Bialetti Dual-Valve Moka Pot Coffee Making: Pros and Cons, Coffee Ground Amount and Grind Size Requirements

For Moka pot enthusiasts, the terms "dual-valve" and "single-valve" are certainly familiar. However, for beginners, to brew delicious coffee with a Moka pot, it's still necessary to learn some basics first.

Which is better: single-valve or dual-valve Moka pot?

Today, on shopping platforms, there are countless options when you want to buy a Moka pot, but if you look closely, they can be divided according to structural differences into: single-valve Moka pots and dual-valve Moka pots.

Structurally, the outlet hole of the upper chamber in a single-valve Moka pot is hollow. During heating and extraction, the pressure is 1 Bar, and the extracted coffee liquid generally presents a thick, black consistency with a relatively thin crema layer. The dual-valve Moka pot, through upgrades and improvements, has been equipped with a pressure-boosting valve at the original outlet hole. During extraction, the pressure can reach 2-3 Bar. This increased pressure makes the coffee texture thicker and the crema richer and more delicate. If you prefer a flavor closer to espresso, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing a dual-valve Moka pot would be more suitable.

Advantages and disadvantages of brewing coffee with a Moka pot

The biggest advantage of a Moka pot is its portability and ease of operation, without the complicated steps of espresso machines. Of course, the price is also very affordable. However, Moka pots also have obvious disadvantages. Compared to espresso machines that typically extract at water temperatures of 90-94°C, Moka pots heat water to the boiling point of 100°C. Excessive temperature extracts bitter macromolecules, making the coffee taste easily scorched, bitter, and heavy, difficult to swallow.

It should be noted that although the coffee extracted by a Moka pot has a relatively strong taste, it still has some differences from the espresso we commonly encounter. The espresso we refer to today is extracted under more than 9 atmospheres of pressure, resulting in rich, thick coffee liquid with high-quality, delicate, and abundant crema. The maximum pressure of a Moka pot is only 2 atmospheres, far less than the pressure value used by commercial espresso machines. The resulting coffee liquid is relatively thinner, with flavor and texture not as rich and mellow as espresso. However, if we want to drink a cup of strong, mellow coffee more quickly at home, FrontStreet Coffee believes a Moka pot is also an excellent choice.

Can fine coffee grounds be used in a Moka pot?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the Moka pot belongs to pressure-based extraction, so the grind size is generally much finer than pour-over coffee, but slightly coarser than espresso grounds. If the coffee is ground too coarse, the contact between water and coffee grounds will be uneven, leading to insufficient extraction and poor taste. It might also cause the liquid to gush out due to too little resistance, posing a risk of splattering and burns. If ground too fine, it increases the resistance for the liquid to flow upward, preventing the coffee liquid from being released. As the pressure in the lower chamber becomes too high and cannot be released in time, there's a danger of explosion.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a grind size of EK-43s #3-3.5 setting. If we find it difficult to judge whether the grind size is appropriate, we can observe the gap size of the Moka pot's coffee slot, ensuring that coffee particles cannot pass through the gap. You can also refer to the grind size used by FrontStreet Coffee.

What coffee beans are suitable for a Moka pot?

Due to the Moka pot's high water-to-coffee ratio and relatively short brewing time, compared to light roast beans, it's more suitable for brewing medium to dark roasted coffee. Because the Moka pot uses pressure-based extraction, if light roast coffee is used, the light roast beans have a harder texture and usually require a finer grind to increase extraction rate. However, fine grinding under high temperature and pressure can easily make the coffee acidic and harsh, and it's also more difficult to extract the aroma of oils.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using darker roasted FrontStreet Coffee espresso blend beans as raw materials. This not only makes it easier to enjoy aromatic coffee with rich crema but also makes our coffee flavor extraction more stable. FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu offers four FrontStreet Coffee espresso blend beans suitable for Moka pot brewing, and you can choose one that suits your taste for making Moka pot coffee. FrontStreet Coffee hopes that every customer who places an order can enjoy the aroma of coffee during its optimal tasting period, so we ensure that only beans roasted fresh within 5 days are shipped.

Detailed tutorial for operating a Moka pot

Before brewing coffee, we need to prepare fresh coffee beans, water, a grinder, a heating gas stove (or induction cooker), and our main character - the Moka pot. For coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee selects FrontStreet Coffee's own roasted "FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Blend," which is a 7:3 blend of FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry and FrontStreet Coffee Natural Yirgacheffe Red Cherry.

First, remove the base of the Moka pot and add pure warm water to the lower chamber, which can shorten the brewing time while avoiding the coffee grounds being heated too quickly, which can easily cause scorching bitterness in flavor. Control the water level to about 0.5cm below the pressure relief valve line. The safety valve prevents the coffee pot from exploding due to blocked extraction channels caused by coffee grounds that are ground too fine. If the safety valve is submerged in water and the extraction channel is blocked, the consequences of a high-temperature coffee pot explosion would be unimaginable.

To extract rich black coffee, the grind size needs to be much finer than regular pour-over coffee. FrontStreet Coffee stores use the EK-43s grinder, EK-43s #3-3.5 setting. The amount of coffee grounds depends on the size of the Moka pot. FrontStreet Coffee here is using a three-cup Bialetti classic pot, with 18g of coffee grounds. Pour the ground coffee into the coffee slot until it's nine-tenths full, level it with your finger, and place it in the base. No need to press down hard; overly compacted coffee layers can easily block water flow upward, thus affecting extraction.

Next, tightly screw the upper chamber to the lower chamber, wipe the pot dry with a towel, and place it on a gas stove or induction cooker for heating. When using an open flame, try to control the flame to not exceed the base range of the Moka pot.

Just wait for the Moka pot to heat up. When you hear a hissing sound, turn to low heat, and the coffee liquid and crema will slowly flow out. When you see the upper chamber half full of coffee liquid, you can turn off the heat source and move the pot to the table, using the residual temperature and pressure inside the pot to continue extracting the remaining coffee liquid.

Pour the extracted coffee liquid into a cup and you can drink it directly. On the palate, there's rich whiskey aroma, vanilla, cream, and the sweet and sour of berries, with the fragrance of roasted nuts. Adding a certain proportion of hot water presents fresh fruity sweetness and sourness, and pairing with milk brings chocolate sweetness.

Finally, regarding the storage and maintenance of equipment, FrontStreet Coffee cleans the Moka pot promptly after each use to avoid coffee residue stains, which can easily cause flavor transfer and scorching bitterness. If old coffee stains remain on the filter disc, gasket, or extraction channel, they may cause blockages and affect normal extraction.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473