Nice to jump on the bandwagon. My son saved me a 4 cup and 2 cup bialetti from the trash of their college rental. So I made my first moka brew in well over a decade. It made a very pleasant cup of ethiopia, colombia, guatemala remnant blend this afternoon. I think preheating the water is crucial along with keeping brew time down.

I don't preheat the water at all and get consistently good moka pot brews.

BTW I noticed the very uneven grounds with boulders and fines also and would suggest a grinder upgrade.

drgary wrote:I don't preheat the water at all and get consistently good moka pot brews.

Same here. I've tried it multiple times in the past (both warm water and near-boiling water) and it didn't improve the coffee at all. I honestly can't see why it would. But lots of people swear by it.

I'm a third vote for keeping it simple. 8:1 dose, fine grind, heat on medium setting, and then remove it from the heat when it starts to produce foam rather than a steady steam of liquid. Nothing more is needed for a great cup.

I will have to try the keep it simple way. Does a classic aluminum moka pot brew the same as a stainless version? I replaced a broken aluminum one in 2003 with stainless but promptly sent it back to Sweet Maria's because I did not like the coffee I made with it. But that is quite a many cups of espresso in the past now.

The beauty of using a Moka Pot is the simplicity. Preheating water makes for potential burn when screwing top portion or requires a glove or towel. Maybe the heat source makes a difference. Have very good results with varying sized stainless steel moka pots, no preheat using flame heat from stoves smaller burner. Don't overdose leave headspace, tap basket stem on counter to settle grinds don't tamp from top. Adjust grind to coffee flow and taste. Be cognisant or water and don't use non filtered chlorinated tap water. Place water just below safety valve.

For what it's worth --for me the 3 cup pot is the only Moka pot -- the larger ones don't work as well. And the grind should be close to espresso grind -- in fact I often use the same grind as I use for my espresso machine, without a problem. The photos of the grind look way too coarse and uneven.

[creative nickname] wrote:I'm a third vote for keeping it simple. 8:1 dose, fine grind, heat on medium setting, and then remove it from the heat when it starts to produce foam rather than a steady steam of liquid. Nothing more is needed for a great cup.

Two tune-ups will make it better. Notice where the fill line is when it starts to bubble out of the spout. Next time, remove the moka pot from the hit just before that and dip the bottom in cold water to instantly stop brewing. You'll avoid burning the coffee.

jgood wrote:For what it's worth --for me the 3 cup pot is the only Moka pot -- the larger ones don't work as well. And the grind should be close to espresso grind -- in fact I often use the same grind as I use for my espresso machine, without a problem. The photos of the grind look way too coarse and uneven.

I prefer my 6 cup slightly and have no problem brewing consistently with it.

One thing I've noticed about coffee, and moka pot brewing in particular, is that there are a lot of rules about how to do it. But many of these aren't universally accepted. There is no consensus about starting water temperature, grind fineness, or stove setting. I used to routinely fill the water above the safety valve, even though that runs counter to what most people will say you need to do. It worked for me.

As near as I can tell there isn't one right way to brew with a moka pot.