Moka pot just produces steam
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
Hi,
I just went from an Alessi Moka pot which always seemed to work fine for me to a much simpler model.
My problem is that the Moka pot is mostly just producing a lot of steam but hardly any or no coffee.
It's an aluminum model with a rubber seal for the top filter part. I'm not sure if I'm doing some thing wrong or if it could be a manufacturing problem. The steam does seem to be coming through the top funnel, not through any areas where it shouldn't.
Are there any common ways in which this can occur? Could the coffee be too finely ground? A leak in the bottom filter would seem the most obvious manufacturing type problem.
Cheers,
Marc
I just went from an Alessi Moka pot which always seemed to work fine for me to a much simpler model.
My problem is that the Moka pot is mostly just producing a lot of steam but hardly any or no coffee.
It's an aluminum model with a rubber seal for the top filter part. I'm not sure if I'm doing some thing wrong or if it could be a manufacturing problem. The steam does seem to be coming through the top funnel, not through any areas where it shouldn't.
Are there any common ways in which this can occur? Could the coffee be too finely ground? A leak in the bottom filter would seem the most obvious manufacturing type problem.
Cheers,
Marc
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- Posts: 429
- Joined: 11 years ago
Is it a large pot? Is it possible that you are inadvertently underfilling the water chamber in trying to make smaller brews?
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
That might be the case. I'll give it a try and make sure to fill the water up to the pressure valve.
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
That did seem to help. The Alessi I am used to was more flexible in this respect. Also, it was a sturdier build and generated more pressure I think.
- drgary
- Team HB
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If that adjustment doesn't fully fix the issue it can also occur if your grind is so fine it chokes to moka pot. In other words as the grounds expand they can block water from going up the pipe so the built up pressure vents through the safety valve.
Gary
LMWDP#308
What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!
LMWDP#308
What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
Thanks, I'll try another grind also. But the safety valve never activated. I still feel that even though it's working, it doesn't feel exactly "fluent". There still seems to be a large amount of steam coming out in relation to the amount of coffee.
- Boldjava
- Posts: 2765
- Joined: 16 years ago
mschipperheyn wrote:Hi,
I just went from an Alessi Moka pot which always seemed to work fine for me to a much simpler model.
My problem is that the Moka pot is mostly just...
Marc
It helps others assist you if you provide size of unit used, grind size, volume of water, volume of coffee, amount of heat being applied, when you are pulling the moka pot, etc. Until folks have that, they are operating in the dark.
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LMWDP #339
LMWDP #339
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
Hi, ok. I don't really know the grind size. It's basically regular packaged ground coffee normally intended for filter/drip brewing. The pressure container size is about 25-30ml. I tried various amounts of heat. Continuously applying heat or switching to low heat as soon as the gurgling starts, seems to make little difference. Volume of coffee is about 3/4s of the filter container. Volume of water is up to the pressure valve.
I also tried to run the moka with just water and I get the same effect: just steam. So, I think there must be something wrong with the pressure chamber.
And I tried giving it the extra squeeze when I screw on the top. This produces a little bit of coffee before reverting to the steam production. Must be the pressure chamber (seal).
I also tried to run the moka with just water and I get the same effect: just steam. So, I think there must be something wrong with the pressure chamber.
And I tried giving it the extra squeeze when I screw on the top. This produces a little bit of coffee before reverting to the steam production. Must be the pressure chamber (seal).
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- Posts: 429
- Joined: 11 years ago
Pressure container (base) being about 25-30ml doesn't sound right, for one "cup" of beverage I'd expect at least that, plus whatever is retained in the grinds, plus water to act as the motor.
The filter container should be full of untamped grinds.
Can you point us to the make/model/size of your pot?
If there was a leak, you'd see steam & hot water from the join of top & bottom parts.
Try using hot water (up to the valve) in the base (careful the base will then be hot, so use a towel/kitchen glove to hold it) & just use low heat to brew, watch the pot the whole time with the lid open, should be fairly quick fro a warm start. Kill the brew/remove the pot as the stream turns very pale, or at the first sign of steam from the centre pipe.
The filter container should be full of untamped grinds.
Can you point us to the make/model/size of your pot?
If there was a leak, you'd see steam & hot water from the join of top & bottom parts.
Try using hot water (up to the valve) in the base (careful the base will then be hot, so use a towel/kitchen glove to hold it) & just use low heat to brew, watch the pot the whole time with the lid open, should be fairly quick fro a warm start. Kill the brew/remove the pot as the stream turns very pale, or at the first sign of steam from the centre pipe.
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- Posts: 9
- Joined: 10 years ago
Sorry, I meant the pressure container has about the content size of a soda can. The brand is Casita. It's a very cheap thing but I didn't think that would be a problem given the simplicity of the technology.
I'm noticing that even though it's new, there is some spacing between the rubber seal and bulging part of the filter. I think it's time to go back to the shop. Making coffee shouldn't be an expedition to the North Pole. Thanks for all the suggestions!
I'm noticing that even though it's new, there is some spacing between the rubber seal and bulging part of the filter. I think it's time to go back to the shop. Making coffee shouldn't be an expedition to the North Pole. Thanks for all the suggestions!