Just got one and would like to hear some recommendations or tips to optimize the experience.
Every single day.
Buy the fine ground, espresso bricks (Pilón, Bustelo, etc.); fill bottom with water to mid way of pressure release valve; scoop coffee grounds into filter (you can mound the coffee grounds to form a little cone in the middle. Tighten the top well. Low to medium heat on smallest burner and keep lid open. Once the first stream of delicious brown nectar comes bubbling up, close lid and turn off burner about 30 seconds after lid is closed.
Every morning as well. Low heat on smallest burner, lid closed and no shutting off burner before its done. Brown sugar, to taste (I add ~1 tsp to a 3 cup pot portion). No other preparation method offers the richness/density/concentration, IMO, even “greek/turkish” čezva (I have a bunch).
And make sure to watch some uToob videos of Cubans in Miami area making cortadito in Mocha pot, to me its an “improvement” on espresso, but very worthy of a try.
Thanks for the tips. I have used it now a few times and it does produce a nice cup of coffee. I dont know if it makes a better cup than my aeropress.
I agree on the low-med heat on small burner rec. Fairly flexible with the grind of coffee, although volume might need to be adjusted. We use it with coffee ranging from expresso brick (La Llave is our current fav) to Starbucks prepackaged ground. We loosely almost fill the basket with coffee, with water up to just below the vent. Adjust amounts of both proportionally downward for less coffee. Talk about QPR? Moka pot is a champ! Enjoy.
Greg corrected a couple of tips in my post. He is correct.
Don’t open lid, keep burner on until steam comes out the spout.
Don’t know which version you have, but mine has a valve so once the pressure is high enough in the water chamber, all the brew enters the upper chamber at once. Better coffee IMHO. Got mine in Italy. I also use the lowest flame possible.
Every day for us too. We have a 3 cup and a 6 cup, both Bialetti. The 3 makes 1 mug, the 6 makes 2.
We finely grind a medium to dark roast. Stumptown recently. My wife and I both drink black no sugar so no special adds for us.
Not sure I get anything special about keeping the lid closed, it’s not air tight, just to avoid spatter right? So yeah we keep it closed.
We did buy a knock off 6 cup at first. From China I think. It didn’t seal properly. We ended up throwing it away and buying the Bialetti.
Grew up with one in Italy and used it for years in the states too (only recently splurged for a Breville espresso maker). There’s different school of thoughts on how to make the best “moka” - people fight over this stuff! My recommendation would be to fill the grounds to the brim without packing them, otherwise it just gets too bitter. But I know of families that would basically disinherit me for this.
I use one every day in the cooler weather, then pourover in summer. I grind my own locally roasted coffee though, on the finest setting. I recently read a recommendation to boil the water first in the electric kettle before adding to the bottom chamber, and have been doing that.
One thing I see missing is there are too many former baristas that want to stamp the grinds down like an espresso machine; don’t do that. The grounds should be finely ground but loose.