A brainwave led from the Neapolitan flip coffee pot to the Moka pot.
In 1933, Arturo Bialetti was watching his wife doing the laundry with a type of copper boiler featuring a metal tub with a steel tube running up through the middle of it. It was heated from below so that the boiling water would spray through the laundry and spread lye through it evenly. It inspired him to create the first prototype moka pot.
Since then, the popularity of coffee has driven the spread of moka pots and they have become cherished possessions in countless homes. Perhaps that’s why so many people think that they know how to use them perfectly. However, we realize that perfection doesn’t exist and it’s wonderful to learn something new every day.
We’d like to dispel some of the myths that are handed down through families about the best way to make coffee. One of them is about “making a mound”.
Some people like to pile ground coffee up in the filter to form a mound, but is that wise? We asked an expert. Andrea Sguazzin, a certified Q Grader and SCA trainer from the Sapere Coffee Academy raised his eyebrows, shook his head and exclaimed: “No! Never make a mound like that!”
If you really want to be precise about these things, you should even weigh your moka pot to make sure that you put exactly the right amount of coffee in it and ensure that it isn’t under-extracted or over-extracted.
Another key question is whether you should press the coffee down into the filter or not. Many people do just that in order to squeeze in as much coffee as possible, but it’s something that should be avoided. It means that the water only flows through a few channels in the coffee and not all of it is used. Ideally, you should put just the right amount of coffee inside and try to spread it out evenly. At the very most, you could tap the filter gently on a worktop to spread the coffee out.
The ideal amounts to use in a three-cup moka pot are 150 ml of water (which should reach just below the valve) and 15 g of ground coffee. Pick your roast and grind size carefully. If you’re using a moka pot of a different size, the secret is to stick to the same ratio of 1:10, with 1 part coffee to 10 parts water.
For good results every time, simply fill up the filter properly and then lightly tap it to spread out the coffee evenly and get rid of any little pockets of air. Make sure the coffee is not piled up on top and never press it down.
So now you know what to do next time you fancy a nice cup of coffee at home. As for the choice of coffee, remember that the lighter the roast, the more acidic and lighter on the palate it will be, and the darker it is, the more full-bodied, bitter and strong it will be.
We recommend a medium roast to balance out the hint of burning in the beverage, which is caused by the distinctive type of brewing that takes place in a moka pot.
It goes without saying that careful preparation makes a big difference. So does choosing the right type of water, but that’s a topic for us to discuss another day.
You can find all of the Manuel coffee blends in the Home Line here.
Enjoy your coffee!
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