I bought the Imusa moka pot in Walmart, my first, and I have learnt that I should not have gone economy on this. Its indeed affordable, works, but, its small, single serve, and just feels economy. Biggest pain is the plastic handle that will definitely get ruined cause of being cooked over heat. The manual says not to put it over heat, which is where the moka pot works. Lol. Sucks, but i am espresso cool.
I consider moka pot coffee to be its own thing. Not quite espresso, not regular coffee, something in between.
It’s great in its own right, but it’s definitely not an espresso. It lacks the intensity and crema of true espresso.
I’ve heard it called stove-top espresso
I’ve had a few moka pots over the years but the absolute best one I’ve owned has been a simple stainless steel one from ikea.
The stainless steel ones are great for working on induction too.
- I try to place the moka pot with handle as far from the flame as possible, and the flame a low as is functional.
- I recently started using a paper filter in the moka, and really think it improves the flavor, while also reducing triterpenes in the cup.
note: I have a stainless Bialetti.
note 2: What if you made a handle to replace that one which doesn’t angle towards the flame?It cost 10 bucks and was my experiment to see if I would enjoy it, so, I’m not going to bang more money into it except making coffee. I will upgrade some day and the experience from the one I have will steer me right.
If price is important, I have bought used moka pots at Goodwill. Be sure to open them up to make sure all the parts are there. I’ve had to replace some seals, but they are cheap.
Goodwill. Yes. This was my thought as well . They always have nice stuff.
I really enjoyed the Voodoo Moka Pot guy. YMMV.
I have yet to master Moka, but have had some good, strong coffee out of it. I’ve had luck with a cold water start, how do you make yours?
Cold water on the bottom, coffee in the middle, and over the heat. 4 - 5 mins it boils over and boom.
Put a half once of cold water in the top, stops the coffee overheating.
I will try this .
I got my glass Oggi moka pot on sale at Grocery Outlet, a “last chance leftovers” type retailer, but I have learned to work with it, and can make a decent cuppa when In get things right.
My moka is also only a tiny 3 cup model, and to get a little more volume, I pre-wet my grounds with hot water so that a little less water volume doesn’t get absorbed by them.
I owned two including the one I have now, and the handle is fine, don’t worry at all. If you want, put the moka on the very side to avoid heat on the handle.
Other than that, the tip I saw years ago was to leave the cap open when you put on fire, and close it when the coffee comes out. To be true, I tested cup and no cap, and it was the same. Yet I still do open Cup.
It’s called Moka pot.
We’ve got one of those, it’s just silver though, not the red one!
– Frost
