Coffee questions about buying a Moka pot

[friedaweed]

This is the dinky donkey sanctuary single shot one I got for £2

I love quaody and the other coffee snobs posts that go on about all these mystical oils and aromas that their wizardry extracts from a coffee bean but to be honest I'm the same with my wine as I am with my coffee.If it smells nice and tastes nice, it's nice.

I will add though that a lot of people don't actually use a moka pot right which can sometimes mean it tastes a bit bitter. Don't over fill the water reservoir thinking you'll get more coffee you wont you'll just over extract the grinds. Pack the filter section full with coffee and use decent stuff.

You can get a lovely cup of coffee from a moka pot. 47 million Spaniards can't be wrong really can they

 

[soulfulofsoul]

If I wanted a short, dark, dense shot elsewhere, I'd use the aeropress. Which can do interesting things with light and dark roasts. And actually produces a genuinely decent brew with minimal fucking around or pampering."

Does your hatred/ disappointment apply to all Moka pots or just Bialettis? And when you say an Aeropress is minimal fucking around how do you know the water temp, for example, without faffing? I'm guessing our faff levels may be different here.

What sort of size are you looking for? There are at least 2 on my high street around the £5 mark

Cheers, I'm after a big 6 cup one but at that price I'd grab any. I'd rush right there now but it's 8998 miles (assuming you're in London) and charity shops are often closed on Sundays Thanks a lot though, hopefully someone else can get one.

Also, I've realised my two biggest unanswered questions: I've made a big general assumption that whatever makes a good espresso I can just add water to and milk (please dont hate me) and it will be good. Is that right? And, it actually seems like if you do make strong caffe latte type coffee and not espresso's, then maybe a 6 cup one is right to make about 400mls. Does anyone know?

 

[bmd]

snip

Also, I've realised my two biggest unanswered questions: I've made a big general assumption that whatever makes a good espresso I can just add water to and milk (please dont hate me) and it will be good. Is that right? And, it actually seems like if you do make strong caffe latte type coffee and not espresso's, then maybe a 6 cup one is right to make about 400mls. Does anyone know?

I'm afraid I must.

 

[soulfulofsoul]

I'm afraid I must.

Just keeping my whole working class street cred in tact
But I'm not stupid enough to admit that I currently drink instant coffee (mostly) here. No way, that could be dangerous.

 

[bmd]

Just keeping my whole working class street cred in tact
But I'm not stupid enough to admit that I currently drink instant coffee (mostly) here. No way, that could be dangerous.

Burrrrrrrrrrn ye!!!!!!

 

[mrs quoad]

I love quaody and the other coffee snobs posts that go on about all these mystical oils and aromas that their wizardry extracts from a coffee bean but to be honest I'm the same with my wine as I am with my coffee.If it smells nice and tastes nice, it's nice.

Oils?

On this thread, someone posted that moka pots get oils. I posted that that's the case for any non-paper / cloth filter.

Wrt coffee, I agree. I doubt you'll find me anywhere, on any thread, wanking on about overtones of whatever. I want a good, non-bitter coffee that I can enjoy without wincing, or half a tonne of sugar or milk. I couldn't give a fuck what anyone else drinks, so long as they're happy. So more power to you, & to your moka pot.

Does your hatred/ disappointment apply to all Moka pots or just Bialettis? And when you say an Aeropress is minimal fucking around how do you know the water temp, for example, without faffing?

I've yet to have a (second) cup that I've enjoyed from a moka pot. That includes my Bialetti. I have no idea what other brands I've been fed from - I've certainly been given moka pot brews by 3 or 4 people.

Wrt the aeropress / water temperature. I wait until the kettle's boiled. I wait until the water's stopped bubbling. And I count to about 8ish seconds before wandering towards the aeropress and pouring it in.

It's very unlikely you'd fuck it up unless you're pouring on straight-up boiling or boiled-a-very-long-time-ago water. It's really not that complicated.

 

[mrs quoad]

The bin-visiting moka pot has been claimed.

 

[friedaweed]

Oils?

On this thread, someone posted that moka pots get oils. I posted that that's the case for any non-paper / cloth filter.

I was pulling your leg

 

[soulfulofsoul]

[quote="mrs quoad, post:
Wrt the aeropress / water temperature. I wait until the kettle's boiled. I wait until the water's stopped bubbling. And I count to about 8ish seconds before wandering towards the aeropress and pouring it in.

It's very unlikely you'd fuck it up unless you're pouring on straight-up boiling or boiled-a-very-long-time-ago water. It's really not that complicated.[/quote] I've regretted getting an old school whistling kettle since we did. Taking ages is the main problem. Now it's an issue when considering an aeropress. I almost wish the thing would break to get a reaplacement but the stupid thing won't do that anytime soon.

 

[soulfulofsoul]

I bought one! Don't know what brand but its heavy and aliminium. Haven't tried it yet - will get beans today.

Now I've just realised that grinder is equally or probably more important. I wish I hadn't started googling about coffee at all, it's a slippery slope. Because now I've learnt that you shouldn't just get the shop to grind it. And you should grind it right before each cup. And don't use a blade to grind it. And conical burrs are better than the wheel ones. And grinders can be noisy and hard to clean. And they aren't cheap at all.

It's enough to drive me back to instant, i should get out now (before my first cup) while I can.

 

[Fez909]

Just buy pre-ground for the time being. Or get the shop to do it for you.

It'll be miles better than instant and then you can ponce about buying burr grinders and whatever else at your leisure.

 

[bmd]

So it turns out me and mrs quoad live in the same town. And I claimed the vile pot. Which he brought round to my house. I was out so he stood there and talked to my mum for half an hour (ooh, he's such a lovely man. Lovely. LOVELY. fucking hell, alright mum). He also stopped off in town on his way round and had a few different coffees ground up in different grades for me to try.

Turns out my mum was right.

 

[sunny jim]

Do the moka type coffee pots save on coffee? I seem to go through loads of coffee with a cafeteria type so would you use less in Moka types. I do like a strong cup of coffee so will I save money in the long run?

 

[bmd]

I think it depends on how big your moka pot is. One cup ones may save you coffee.

 

[Fez909]

Do the moka type coffee pots save on coffee? I seem to go through loads of coffee with a cafeteria type so would you use less in Moka types. I do like a strong cup of coffee so will I save money in the long run?

It shouldn't make any difference, IMO. I suppose there might be an argument for saying that the high pressures involved in the moka extract the coffee flavours better but I doubt it would be significant.

 

[sunny jim]

The coffee must taste better from the Moka pots than the cafeteria, wouldnt it?

 

[bmd]

The coffee must taste better from the Moka pots than the cafeteria, wouldnt it?

Not ime.

 

[Fez909]

The coffee must taste better from the Moka pots than the cafeteria, wouldnt it?

It's different, yeah. You get espresso's out of the moka, which you can add hot water to to get a similar product to what comes out of the cafetiere. So you get a bit more control over the finished product, but the taste isn't a lot different. I find it stronger from the cafetiere but I might just be using more coffee there?

I prefer the moka, given the choice, as I top up with hot water and milk so it means I can make a pot in the morning and have four cups from it, all hot. Whereas with the cafetiere, I can only get 3.5 cups out of it, and unless I drink them all straight away, they're cold (which I don't mind too much).

 

[laptop]

The coffee must taste better from the Moka pots than the cafeteria, wouldnt it?

Better is a question of, er, taste.

But since getting a Moka I've gone off filter coffee. It's very different... even a bit different when diluted "Americano".

 

[mrs quoad]

If you put the same beans, same grind, in a cafetiere and a moka pot, hell yeah, you'll get a different brew.

Likewise, if you try roasting a mixed tray of full /uncut adult King Edwards and baby new potatoes, you'll end up with very different results. Either half of them will be charcoal, or half of them will be uncooked.

Cafetieres are made to take full grown king Edwards. Cooked for a very long time. At a lower temperature.

Moka pots are made to take baby new potatoes. Blitzed, very quickly, at a very high temperature / pressure.

If you're trying to use the same potatoes in both machines, you're going to be fucking at least half of your brews up.

Cafetieres excel at light roast beans. Acidic, fruity, interesting, complex, really coarse ground, 4mins, lower temperatures.

Moka pots will produce sour dreck out of the same beans. Grind the same beans finer, and you'll end up with harsh, repellently acidic sour dreck. Instead, they (i believe) excel with darker roast beans. Finer ground. Well suited to having everything sucked out of them in 30-60s.

It's... just... asking for a shit brew, putting the same beans / same water:coffee ratio / same grind into processes using massively different temperatures, timings, and pressures. You wouldn't use icing sugar to get a crispy topping on a creme caramel (believe me, I've tried, blow torch and all.)

I've barely ever found a bean that I'll use in both espresso and filter. Ok, there's been one or two, roast right on the cusp (and even then, I'll give them massively different grinds). But 9 times out of ten, IMO it's a complete no-brainer. Most beans - even before they've been ground - are better suited to short, hot, brutal extractions OR long, cooler, gentle extractions. And that tends to be mimicked by their roast and grind (dark / fine for hot and brutal, lighter / coarse for long and gentle).

 

[mrs quoad]

"I thought I'd put these baby new potatoes in for 100 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade."

It isn't a promising start, is it?

 

[tufty79]

i got a well nice chunky 6-pot stovetop job from tk maxx, of all places. i'm absolutely smitten with it, and it was £7.
also discovered that they do very tasty decaf for £2
(in case anyone still needs recommendations)