Moka Pot varieties: hairsplitting, or real differences?

[gislipals]

Hey,

Well, I own a moka pot (IKEA baby!), stainless steel, dishwasher safe that has been riding in the backseat of my car in the journey through Coffeeland, deferring duties to my Silvia, presspot, Aeropress, ibrik, etc. It makes a good cup, but has its drawbacks, such as no temperature control, a PITA to clean right away so I usually forget it on the stove, etc. It's also perhaps not 'geeky' enough, in that you just throw in the coffee and water, screw tight and turn your attention to other things... or am I wrong? does coffee distribution in the basket, amount of heat applied to the water, etc have a consistent and significant enough of a difference to go all scientific on it?

The thing that prompted me to really question whether the reason my moka experience is underwhelming is due to the fact that my instrument is made by IKEA was a trip to a snobby kitchen store. While most of their espresso gear was sorely lacking, they had a whole wall of differing Bialetti moka pots - Brikkas, Mukkas, Musas, Damas, Orzos, Erikas, Venuses, Grillos, ad infinitum.. a visit to the Bialetti website revealed a staggering variety of pots currently in production.

Now, I realize most of the variety is just a way to encourage consumerism and increase sales, and the process seems to be the same with most of the pots, however there are some nuances that are beyond my limited IKEA-style moka experience to classify. Of note are:

The Brikka http://www.bialetti.it/uk/catalog...heda.asp?id_cat=19 : a pressurized valve thingie to simulate crema. Supposedly the product is more akin to espresso in looks, though I'm not sure if it tastes any different from standard moka pots.

Orzo http://www.bialetti.it/uk/catalog...eda.asp?id_cat=111 : From the website: Orzo Express is the coffee maker specifically designed to simply prepare healthy and natural barley coffee, its curved design is available in a variety of elegant and trendy versions, enhanced by stylish decorations. "Healthy and natural barley coffee" sounds rather cryptic

Grillo http://www.bialetti.it/uk/catalog...heda.asp?id_cat=52 : Looks quite intriguing, but again, is the taste any different from the legion of mokapots currently collecting dust in kitchen cabinets?

These are just 3 of a staggering selection at Bialetti, if I left out any of the innovative pots please let me know, as well as if there are interesting moka pots from other companies.

There are also a couple variables that people seem to get opinionated about:

Aluminium v. steel: personally I'd always go steel over aluminium cause it's easier to clean, but is there a nuance in taste?

Electric v. stove: stove probably makes it easier to control the boiling process leading to more control over infusion times, but what do I know?

Size: is there a taste sweet spot when it comes to size? Bigger pots mean more water passes through the grounds over a longer period of time, and perhaps that leads to greater bitterness. Again, being a one-pot man I've never tested this.


Btw I'm not attacking the moka pot method at all, I know it makes a great cup so please don't get defensive tell me how much you like your Brikka or whatever, I believe you. This is more aimed at Moka aficionados who have spent serious time and money checking out all these subtly different products

[zix]

Well, you're right, it is not espresso, but it's a great travellers' coffee pot! One moka pot, one hand grinder, one bag of home roasted beans and you are all set for getting at a decent cup of coffee anywhere you travel!

I'll share my experiences, trying to answer your questions as I go.

Concerning the IKEA pot: I haven't tried it, but one important parameter of any moka pot is: can you keep the lid open and watch the brew as it comes through? With some moka pots, there is a very simple opening which lets the coffee out straight up and, well, everywhere. It will spill all over your stove if you don't keep the lid closed. Better moka pots, such as Bialetti and Vev (popular where I live) have a "lid" on top of the outlet, only letting coffee spurt out downwards and slightly to the side.

Temperature control
Temperature control on a moka pot is quite possible. Just move the pot away from the heat, and back again if you need it. Keep the lid open and listen for the water boiling down there, then watch the pour! It should run like a thick foamy dreg down into the pot.
If it splashes and burbles, you have too much heat! Don't let it get there, the coffee will taste burnt and bitter. After some practice you will be able to predict burbling, and move the pot away just before it starts.
With freshly roasted and ground coffee, you may make some of the crema-like bubbles survive into the cup. I can usually only do that by stopping the brew prematurely, sort of like making a "short" espresso.
The last part is often bitter tasting anyway (at least on 4-cup pots, smaller ones are often better at this).
So: watch the brew.

Distribution
Distribution and all that: as you hinted, nope, no reason to go all scientific on it. Just some tips: Grind rather coarse (with fresh beans!), tick the filter or bump it down until you have a rather level surface. No problem if there is still a small mound, but don't overfill! Too much or too finely ground means the coffee puck will make too much resistance. Either nothing will come out or you will get a bitter brew, since you had to boil the water so "hard" to get some of the water through. I think the classic moka pot gives you around 2-2.5 bars of pressure.
If you filled the filter too much, scrape excess coffee off with a finger just as you would on your portafilter.
Be very meticulous when cleaning the edges and the threading. Any grind sitting on the thread or the edge of the filter will "burn" itself into the gasket and also give you a burnt taste. This is especially true of stainless moka pots. Just clean everything out before you screw the parts together and you'll be fine.

Aluminium or stainless
Concerning aluminium and stainless steel: both pots can be made to work great. I have heard (and seen) some people claiming that aluminium moka pots are less sensitive to overheating than aluminium pots. Maybe so, but it doesn't matter to me as I always watch the brew anyway.
The great advantage with stainless is of course cleaning. You can stuff a stainless pot in the dishwasher machine if you want to. No problem! (just make sure that all of the parts are actually stainless - on my s/s pot the upper filter turned out to be aluminium)
With an aluminium pot, you have to be careful. You should clean it with water and a brush only, as many aluminium qualities are rather bad. Detergent will stick and all your coffee will then taste of soap. But in practice, at some stage you simply must clean out some really gunky parts using detergent. In this case, use as little as you can and clean out any detergent rests with lots of water and a brush. Then, do two or three "empty" brews (with only water) and finally a "seasoning" brew with just a bit of coffee. This method has worked for me.

The Brikka
I have one Brikka pot - the smaller one. The material is aluminium, and to be honest, not very good aluminium at that. At least on my pot, it quickly became discoloured, both in the bottom (brown stains) and in the top half (white and beige stains, blotches and so on). It doesn't affect the taste though, not yet. I do a quick brush-off with water and a brush just before brewing.
I find the taste just great! Not like moka. A bit more strength, a bit less bitterness. Of course due to the pressure getting up to 4 bars or thereabouts. There is a clearly definable difference in taste, regardless of coffee.
The Brikka can take grinds ranging from coarse espresso grind to drip brew grind. It is much more versatile than the traditional moka pot in this respect. It likes freshly roasted and ground. I like the slightly finer grinds, halfway between moka and espresso grind.
I watch the brew on this one too, usually doing a quick spin or two on the weight at the start of the brew to ensure it hasn't stuck onto the pipe. No burbling, please. Making "short" brews works for me, but the difference is not as big here as with a common moka pot.

Special models
I think the Mukka is some kind of milk warming + coffee combined pot. Never tried it. Several other models from Bialietti are just moka pots with different designs. Don't know anything about that Orzo barley coffee pot you linked to, sorry. I am fascinated that some people still prefer barley coffee...
"Steam toys", like Krups and other electric moka pots are nice, but the ones I tested have not had any kind of temperature control. I watch the brew on these ones too, taking the cups away before the burbling starts if it pours into cups like the Krups, or simply emptying the pot prematurely.

YMMV. These are only my views, others here may not agree with me, and all that. For buying advice, well, personally I prefer the stainless moka pots because they last longer. But then, you may want a Brikka too, for the fun of it, and that is made of alu.
I have never felt the need for an electric moka pot. With a bit of fiddling, most moka pots can fit on top of any camping stove burner.

[dstaver]

The one thing that improved the flavor from my Bialetti the most was when I started to only use the first half of the liquid coming out, before it starts to bubble. Try to pour the first half in one cup and the second half in another and taste the difference. Mats is absolutely correct, the last part often tastes very bitter, while all the good flavors are in the first. A 4 cup will actually produce one (1) espresso sized cup of liquid this way. I used to make it like an americano with additonal hot water added in afterwards.

I have a Brikka too, but it's screwed on so hard that I've given up ever opening it again. I did manage, with great effort (Involving clamping it between my oven door and the oven, using a wet towel, hot water and lots of swearing), to unscrew it a couple of times and make coffee with it, but didn't really taste much different from the regular Bialetti. The "crema" it was supposed to produce was non-existent. At best tiny bubbles on top of the coffee that disappeared after a few seconds.

[gislipals]

nice, great replies.

I'll definitely play around with those techniques, the IKEA one brews basically enough for 2 'mugs' so chucking out half of it suits me quite well. Judging by your experience, Mats, the larger pots are quite useless, but I'm intrigued by your opinion that a Brikka brew is better than your average moka brew.

Would you, and others reading this thread, say that the 2-cup Brikka brew is the most impressive of the moka pot brews? I guess the pressurized Brikka is perhaps the only truly different brewing method among the moka pots (that I know of, feel free to prove me wrong). It sucks that it's not made out of stainless, but I'm gonna get one anyway and follow your methods.

[zix]

Nothing wrong with the classic moka pot taste, I didn't mean to say that. They are different. Sometimes I prefer the moka taste, sometimes the Brikka. My Brikka (being the 2-cup model) takes up less space when packing it, so I bring it more often. And I find it less sensitive to grind fineness.
Sorry to hear about your defunct Brikka, Daniel. You think it could be slightly oval?
Very irritating when you buy a pricey pot like the Brikka, not being able to use it...
I don't get long lasting "crema" from it either. More than a few bubbles though, usually there is a full "crema" layer on top, as long as I don't let the pot bubble. It lasts just a little longer than moka pot crema, and is finer textured.

[gislipals]

Yeah no worries I know it's subjective and a silly question, anyway I'll get the Brikka and check it out myself.

I tried the half/half using my IKEA pot with 4 day old homeroasted Yirg from SM.com and regulated the boiling process to make sure it wasn't too violent. The pot takes about 300 ml of water and to be honest the difference in bitterness wasn't very significant. However that's using a $1000 grinder that's very consistent with a course-ish grind. If i'd used a grinder producing more fines the bitterness issue probably would have played a larger part. My parents use a moka pot and a cheap burr grinder that produces alot of fines, I'll test the method next time I'm there and I expect to have more of an issue with bitterness as the brew goes on.

The heat regulation did make for a better moka brew that I'm used to, but I'm not really a moka convert at this stage. Brikka will be interesting, before I go back to spro, aeropresso and frenchpress-o

[zix]

Aeropress is nice too! It's another one of those brewers you have to have... same as with the Brikka. I currently lack a napoletana and a french press in my collection. Will get those too, eventually. Gotta have something new for the vacations. Good luck with them pots, Gisli.

[kahvedelisi]

I have a Brikka too, but it's screwed on so hard that I've given up ever opening it again. I did manage, with great effort (Involving clamping it between my oven door and the oven, using a wet towel, hot water and lots of swearing), to unscrew it a couple of times and make coffee with it, but didn't really taste much different from the regular Bialetti. The "crema" it was supposed to produce was non-existent. At best tiny bubbles on top of the coffee that disappeared after a few seconds.

a) Pull the valve "up" before you unscrew. You're having difficulties due to pressure stucked there.
b) if you're not having crema or if it's too less (or non-existent) it's probably related to your technique not to brikka itself. Try other variables till you get good results. Also keep in mind brikka needs some seasoning, after 15-20 uses you'll see what I mean.
c) (speaking of 2 cups sized brikka) using brikka not as easy as you thought (unless you're lucky) often it behaves like a capricious little child and you have to use "right" grind, "right" beans, "right" roast degree etc.. I read above someone wrote "for good results you need fresh beans with brikka" well I don't think so.. I had 1/2 lb 3 weeks old (20 days to be more precise) costa rica estrellas roasted to full city, and almost every shot I got out of it was a god shot (unbelieveable but true) Later on I tried honduras san marcos beans, same grind size, same water, same technique and beans were 5 days old.. undrinkable! though in both cases I had great crema
d) brikka flavor is "definitely" different from all otrher methods. It's unlike espresso and/or moka pot. It's something else I can't describe.. A friend of mine had said "this is what coffee should taste like". Honestly, when brikka is on its good day and not so capricious itself, I agree with him on that statement.

[kahvedelisi]

I have one Brikka pot - the smaller one. The material is aluminium, and to be honest, not very good aluminium at that. At least on my pot, it quickly became discoloured, both in the bottom (brown stains) and in the top half (white and beige stains, blotches and so on). It doesn't affect the taste though, not yet.

It's not a fault, that's how it's supposed to be. Color will change due to seasoning (this is aluminium and you brew coffee in it, what you'd expect? lol ). All you need is to wash it with vinegar once in a month, nothing else. Also browning shows that it's high quality aluminium (actually that's best quality aluminium you can ever get for brewing coffee)

Wanna see some samples from different producers? (all used under same conditions, same cleaning rituals --> didn't use any kind of soap or cleaning material, same storing environment, all used regularly etc)

This is chinese brand 3 cup sized (among many other things you see the rust at valve?)



This is Frabosk 1 cup sized (italian? they say so.. not sure)



And for comparison. This is Bialetti Brikka 2 cup sized



Sometimes when you start "with the best" you take the comfort it offers as "standard" but unfortunately it's "generally" not so... as seen above.