Help! My wife and I love the Moka Pot for brewing regular drip coffee. I bought a 4 cup Brikka. I cannot get it to work at all. A little coffee will drizzle out and then nothing. If I leave it on the heat, it will eventually pop with coffee going everywhere. Eventually, I want to move to fresh ground coffee, but not before I get the Brikka to even brew coffee. Thanks for any help.

What grind size are you using? Grind is critical. I found that midway between an espresso and a drip grind worked best with low ramp on the heat.

This thread will assist you -- read/watch your way through it: The secrets of the moka pot - How to video

I happen to have a new, yet to be used, Moka pot which I was given by an elderly neighbor.

If it were me, I would buy the smallest container of preground Italian espresso coffee because, I BELIEVE, that is the typical modus operandi over there (Italy). That would give me a better appreciation for the grind size needed.

Thanks. I will try y'all's suggestions. I have no issues with my Moya pot. It's the brikka that's being difficult. The grind I'm using is pretty course. Maybe I need to go the other way and get a finer grind.

I have to ask: Have you cleaned the insides of your Brikka? Maybe coffee-oils is clogging the brewer?

I used a Moka pot for years before I discovered the world of fresh roasted and ground coffee and I always used the canned Italian espresso roasts. Try this Lavazza coffee which is ground for moka pot. I thought I made tasty cups with this coffee but they became even tastier after I discovered this tutorial from Stumptown.

flttrainer wrote:A little coffee will drizzle out and then nothing. If I leave it on the heat, it will eventually pop with coffee going everywhere.

It's supposed to drizzle a tiny bit at first and then stop. That part is normal. The valve seals when it gets wet with coffee so you will see a bit appear and then nothing, until the pressure builds enough to pop it open again. But the "coffee going everywhere" means too violent a finish. That might be from using too coarse a grind. Other possibilities would be an underfilled basket, a really high stove setting or maybe a sticky valve.

Its brand new. I've tried it 5 times I think with horrible results. Im going to buy some of the suggested coffee. Im betting my grind is too course based on the posts from y'all.

Hi there. I have the 4 cup Brikka and have tweaked many different variables over the course of many cups.

Your problem is not too coarse a grind. I've used every possible grind imaginable with my Brikka: From espresso grind to coarse with my Vario. Fine to coarse with my Hario Slim manual. And the Italian moka/espresso pre-packaged stuff. Heck, in the early days, before I was enlightened by Home barista and Coffeegeek, I used a crappy blade grinder -- or bean beater to be more precise. Even with that grind, the Brikka did a reasonable job. It's very forgiving. In fact, I've found that with my Vario, if the grind is too fine, and too uniform, the Brikka takes too long to brew and it's bitter. I attribute this to excessive pressure buildup and, thus, the bitter cup.

Here's my 4 cup routine. And I use room temperature water, counter to the boiling water suggestion for other Moka pots. Remember, the Brikka's special valve makes it behave in mysterious ways (cue the U2 Achtung Baby song).

-Use 25 to 28g of beans
-Grind medium to coarse, less uniform is better in my experience
-Use the water measuring line in the upper chamber, and no more water than that(changing the water amount can affect brew time/pressure)
-Use medium high heat, closer to medium (6.5 on my flattop ceramic stove with a maximum of 10)
-Take off heat when it starts filling the upper chamber and pour until it empties (coffee will continue to sputter out as you pour)

I just did this today with my Hario Slim for grinding, on a coarse for press pot setting, and it worked well. Not bitter, full flavored, and clean.

And I would still recommend fresh, quality beans. I use the same beans I pull as espresso, or for French press, and the Brikka does them justice.

*edit* and don't tamp the grinds. Let them settle into the basket evenly, a light tap on the basket is ok, but don't pack it tight. Level it off and that's it.