[Practical Guide] The Best Way to Brew with a Moka Pot: Should You Leave the Lid Open?

Recently, a fan of FrontStreet Coffee has fallen in love with making coffee using a moka pot, especially enjoying a rich moka pot coffee in the morning. However, this fan wasn't sure if their moka pot brewing method was correct, so they consulted FrontStreet Coffee about this issue.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that the moka pot, as a standard household coffee brewing device, shouldn't be restricted by too many rigid standards. As long as you follow a few key operational guidelines, the rest can be freely adjusted according to your personal taste preferences.

First Point: What Coffee Beans to Use

The flavor of your brewed coffee is closely related to the coffee beans you use. FrontStreet Coffee generally recommends using medium to dark roast coffee beans, because if the beans are roasted too light, the brewed coffee will be very acidic and uncomfortable to drink. Here, FrontStreet Coffee recommends several coffee beans that we've tried and found to be particularly delicious for your reference.

First Option: FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Espresso Blend

This is FrontStreet Coffee's own espresso blend, primarily composed of three coffee varieties: Brazilian, Mandheling, and Vietnamese. The resulting coffee has rich flavors of dark chocolate, toasted bread, roasted nuts, and caramel. Additionally, due to its rich coffee oils, it's more suitable for making latte art.

Second Option: FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon

This coffee bean uses medium roasting to highlight its very sweet sugarcane flavor. It performs well whether drunk directly or made into milk coffee.

Third Option: FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian PWN Gold Mandheling

Pawani Company's Gold Mandheling coffee beans are one of the highest quality coffee beans in Indonesia. They possess the characteristics of Mandheling coffee - mellow, full-bodied, and aromatic - and are also excellent in terms of cleanliness. Suitable for people accustomed to drinking bitter coffee.

Second Point: Moka Pot Coffee Grind Size

One important aspect of making moka pot coffee is the grind size. If the grind is too coarse, the coffee liquid tends to spray out, and the moka pot lid helps prevent coffee from spraying out and causing burns. If the grind is too fine, the coffee liquid has difficulty penetrating the coffee bed and rising up, and the resulting coffee liquid will be very bitter and burnt.

The particle size should be around 0.3-0.55mm. Visually, the coffee grind size appears similar to that used in espresso machines, but it's actually slightly coarser than what's used in espresso machines.

Third Point: Coffee-to-Water Ratio

Many friends ask FrontStreet Coffee how much water to use in a moka pot and how much coffee to add. Actually, this question shouldn't be asked to FrontStreet Coffee, but rather depends on how much water and coffee your specific pot can hold. When foreigners make moka pot coffee, they rarely use a scale for precise measurement. Because the moka pot's water chamber has a pressure relief valve, as long as the water doesn't exceed that valve, it's fine. Generally, you can directly pour water up to below the pressure relief valve. The amount of coffee is also determined by your filter basket capacity. Remember to fill the filter basket completely without any gaps when not compressing.

When making moka pot coffee, you need to tamp the coffee grounds, which is quite different from espresso machines.

Fourth Point: When to Turn Off the Heat

When brewing with a moka pot, the heat should be even, with medium heat being best. When you hear a "whooshing" sound, you can open the lid to observe. When the first drops start to spray out, you can turn off the heat. If you continue using high heat or wait until the coffee boils before turning off the heat, this cup of coffee will likely develop a burnt taste.

Fifth Point: Should You Open the Lid When Brewing Moka Pot?

Some friends see videos where people like to open the lid when brewing moka pot coffee. Actually, this is mainly to show the audience the spraying state of the coffee liquid. Generally, you don't need to open it. If you don't know when to turn off the heat, you need to open the lid to observe the coffee liquid's spraying state. Of course, if you keep the lid open, the coffee liquid might splash out and burn your skin.

The brewed coffee liquid can be made into Americano by adding 80°C warm water in a 1:4 ratio, or you can pour hot milk in the same ratio and stir before drinking.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473