here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7FoqR9oCfI
You knew it was working when the glass fogged up.
You might want some blast protection if you use a completely transparent one due to the explosion risk and flying glass pieces.
However, if you have a neutron imaging beamline you probably are motivated to make a cool demo.
Yes, as an example his lack of reviews on eureka grinders is very noticeable in comparison videos.
YMMV of course!
One thing to add: If you want to think even less in the morning. Just weigh the beans and water with a kitchen scale. 18 gr of beans, 160gr of (boiling) water (basically a 1:9 ratio regarding on the size of your basket).
Maybe that's exactly what you noticed. I cannot think how starting from already hot water vs. letting the water warm up and boil from the stove, could make any noticeable difference.
The idea is just that the beans don't get cooked as much by the heat ahead of the brew phase. For me it's made a big difference.
High-end (specialty coffee standard) commercial grinders produce a tighter variance amongst the ground coffee particles which leads to a way more even extraction, i.e. a more pleasant and balanced taste in the cup. Perhaps the most common model is the Mahlkonig EK43S, which is a ~$3,000 grinder.
Home grinders are far cheaper, in the range of ~$75–300 or so for popular ones, and tend to produce a broader variance of particle sizes which leads to big particles ("boulders") getting overextracted, thus imparting bitter flavors; and small particles ("fines") getting underextracted, thus imparting sour flavors. The higher quality and lighter roast your coffee is, the more noticeable the impact of the grinder is.
You don't have to take James Hoffmann's word for it at all, this is standard issue coffee grinder theory 101, which any specialty coffee professional would agree with. It's also easily testable at home, even if you haven't experiencend it in an experiment context. I took a short class on the theory of coffee once and the major experiments were comparing the same beans ground across different grinders (and then with or without use of a coffee sieve for further refinement) and the same beans across different brewing methods and techniques. The particle size distribution from the grinder is one of the most important variables in the whole process.
I don’t even know if the guy is American, just anecdata from my Facebook feed
now hol' up
in English, we have a suffix -ist for a person who does something: machinist, pianist, flautist. In Italian, they instead use the suffixes -isto or -ista to mean the same thing (which suggests English got "ist" from Norman French)
what does this particular -ista do? stands at a bar, that's why they are bar-isti. What's a bar, in Italy? well, "bar" not an Italian word, they borrowed the word from English.
Kind of weird this became a meme, since Italians are stereotypically supposed to really care about good coffee. My best guess is that for many households, the Bialetti is their version of Mr Coffee that they fire up in the morning to get out of the house before work and don't have the time or inclination to care about how it tastes. If they want something fancy and delicious that's what the 50 cafes within walking distance are for. That or their following a sub-optimal family tradition for how to brew with it.
Anyway, I only watched the video once but from what I recall the only thing that seemed especially over the top was the trivet to buffer the heat of the stove.
You need to do this after the pot has cooled enough that the aluminium won't burn your lips, but soon enough that the coffee grounds haven't continued to swell and wedge themselves in place.
In my experience if you wash grounds down the drain with plenty of water there's never any problem.
This works similarly well with the Flair brand espresso maker filter cup -- though suggested nowhere in Flair's written or video instructions. Too undignified an act I suppose for prospective customers to imagine themselves performing every morning in future.
Every morning I walk out and fling the grounds into the front yard.
[0] - The "tails" (to borrow distilling terminology) can be a little bit watery - if you do this and put it back on the hob for a few minutes you'll see that the rest of the coffee is noticeably more translucent.
And many of those options are "correct", but depend on your preference - do you like more concentrated coffee? Do you like it less bitter? Do you want more caffeine? Etc.
But your point is accurate: everyone has a slightly different way. I'd argue irrespective of the exact variation, the Moka Pot outperforms most other mechanisms for making coffee (other than cafe espresso machine).
Funnily, if you'd asked me at 6-monthly intervals for the ideal way to use a Moka Pot, I'd have given slightly different answers (i.e. each time I would have thought I'd mastered the technique, but by doing little experiments, and sometimes accidentally, I'd found slight improvements over the years).
If you tamp it, there's a greater chance that the water breaks an easier path through the coffee and doesn't flow evenly through all of it, which tastes worse.
I'd expect it depends on your coffee preference. I haven't ventured into the home espresso side yet, but regularly use pretty much everything else: SCA-approved drip machine, AeroPress, cold brew, french press and pourover. Of those, my favourite results have been pourovers with light roasts (bean-dependent, of course) - isn't a Moka Pot going to give you notably different flavour profiles?
I'm 100% sure the way I do it is correct, and that this is the only correct way to do it: put water in the bottom, coffee grounds in the filter, close the whole thing, put it on the stove top, wait for it to brew.
The rest is details, even if we can obviously optimise the shit out of those details.
I just go with 4 minutes.
Another comparison: the details of every other coffee brewing device.
I used to have the classic aluminium one because I prefer the geometric shape but I switched to stainless steel when I got induction and it seems higher quality in general.
I enjoy the ritual personally, it's my favorite way to make coffee.
I do the “Moka pot voodoo” technique [1] where you set the base on the stove and get it boiling first, then drop in the basket and screw on the lid, using a towel to protect my hand while holding the hot base. After that it’s a matter of moving the entire thing on and off the heat to carefully regulate the water temperature so that coffee only trickles out with no gushing. It makes wonderful coffee!
You can put it on quickly with one hand with a satisfying click, always perfectly sealed with no need to judge whether over or under tightening. I think the gasket will last longer too, because it doesn't get stray grounds twisted into it while screwing.
The one handed operation also makes it much easier if you do want to preheat or start with hot water in the base.
This instagram account has a nice collection of different ones [2].
[1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Coffee_p...
For what it's worth, and I know I'm playing right into the funny part here, every time I talked to people who deal with coffee for a living - roasters, baristas, growers, coffee shop owners - they all said the same thing for this - espresso. They said filter is wasted here as it's intended for a different method entirely, while crema wasn't ever mentioned.
That's precisely how I do it, and I was taught to do it this way by my mother as a kid, so you know at least two people who do it like you.
no higher than the valve, since it may lead to overpressure
I put water in. Sometimes I’m below the valve sometimes not.
Put pre ground coffee in. Sometimes I fill it all the way. Sometimes I leave a little room. Whatever.
Blast it with heat until it’s blowing air. Donezo.
I use Lavazza Crema e Gusto. It’s a robusta blend so very forgiving because it’s gonna be a little bit bitter no matter what. I always add some sugar so this isn’t a problem.
Also lol at “dialing in” a moka. Give me a break.
The reason why I use a moka is because I can get a good coffee without fussing.
I bought a full automated coffee machine. I pour grain in it and coffee comes out. It's way better than Nespresso capsules or "Senseo" etc.
Pro tip for for the rich and lazy people who want good coffee: just buy a JURA full auto coffee machine (it's a brand from Switzerland) and call it a day. They're pricey but they do the job very well.
Why exactly?
Our Bialetti stainless Moka pot hasn't been used in years.
BTW, Serious Eats thinks there's no one perfect recipe:
https://www.seriouseats.com/best-moka-pots-7570691#toc-what-...
i have the stainless steel one and dont like that theres teflon in it.
Then you have people that try to push their ideal coffee ideas to people saying that Italians don't know how to make coffee. If that's the case, then isn't it an extreme coincidence that the Bialetti was an Italian product???
I've seen tons of videos and comments about making the perfect coffee with a Moka, and most of them (save for James Hoffmann, where he says you should play around and find which parameters will make the coffee good for you), they try to push this stupid idea that "oh, if your coffee is bitter it's trash". Don't they understand that people have different tastes? For example, US coffee is terrible and tastes just like a very watered down coffee.
I've grown up drinking dark roasted coffee that have an intense flavor (not as intense as the Portuguese one, as that's literally a very black coffee). Anything not in this range tastes bad to me. I have a Moka at home and the thing that annoyed me a bit when I started brewing my coffee is that it had a reminiscent bitter taste that I definitely don't remember dripped coffee or espresso coffee having it. Since then, I watched James' video and decided to give a try to his techniques and some of them actually helped remove this strong, bitter flavor at the end.
Just to make sure people understand, it's not the bitterness of the coffee itself, but it's a bitterness that feels like it's artificial, when you "burn" the coffee in the Moka.
Another thing I strongly disagree with so-called coffee connoisseurs is that they say that Bialetti's claim that the Moka shouldn't be cleaned is a myth. This is like saying you shouldn't listen to your car's manufacturer to go to the mechanic every X thousand kilometers, but should rather go earlier, because, sure, a random dude on the internet knows more than the engineer who designed the car.
FWIW, Bialetti says you Moka pot shouldn't be cleaned with anything else other than running water, if you need to remove limestone you can use vinegar or another product, but then you have to brew 3 coffees before the Moka is ready for daily use again.
Should there? I imagine different people have different characteristics they prefer in their coffee, so different methods of using the pot would be expected and proper.
Nuances, sure, but every single time I ask someone about their Moka pot, they have a slightly different way of using it than I have.
Case in point: I fill water up to just touching/under the valve, then use a medium-coarse grind with dark espresso beans, with enough coffee to fill the basket level, no tamping brushing off or touching. Then heat it hard on gas if available, leave the lid closed while it builds up but open immediately with the first bubble and put it off the heat. Let it continue for another half minute and then pour. And you?