Recently I purchased an Italian coffee pot and it makes a truly great product. I love coffee and espresso but not enough to spend thousands of dollars on a legit espresso machine, but my Bialetti Moka Pot works just fine. From what I’ve heard, the more the pot is used, the better the coffee tastes. The Internet is full of stories about people pulling these out of their grandma’s attic and using them for years. They are relatively inexpensive ranging from about $20 upwards depending on retailer and capacity (note that the capacity is measured expresso cups, approximately 2 oz, not 8 0z of liquid). The coffee is not a true espresso but it is very strong and richer in taste than drip coffee. I hear the coffee produced makes a great cappuccino or latte but I only like black coffee. These little pots are pretty intuitive but don’t actually come with instructions. After scouring YouTube tutorials, articles, and forums, lots of trial and error, and a moderate dose of patience, I think I’ve come up with a good method.
Here’s what to do:
- Warm up a burner to medium heat
- Boil water
- Once water is boiled and the burner is warm, add hot water to the bottom chamber of the moka pot, fill just below the steam valve
- Place in coffee holder and fill with coffee (I used Illy), then screw on top. Make sure to hold the bottom with a pot holder (it’s hot)
- Set the pot directly on the stove until coffee erupts and fills the pot (listen for a gurgling noise), remove from heat when top is full
- Place hot pot on a trivet
- Serve coffee with a small cookie and enjoy.
Bialetti Moka Pot Sur La Table (34.95), Illy Coffee Sur La Table (15.95), Plate CB2 (1.95), Espresso Cup and Saucer Crate and Barrel (3.95), Espresso Spoon Crate and Barrel (2.50)
Ingeborg Ingeblog 