it out thoroughly with cold water.
Moka pots may also accumulate stains over time. In this case, you need to ensure that you run the Moka pot without coffee every often to prevent stains buildups. In addition, Moka pots require thorough cleaning, which might require more time than you would expect.
Moka Pots are Small Sized
Most of the Moka pots are small in size. They come in a fixed size and can’t be adjusted to a bigger size. Therefore, you can only make a given amount of coffee using the Moka pot. Also, the Moka pot can only brew a given quantity of coffee grounds at a time.
Using more coffee grounds will disrupt the pressure in your Moka pot, and the results are likely to be unpleasant. Making a given amount of coffee using the Moka pot might be draining incredibly when you have visitors.
You will have to brew for so many rounds for your visitors to get enough coffee. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you get a Moka pot that suits your coffee needs.
You have to Watch the Moka Pot when It’s Brewing.
When brewing your coffee, you must keep a close eye on the coffee until it completes the brewing process. Therefore, you will have to spare around seven minutes each time you are making coffee.
You have to watch the coffee to maintain the right coffee taste through the right timing. When left for too long, the coffee might end up burning too much, thus spoiling the quality and taste of the coffee.
You Can Only Use Medium Ground Coffee
Brewing coffee with a Moka pot requires you to use medium ground coffee even as you ensure consistency of the coffee grounds. When the grounds are too fine or too chunky, it will be impossible to get the desired flavour for your coffee.
Also, chunky grounds make the Moka pot overflow causing great messes resulting in more work since you have to clean after making your coffee.
Which is Better? Aluminium or Stainless-Steel Italian Coffee Maker?
When shopping for an Italian coffee maker, you will notice that there are aluminium and stainless-steel Italian coffee makers. However, you will often find people going for aluminium made Italian coffee and espresso makers.
Aluminium is the best when it comes to the conduction of heat. Consequently, brewing your coffee will require little heat, and your coffee will also be ready within a few minutes. Aluminium is also cheap yet sturdy and light in weight.
Another great thing about aluminium pots is that they are soft; thus, they are easy to find Italian coffee makers in different sizes and shapes. Even with all the advantages of aluminium Italian coffee makers, many people prefer stainless steel Italian coffee maker.
Stainless steel is made from heavyweight metal thus not likely to bend. Furthermore, stainless steel is corrosion-free and unlikely to get scratches; thus, it looks new even after years of daily usage. In addition, stainless steel does not react with food.
Therefore, you can be sure that the pots will not affect the taste of your coffee. Aluminium and stainless-steel Italian coffee makers are available in the market, so you only need to consider the pros and cons of each one of them before you make a purchase.
Also, it all depends on your preference. Some people will choose either of the pots despite the cons. Therefore, it is up to you to choose the type of coffee maker you need. Follow your gut, and it will lead you to the proper Italian coffee maker for you.
Final Thought
Italian coffee maker is a must-have stylish brewer in every home. With a stovetop coffee maker, you are sure to have rich and robust espresso-like coffee. Moka pots are easy to use, time-saving, small-sized, portable, and durable.
You only need to ensure that you have the recommended size of coffee grounds, the right amount of water and heat to achieve an excellent taste of coffee. It is essential to take your time when purchasing stovetop espresso makers to ensure that you get a size that will meet your coffee needs.
Luckily, Moka pots come in different sizes, so you are free to choose one that fits your needs. Following all the steps will enable you to avoid the bitter taste that might result from over brewing the coffee.
