News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot. Parent comment

Re:The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot by samvher on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @01:22PM (#39107361)
Just tried out his suggestions combined with some of the comments there (what I tried: put boiling water in the moka to start, pre-heat my electric stove while preparing the moka, use a full but not overly full basket, and avoid sputtering by actively controlling the applied heat with the lid open and taking the moka off the heat the moment sputtering starts) and my impression was that it makes a noticeable difference. Specifically, I had always just accepted that moka coffee is fast and easy but bitter, and this was much less bitter: I preferred it and I think I'll keep these changes.

YMMV of course!

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot by wolfpack_mick on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @03:25PM (#39109233)
I'm right there with you on all those things!

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).

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot by j1elo on Wednesday January 24, 2024 @01:01PM (#39120507)
The CT scan page https://www.scanofthemonth.com/scans/coffee mentions that detail too: Take it off the heat before the volcanic sputtering phase at the end; this only adds bitterness to your coffee..

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.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot by pivo on Monday January 29, 2024 @08:34AM (#39176038)
> 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.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Humble Brilliance of Italy's Moka Coffee Pot by samvher on Monday January 29, 2024 @09:46AM (#39176822)
I also think there might be more of a heat gradient in the moka itself, i.e. the upper compartment including the vertical tube might end up with a lower temperature throughout the process.
[ Parent | on HN ]