Moka Pot help

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
Ivanina
Posts: 24
Joined: 5 years ago

#1: Post by Ivanina »

Hi guys - first post here.

I have a 3 cup Moka Pot and i'm currently trying to learn how to use it properly. I have Hario Skerton grinder and a induction hob with power 1 to 10 at home.

I follow most tips online - don't tamp, grind fresh, fill water till the safety, stop with gurgling sound.

I still experience some inconsistency tho.

The grind setting I use for the Hario is 6 or 7 click which is a bit more coarser. Induction knob on 5. Hot water but not boiling. 18 grams of coffee

My timing is - coffee comes out after 5 minutes. Brew time around 1 minute. Output 60 to 80 ml from a 3 cup moka.

Still - I feel like i'm missing something. Coffee is good but sometimes even the slightest thing - water or grind would make everything taste bad.
What is your technique with the Moka Pot and do you see something wrong with mine. Any advice?

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redbone
Posts: 3564
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#2: Post by redbone »

The maestro of moka pot and technique look no further than Lucio. I've used his techniques with great success. Member Dominick also has very good moka pot usage insight.

How to improve your moka pot coffee

Found the Aeropress funnel to be a great funnel for the majority of moka pot baskets. Easier than using a spoon. I've also successfully switched to using a spray bottle to mist bed to expedite things. Same spray bottle used for RDT method.

Ross Droplet Technique-Eliminating Grinder Static

Edit: Use filtered / non chlorinated water, neutral+ 7-8 pH with some mineral / hardness. Preferred coffee taste with water 55-80 ppm as shown on an inexpensive TDS meter. Water fill just below safety valve. I use home R.O. mixed with spring water to make weekly 4 liter batch.
Between order and chaos there is espresso.
Semper discens.


Rob
LMWDP #549

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Ivanina (original poster)
Posts: 24
Joined: 5 years ago

#3: Post by Ivanina (original poster) »

Thank you.
I've already saw this but there are things I don't see. What is the grind for example? Also what's the heat he is using? How does that transfer to an induction?

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redbone
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#4: Post by redbone replying to Ivanina »

It's hard to quantify a grind since grinders vary but the grind is finer than drip and coarser than espresso. Ideally you will have to experiment per your grinder for best setup. You need enough heat to force coffee into chamber within 5-7minutes. Do not allow coffee to boil once in chamber. Too fast and coffee will taste weak too slow and coffee will taste burnt and overly concentrated and bitter.
Between order and chaos there is espresso.
Semper discens.


Rob
LMWDP #549

Ivanina (original poster)
Posts: 24
Joined: 5 years ago

#5: Post by Ivanina (original poster) »

Btw these are two type of grinds i've used:

More coarse:


a little finer:


I noticed that I have better results with power on 4 and cooking the coffee for something like 6-7 minutes and a really slow extraction - around 1:30 minutes instead of using the hob on 5 power and having coffee coming out after 5 minutes but with super unbalanced taste and starting to spit after like 40 seconds into the extraction, meaning out of a 3 cup I end up with around 40 ml sh**ty coffee.

Damn, the Moka is hard to master, especially compared to the French Press.

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guijan12
Posts: 586
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#6: Post by guijan12 »

Ivanina wrote:I have a 3 cup Moka Pot and i'm currently trying to learn how to use it properly.
This is pretty much the technique I was using when using the Moka pot as my DD.
Fill it with freshly boiled water, right?
I used to grind with the Mario mini slim, at appr the same settings (if I remember correctly) as you do.
The grind a little bit coarser than for espresso, like in your second picture.

Do you use freshly roasted coffee?
Regards,

Guido

Ivanina (original poster)
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Joined: 5 years ago

#7: Post by Ivanina (original poster) replying to guijan12 »

Yup - freshly roasted and ground coffee. That said, I find the Moka to be super forgiving when it comes to stale beans. It's one of the methods that can still produce a decent cup with it.
A tried using almost boiling water to cut the time and it worked to a degree so yes. Next I will try with boiling.

Tbh I think that it all comes down to a bit finer ground and using a lower heat. When the heat was on 5 I tried so many different things and it never worked consistently. When I switched to 4 it all worked pretty well.
It was actually me who made the problem. At the beginning (when I bought the Moka) I was using a the induction on 4 and never had a problem. Then I read that waiting for 8 minutes for a 3 cup Moka to start is not normal and is killing the coffee so I decided to try different settings and got stuck in a loop of failure.

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guijan12
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#8: Post by guijan12 »

Ivanina wrote:.....

Tbh I think that it all comes down to a bit finer ground and using a lower heat.

I believe you are very right here. :D
Regards,

Guido

jpender
Posts: 3863
Joined: 11 years ago

#9: Post by jpender »

That top photo with the chunks in it reminded me why I retired my Skerton and bought a better hand grinder. One of the reasons I did it was because of inconsistency in my moka pot brews.

It's great that you found a path to a better brew. But I think your conclusions might be grinder related rather than universal. That is, you may be forced to use a finer grind to compensate for the poor coarse grinding of the Skerton.

mallen4248
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#10: Post by mallen4248 »

My best Moka Pot (Bialetti) results were from preground Illy (before I got into full blown espresso) and near boiling water from my Zojirushi hot pot before heating on the gas stove. This reduced the overheating from the stovetop.
In vino veritas.... and caffeine helps the next morning....

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