Moka Espresso: The Advanced Course

Published in

Overthinking Life

5 min readJul 13, 2019

There are plenty of articles and videos explaining how to make good Moka coffee. They explain how a Moka is different from other espresso machines while some don’t even consider the output to be espresso. They say don’t pack your shot, just dump the grinds in. I think that’s crap. A Moka is an espresso machine. I’m aiming to help you make the best espresso using standard best practices from espresso machines.

Is Moka espresso?

If you don’t believe the coffee from a Moka is an espresso machine, the rest of this article may not go over well. So, either you believe Moka’s make espresso or you suspend your belief that they don’t.

How does a Moka work? Water is heated in a compression chamber until the steam pressure forces the water through the shower head, through the coffee grounds, and into the top of the Moka. Pushing hot water at pressure through fine ground coffee makes espresso.

Traditionally, a Moka should be idiot proof in making espresso. This is generally true, but improvements can be made.

Coffee Grounds

First, measure, distribute (WDS preferred), and tamp the coffee. Traditional Moka instructions say to not tamp, just pour the grounds in and level them. However, depending on the bean, roast, and grind, this technique could give varied results. So, just like a regular machine, if you want consistency, measure your coffee and dial in your bean.

Why not tamp? Yes, one could argue that the pressure build up for a Moka is much less than a non-stovetop machine, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dial in the shot. Tamping should also be proceeded by distributing the grinds, because Moka espresso can have channeling just like any other espresso machine.

Water

Traditionally, one fills the bottom of the Moka with water until the waterline touches the bottom of the pressure release valve. Don’t go above the valve or the valve can’t function.

If you like a shorter espresso shot, like I do, you can reduce the water level to a more specified level so that you know what amount of coffee you will end up with. I do this by weighing the water based on an experiment where I measured all the bits to determine where all the water went after I pulled a good shot.

Brewing

You don’t want to cook the grounds while heating the coffee, but this happens when you screw the Moka together and put it on the stovetop. Don’t put the grounds or the top on the heat until the end. Only put the bottom with the appropriate amount of water, and once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, put the filter basket in the bottom. Then, use an oven mitt to hold the bottom and screw on the top.

When the coffee just starts to come out, you can mimic pre-infusion or bloom by turning off the stove for 10 seconds. Then wait until the coffee hits the right amount of blondness. For me, I like my shot ristretto, so I know where the water mark is on my Moka to stop.

The other obvious sign that you should pull it off of the heat and pour is that steam, not coffee is coming out of the top. It will make a different sound and the volume of coffee won’t change quickly. Usually, that’s at the point between a short and long espresso shot.

Once ready, pour immediately. If you don’t, more water will keep coming through, and you will be getting watered down coffee. Maybe you like that, but I don’t. However, I don’t judge people for how they like their coffee. I would suggest to experiment and see what works best for you.

Steps:

Fill water to the appropriate level. Typically until the waterline hits the bottom of the pressure release valve
Advanced: measure the water with a scale to get a consistent output.
Weigh coffee grounds
Distribute coffee grounds
Tamp coffee grounds
Put the bottom only onto the stove top
Measure temperature until 200F or 93C or in that ball park
Turn off the stove, insert the filter basket, and screw on the top piece of the Moka
Turn on the stove, reduce temperature to low (just above simmer)
Open the hatch on top of the Moka
Watch until some coffee starts coming out
Turn heat to lowest (or off) for 10 seconds (pre-infusion or bloom, whichever term works for you)
Turn heat back to low
Pull off heat at the right time, typically once steam starts coming out instead of coffee
Pour coffee immediately to avoid more liquid coming out

Super Advanced

If you really want to take it to the next level, staccato espresso works on a Moka. Below is how I did it, mid layer, coarse, then fine because the filter is upside-down.

Moka coffee is wonderful and different on its own compared to coffee from other espresso machines, and I’ve found some real joy in making a shot just right from such a simple machine.

If you like, follow me on Twitter and YouTube where I post videos of espresso shots on different machines and espresso related stuff. You can also find me on LinkedIn.