Moka Pot (6-cup)

Italy's stovetop pressure brewer. Around 1.5 bar, not nine - this is not espresso, and it is better than the internet claims when it is not scorched.

Roast	Grind	Coffee	Water	Time
light	fine-medium	3 g	45 ml	5:00
medium	fine-medium	3 g	45 ml	4:50
dark	medium	3 g	45 ml	4:30

Per 50 ml cup. Makes 6 at a time.

What goes wrong

Starting with cold water (long heat-up cooks the grounds, bitter and metallic), tamping the basket (blocks flow, hisses out of the safety valve), letting it run until it sputters and gurgles (over-extracted, harsh), scrubbing the aluminium clean with detergent (strips the seasoning, tastes of metal)

Care schedule

1 task for this machine.

Replace the gasket and filter plate

Yearly

The rubber gasket is what lets pressure build in the lower chamber. A hardened one leaks steam at the seam, the pot takes forever, and the coffee comes out weak. The perforated filter plate clogs at about the same rate.

What you need

A gasket and filter-plate set sized to your pot - 3-cup, 6-cup and 9-cup are all different. Hot water.

What goes wrong

Buying a gasket for the wrong cup size. Dishwashing an aluminium pot. Fitting a new gasket and reusing a clogged filter plate. Overtightening the chambers to stop a leak, which distorts the seat and makes it worse.

The procedure

Check the diagnosis: steam escaping at the join between the chambers while it brews, or a pot that has started taking noticeably longer, means the gasket has gone.

5 more steps

The full procedure is in the app, along with a reminder when this is next due. Add the Moka Pot (6-cup) to your shelf and it keeps track.

Get the app

Moka Pot (6-cup)

Moka Pot (6-cup)

What goes wrong

Care schedule

Replace the gasket and filter plate

What you need

What goes wrong

The procedure

What it makes