What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Moka Pots to Produce Crema? Moka Pot Usage Guide and Coffee Grind Size

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Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to use this coffee brewing device that has become popular across Europe, teaching everyone how to use a Moka pot to brew a satisfying cup of coffee.

A Moka Pot is a tool for extracting espresso, commonly used in European and Latin American countries, and known in the United States as an "Italian drip pot."

The Moka pot was invented in 1933 by the Italian Alfonso Bialetti. It uses a heating method at the base to brew coffee, belongs to the distillation category, and is the most economical machine for making Italian coffee. It is widely used in Italian households. Alfonso Bialetti was an inventor and designer who, after completing his studies in France, entered Italy's then-flourishing aluminum industry.

In 1918, Alfonso founded his own factory and established Bialetti Company, starting to sell aluminum-related metal products, including household cleaning utensils and other tools. Until one day, Alfonso observed the operation of washing machines at that time and was inspired, which led to this coffee brewing device.

Moka Pot Extraction Principle

The Moka pot is a common coffee brewing device in European households. In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti invented the Moka pot and it became popular in Italy. Now it's known as a must-have item in every Italian household, and Bialetti Moka pots occupy half of the Moka pot market.

FrontStreet Coffee has learned that many friends want to make espresso-like concentrated coffee at home. However, not everyone has the budget or space to accommodate an espresso machine. As the most economical choice, nothing beats the Moka pot.

To know how to brew a delicious cup of Moka coffee, you first need to understand the structure and working principle of the Moka pot.

The Moka pot consists of three parts: the upper chamber, the coffee basket, and the lower chamber. The lower chamber is the water reservoir, the coffee basket holds the finely ground coffee powder, and the upper chamber collects the extracted coffee liquid. The principle of Moka pot extraction is quite simple: it uses the steam pressure generated in the lower chamber. When the steam pressure becomes strong enough to penetrate the coffee grounds, it pushes hot water up to the upper chamber, brewing rich, aromatic coffee.

What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Moka Pot?

Since the coffee brewed by a Moka pot tends to be quite rich and bold in texture, dark-roasted coffee beans can better showcase that mellow richness. Additionally, the crema we usually refer to in espresso is actually composed of countless small carbon dioxide bubbles. Dark-roasted coffee beans contain more carbon dioxide gas. When using pour-over methods to brew dark-roasted beans, you can observe during the blooming stage that the coffee grounds show very active degassing.

Many people's expectations for Moka pot coffee are typically rich, mellow, and full of crema. Therefore, Moka pots are suitable for brewing some darker-roasted coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu offers several dark-roasted coffee beans, such as FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate, FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia PWN Gold Mandheling, and FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain.

If you want rich nutty notes, FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Natural Yellow Bourbon is an excellent choice. Due to its thicker mucilage layer, Yellow Bourbon has more pronounced sweetness. During the natural processing method, the complete fruit skin and pulp must be preserved, allowing more sugar substances to penetrate into the green coffee beans. This FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate coffee bean is sweet and delicious with a heavy texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Brazil, Mogiana Region

Estate: Queen Estate

Altitude: 1400-1950m

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing: Natural

Flavor Notes: Nuts, Cream, Cane Sugar, Fermented Fruits

FrontStreet Coffee's Steps for Making Espresso with Moka Pot:

1/ Pour pure water into the lower chamber of the Moka pot, with the water level about 0.5cm below the pressure relief valve.

2/ Choose a coffee grind size slightly coarser than espresso. You can reference the size of the filter basket gaps to ensure coffee particles don't fall into the lower chamber. Slowly pour coffee grounds into the basket, gently tap to distribute evenly, and when the coffee forms a small mound, use distribution techniques to level the surface.

Filling the basket completely helps avoid extracting undesirable flawed flavors. Because when the density of coffee grounds in the basket is more uniform, it prevents some coffee from being over-extracted while others are under-extracted, leading to uneven flavors or bitterness.

3/ Place the basket into the lower chamber, tighten the upper and lower parts of the Moka pot, and place it on an electric ceramic stove on high heat.

4/ When the Moka pot heats up to a certain temperature and you hear a distinct "whistling" sound from the Moka pot, turn the electric ceramic stove to low heat and open the upper chamber lid.

5/ When the coffee liquid in the upper chamber reaches about halfway, turn off the electric ceramic stove. The residual heat and pressure of the Moka pot will "push" the remaining coffee liquid into the upper chamber.

6/ When all the coffee liquid has been extracted into the upper chamber, you can pour it into a cup to enjoy. Coffee extracted by a Moka pot is very rich and can even extract crema. You can also mix it with appropriate amounts of water or milk for an even better flavor!

FrontStreet Coffee's Precautions for Using Moka Pot

When filling water in the lower chamber of the Moka pot, pay special attention that the water level does not exceed the pressure relief valve position.

Additionally, since the Moka pot uses heating to generate steam in the lower chamber to push hot water upward, there is pressure involved. When using a Moka pot to brew coffee, you need to pay attention to controlling heat and grind size.

The finer the coffee grind, the richer the coffee flavor, which raises a question: what is the appropriate coffee grind size for Moka pot brewing?

If you have the opportunity, you can observe the portafilter of an espresso machine and the filter basket of a Moka pot. You'll notice that the Moka pot basket has larger gaps. To prevent coffee grounds from falling through the gaps into the lower chamber, the coffee bean grind size for Moka pots needs to be coarser than that for espresso machines, roughly between 0.3mm and 0.55mm.

Of course, it's extremely challenging for the human eye to directly measure such minute differences. The simplest method is to use a particle size ruler or Moka-specific coffee grounds for comparison and reference. Besides this, you can also adjust through hands-on experience. By observing the coffee liquid emerging from the upper chamber, you can judge the grind: if the grind is too coarse, the coffee liquid will gush out like a fountain; if the grind is too fine, you might hear the "whistling" sound of boiling water, but no coffee liquid emerges. In this case, FrontStreet Coffee suggests immediately turning off the heat and taking proper safety precautions.

Coffee extracted with a Moka pot has a bold flavor, balanced acidity and bitterness, and features a crema layer, making it the coffee brewing device closest to espresso. It's easy to use and has become a symbol of home espresso making. If you have a milk frother at home, you can even try some latte art!

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