Bialetti moka pot - unknown part - Page 2

#11: Post by **Lvx** » June 6th, 2018, 2:14 pm

Hi, this is funny!
I posted the whole story on my blog few days ago..
You can translate it easily since it's in Italian, but you can ask me more information if needed.

first part :http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... ietro.html
second part: http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... i-con.html
third part: http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... con_3.html

Ciao from Italy!

#12: Post by **drgary** » June 6th, 2018, 2:31 pm

^ ^ ^
And there you have the complete story of that mysterious part, and a familiar moka pot with a different name!

#13: Post by **jpender** » June 6th, 2018, 2:43 pm

Wonderful. I had looked a few days ago on your (Lvx) blog for information but didn't find this entry.

Some details are still missing though. The main one is -- how exactly does it work? Is the water in the "outer" chamber of the base actually coming to a boil? And if so, does any of this water make it's way to the top?

The second detail has to do with the idea itself. If it is so good then why hasn't Bialetti or someone else resurrected the method more recently? Surely the Italian coffee world has advanced in the last 50 years. And Bialetti clearly isn't shy about having a lot of different products for sale. Maybe even today nobody would want it!

#14: Post by **Lvx** » June 6th, 2018, 3:51 pm

jpender wrote:Wonderful. I had looked a few days ago on your (Lvx) blog for information but didn't find this entry.

Some details are still missing though. The main one is -- how exactly does it work? Is the water in the "outer" chamber of the base actually coming to a boil?
The outer water was needed to produce steam to force the inner water trought the ground coffee.

And if so, does any of this water make it's way to the top?
Yes, most of it. But you can remove the moka from the heat source before the Volcano phase.

The second detail has to do with the idea itself. If it is so good then why hasn't Bialetti or someone else resurrected the method more recently? Surely the Italian coffee world has advanced in the last 50 years.
I am sadly not sure about this.. The Barista italian world, maybe a little. The domestic italian coffee world... no way!
And Bialetti clearly isn't shy about having a lot of different products for sale.
Maybe even today nobody would want it!
I agree. People in Italy "believe" the bitter is the better. That's the "real coffee taste"

#15: Post by **jpender** » June 6th, 2018, 4:54 pm

"But you can remove the moka from the heat source before the Volcano phase."

That's what you do with a normal moka pot. Which leaves me confused as to how this pot is better.

Although it has changed somewhat I think most people in the U.S. also like bad coffee. But there is a market for all sorts of weird devices that promise better coffee. I use a Bialetti Brikka, which (as you know) is an odd sort of moka pot that tries to deal with the overheated liquid problem in a different way. I can't believe Bialetti sells that many of them.

One time I did a real double boiler brew. I immersed the base of my moka pot in a large pot of water, put it on the stove, and set the flame to low. When finished, the water in the large pot was at 88°C. The trick was simply a slow, gradual heating. I did it just to see that it would brew without boiling.

June 20th, 2018, 10:42 pm

Hi Lucio,

Yes it is indeed amazing that you would be researching about this mystery part from Bialetti at around the same time that I found this 50-year-old, unused Termocrem pot in my parents' home.

The extra chamber does lower the brew temperature by about 10°F, resulting in a less bitter taste.

I do hope Bialetti considers re-introducing the extra chamber, because it works. In the meantime, and thanks to your research, I will treasure my 50-year-old moka pot - the original Termocrem - even more.

Ciao!

Lvx wrote:Hi, this is funny!
I posted the whole story on my blog few days ago..
You can translate it easily since it's in Italian, but you can ask me more information if needed.

first part :http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... ietro.html
second part: http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... i-con.html
third part: http://caffettiere.blogspot.com/2018/06 ... con_3.html

Ciao from Italy!

June 20th, 2018, 11:02 pm

The steam pressure in the (outer) boiler forces the hot water through the small pipe into the inner chamber. However the pipe directs the inflow of this hotter water upwards, so it is the cooler water in the lower part of the inner chamber that initially rises up the funnel. The hotter water will eventually make its way up the funnel as well; however, the mixture of the hotter and cooler waters will lower the overall temperature of the brew, and result in a brew that is less bitter.

jpender wrote:Wonderful. I had looked a few days ago on your (Lvx) blog for information but didn't find this entry.

Some details are still missing though. The main one is -- how exactly does it work? Is the water in the "outer" chamber of the base actually coming to a boil? And if so, does any of this water make it's way to the top?

#18: Post by **happycat** » June 20th, 2018, 11:32 pm

Thanks for the updates.

In my coffee model, we adjust temperature, grind, and dose to compensate for flavours we get from inputs like varietal and roast level.

So a lower temp means you can use a darker roast, or higher dose, or finer grind

And a higher temp means you might want a lighter roast, lower dose, or coarser grind

So you can use your extra part to to give you that extra variable

#19: Post by **jpender** » June 21st, 2018, 10:35 am

LakayM wrote:The steam pressure in the (outer) boiler forces the hot water through the small pipe into the inner chamber. However the pipe directs the inflow of this hotter water upwards, so it is the cooler water in the lower part of the inner chamber that initially rises up the funnel. The hotter water will eventually make its way up the funnel as well; however, the mixture of the hotter and cooler waters will lower the overall temperature of the brew, and result in a brew that is less bitter.

Thanks for confirming what LVX reported.

So if you could, would you equip every moka pot with one of these devices?