How to Season a Moka Pot? What Precautions Should Be Taken When Using a Moka Pot? Why Do Moka Pots Explode?

Is It Necessary to "Season" Your Moka Pot?

When we purchase a brand new iron wok, we typically perform a "seasoning" operation before formal use to prevent rust. Surprisingly, newly purchased moka pots also require a similar "opening ceremony."

Those who have purchased moka pots will notice that the instructions come with a prominent warning. The general meaning of this warning is: moka pots need to undergo three "seasoning" operations before they can be put into normal use. This leaves many people puzzled—moka pots are mostly made of aluminum, do they really need seasoning? Wouldn't washing them be enough?

Is it really necessary to season a moka pot? Actually, it is indeed necessary! This is because moka pots may carry uncleaned metal shavings and oil stains when they leave the factory. Although we can remove most of these stains through cleaning, there are many corners in a moka pot that are difficult to clean thoroughly. That's why we need both cleaning and seasoning to completely remove these stains.

However, seasoning is quite a particular process, so today FrontStreet Coffee will share how to properly season your moka pot. By the way, before that, FrontStreet Coffee needs to mention something about cleaning. When cleaning your moka pot, simply rinse it with clean water. Never use a dishwasher or boil it in a pot for extended disinfection, as both methods can easily damage the moka pot's coating layer, making it more prone to oxidation and mold.

How to Properly Season a Moka Pot?

Seasoning is quite simple—just brew three pots of coffee following the normal steps: add water - fill with coffee grounds - tighten - heat - extract - discard - clean (for those who want detailed instructions, you can refer to the article "A Complete Guide to Using Moka Pots"). After repeating this process three times, your moka pot is seasoned!

But absolutely note this: The coffee extracted during these three initial brews may contain stains, so it cannot be consumed! It must be discarded directly. Additionally, there are some details we need to pay attention to during use. Let's take a look~

1. Avoid Using Only Water for Seasoning

Because the coffee brewed during moka pot seasoning cannot be consumed, many people might want to reduce waste by using only water for seasoning. However, this can easily lead to scalding incidents!

When coffee grounds are filled into the moka pot's filter basket, they create resistance, reducing the infiltration speed of hot water. That's why we can see the coffee liquid emerging very slowly. But if you don't use coffee grounds for seasoning, the hot water, having no resistance, will be forcefully pushed by steam pressure and gush out of the valve all at once, causing splashing. At this moment, the water temperature is exactly the boiling 100°C, and without any preparation, you could easily get scalded.

So it's best for friends to use some "aged beans" or beans they don't particularly like for seasoning espresso. This way, you can reduce the feeling of waste~

2. Stop Heating If No Liquid Comes Out for an Extended Time

When we add too much coffee grounds or if the coffee grounds are ground too finely, the gaps in the coffee puck that allow hot water to pass through are greatly reduced, which significantly increases resistance.

When hot water cannot penetrate for a long time due to excessive resistance, pressure will continuously accumulate in the lower chamber.

When pressure accumulates to a certain extent, there's a risk of the pot exploding. Therefore, when we encounter a situation where no liquid comes out for an extended time during the coffee brewing process, we should stop heating to avoid the moka pot exploding.

3. Clean and Dry Thoroughly

After we finish using the moka pot and clean it, we must remember to wipe it dry and let it air dry before storing. This is because it can reduce the chance of the moka pot oxidizing. If we store the moka pot while it still has moisture, there's a high probability that, like FrontStreet Coffee, the color inside your pot will become quite "colorful."

But this is easy to solve~ Just use the lemon mentioned in the previous article, slice it, and wipe with it—these stains and rust spots can be largely removed (white vinegar also works, but it's best to dilute both). However, to avoid tedious cleaning operations, it's best to dry the moka pot thoroughly before storing it~

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473