Slow Pour brew guide
How to use a moka pot
Fill the bottom with hot water to just under the valve (about 150 g for a three-cup pot), fill the basket level with about 16 g of medium-fine coffee without pressing, and heat on medium with the lid up. Take it off as soon as the stream turns pale and sputters, and cool the base.
What you need
- A moka pot (stovetop espresso maker)
- A kettle
- Coffee ground medium-fine: finer than filter, coarser than espresso
- A cloth for the hot pot
The recipe
Steam pressure in the bottom chamber pushes hot water up through the coffee. It makes a strong, heavy cup, a little like espresso but not the same. The amounts depend on the size of your pot: these are for a three-cup pot.
- Coffee: 16 g
- Water: 150 g
- Ratio: 1:9.4
- Grind: medium-fine (about 400 to 600 microns, like table salt)
- Water temperature: start with water just off the boil
- Total time: about 3:15
- Makes: about 120 ml
Step by step
Zero the scale with the coffee in, then follow along. The times are from your first pour.
- Boil the kettle and fill the bottom to just under the valve with hot water (150 g)
- Fill the basket level with 16 g, medium-fine. Don’t press it down
- Wipe the rim and screw the top on with a cloth (it’s hot)
- 0:00 Medium heat, lid up. Coffee starts to flow after a minute or two.
- 2:00 Watch the flow. Take it off when the stream turns pale and starts to sputter.
- 3:00 Off the heat, and cool the base. Run the base under cold water to stop it. Pour at once.
Why start with hot water
If you start with cold water, the pot sits on the heat for a long time and the coffee in the basket starts to cook before any water reaches it, which tastes bitter and metallic. Starting with water just off the boil cuts that time down. Cooling the base under the tap at the end stops it at once, before the last bitter spurts come through.
If it doesn’t taste right
Bitter or burnt: use hot water from the kettle, keep the heat medium, and take it off sooner. Sour or thin: grind a little finer and make sure the basket is full and level. Never tamp the coffee down: the pressure can build too high.
Questions
Should I tamp coffee in a moka pot?
No. Fill the basket level and wipe the rim. Pressing it down can block the flow.
Is moka pot coffee espresso?
Not quite. A moka pot brews at about one to two bar of pressure, an espresso machine at about nine, so it’s strong but without the thick crema.
When do I take it off the heat?
When the coffee coming out turns pale and starts to sputter. Lift it off and cool the base under cold water.