the italian masterpiece

the moka pot espresso has experienced a bit of a resurgence of late. no doubt due to the moka’s ability to produce a viscous, appropriately dense espresso brew.

now, you too can master this tiny, italian-made, eight-sided wonder with our moka pot espresso brewing basics.

pro tip:

if you have a new moka pot, clean it with water and baking soda. then make two pots of coffee (but don’t drink them!), before using it to brew your first cup

step 01. bring your water to the boil in your kettle. where possible, use low-mineral content water as it prevents the flavour of the coffee aroma from being altered

step 02. grind your coffee to a fine consistency

step 03. fill the lower chamber up to the steam-release valve and add the funnel filter into the chamber making sure the water doesn’t fill the valve ⁠— empty some out if necessary

step 04. fill the funnel with enough finely ground coffee so that it forms a rounded dome, then tap the funnel to level out the grounds

step 05. without tamping or compressing the grounds, make sure the rubber gasket is in place,  then screw the top half of the moka pot to the bottom

step 06. place your moka pot onto your heat source making sure it covers the bottom without reaching the handle. set the timer to 11 minutes and start

step 07. as the water begins to heat, coffee is extracted from the funnel. keep the heat on low to allow for a gradual extraction ⁠— this allows for a more thorough extraction of the flavours resulting in a strong and sharp taste

step 08. after 10 minutes a gurgle will tell you the water has finished heating. about 10 to 15 seconds after you hear it, remove the pot from the heat source

step 09. the coffee will continue to percolate for a while longer. serve and enjoy as soon as this finishes

step 10. true aficionados drink moka pot espresso straight. but it’s fine to add sugar and milk to make an espresso-based drink depending on your personal tastes!