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Moka Pot Espresso Making Process: Step-by-Step Guide and Tips for Brewing Coffee with a Moka Pot

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, From a certain perspective, coffee made with a moka pot can be considered the predecessor to today's espresso, because although the moka pot is not a machine, it also uses pressure to extract coffee. The water in the lower chamber evaporates in a sealed space, creating pressure that forces hot water into the upper chamber, extracting coffee. This results in a relatively rich coffee flavor, although

Many friends have convenient Moka pots at home, hoping to brew a rich cup of coffee during their leisure time. However, they encounter various problems during operation and come to ask FrontStreet Coffee. FrontStreet Coffee will now talk about the origin of the Moka pot and the extraction process.

The Origin of the Moka Pot

Italians invented the world's first pressure-type espresso machine and continuously improved and promoted it. Espresso soon became popular on the streets of Italy. Since espresso machines were bulky and complex to operate at that time, enjoying a fragrant cup of coffee required visiting a café. In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti, who worked in the metal industry, invented a small machine that could make espresso, and thus the Moka pot was born, named Moka Express.

At Moka pot trade shows, Bialetti promoted it with the slogan, "Drink an espresso at home, just like in a café." From then on, espresso was no longer a "luxury" that could only be enjoyed in cafés. The compact Bialetti Moka pot, with its affordable price and convenient operation, became the daily coffee brewing tool for countless Italian households. Soon after, it was also brought to all parts of the world by Italians living abroad.

Moka Pot Extraction Principle

The simple Moka pot mainly consists of three parts: the lower chamber for water, the coffee filter basket for coffee grounds, and the upper chamber for the extracted strong coffee liquid. When we heat the Moka pot, the water in the lower chamber heats up first and turns into steam, creating a certain pressure that pushes the steam upward from the bottom. When hot water reacts with the coffee grounds, the continuously increasing pressure continues to push the extracted coffee liquid into the upper chamber, giving us the rich coffee liquid we need.

The Difference Between Moka Pot Coffee and Espresso

It should be noted here that although the coffee liquid extracted by a Moka pot has a relatively strong taste, it still has certain differences from the espresso we commonly see. The espresso we refer to today is extracted using more than 9 atmospheres of pressure, resulting in a coffee liquid that is rich, thick, high-quality, delicate, and complex. However, the maximum pressure of a Moka pot is only 2 atmospheres, far below the pressure value used by commercial espresso machines. The resulting coffee liquid is relatively thin, and its flavor and texture are not as rich and mellow as espresso. But if we want to drink a rich, mellow cup of coffee more quickly at home, FrontStreet Coffee thinks the Moka pot is also an excellent choice.

Using a Moka Pot to Extract Coffee

The operation of using a Moka pot to extract coffee is not complicated. You only need coffee beans, a grinder, and a heating gas stove (or induction cooker). For coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee chooses FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend Coffee Beans, which are blended in a 7:3 ratio from FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry and FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Yirgacheffe Red Cherry.

First, remove the base of the Moka pot and add water to the lower chamber (hot water can shorten the brewing time and avoid the coffee grounds heating too quickly, which can easily cause scorching bitterness in flavor). Control the water level below the pressure relief valve line - FrontStreet Coffee adds 130ml here.

Pour coffee grounds ground to EK-43s #3-3.5 fineness into the filter basket, fill to nine-tenths full, level with your finger, and place it in the base. No need to press firmly - an overly compact coffee layer can easily block the water flow upward, thereby affecting extraction.

Next, screw the upper and lower chambers together tightly and place on a gas stove or induction cooker for heating. When using open flame, try to control the flame to not exceed the base range of the Moka pot. 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 filled halfway with 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. It should be noted that the Moka pot uses metal components, so when heating at high temperatures, try not to touch the pot body to avoid burns.

Finally, pour the extracted coffee liquid into a cup and drink directly. On entry, there's rich whiskey aroma, vanilla, cream, berry sweetness and acidity, with roasted nut fragrance. When mixed with a certain proportion of hot water, it presents fresh fruit sweetness and acidity, and when paired with milk, it has chocolate sweetness.

Due to the different extraction forms between pressure extraction and drip coffee, the coffee beans used should vary according to their characteristics. When using the same light-roasted single-origin coffee beans, pour-over methods will present floral and fruit sweetness and fragrance, while pressure-extracted coffee may not be as aromatic and can easily have stimulating, strong acidity. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using medium to dark roasted coffee beans for extraction, which can make Moka pot coffee flavor more stable.

Regardless of which extraction method is used, freshly roasted coffee beans are very important. Coffee beans have a 4-7 day degassing period after roasting, then enter the optimal tasting period with stable flavor. As time goes on, the coffee aroma gradually fades. If you use coffee beans roasted more than two months ago for extraction, the aroma may have dissipated, making it difficult to reproduce the original flavors. FrontStreet Coffee hopes every customer can drink coffee beans with the best flavor, so we ensure shipping of coffee beans freshly roasted within 5 days.

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

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