Anyone got a mokka pot (is that what they're called?)

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I have recently been introduced to noisette coffee in France which was gorgeous

Better than cortado and macchiato.

I dont drink a lot of coffee. I cant drink buckets of drink in any case and would probably only have a small coffee once or twice a week

But Ive been looking at these little espresso pots that you put on the hob, is this going to be another gadget cluttering up my cupboards when Im trying to shed items?
Are they too small to put on the hob?

OH likes instant coffee or sometimes does a weak cafetiere coffee at the weekend. Abroad when we get to our self catering accommodation he is straight out to the carre four to buy over priced Nescafe (because no one decent drinks that shit abroad)

Ive seen this

amazon.co.uk/0007303-Bialetti-MINI-EXPRESS-8006363030489/dp/B08BRYT5Y4/ref=rvi_d_sccl_3/258-1646786-6637245?pd_rd_w=hUeM7&content-id=amzn1.sym.d56e60fb-87bc-405a-a95d-c5e322a9b3d9&pf_rd_p=d56e60fb-87bc-405a-a95d-c5e322a9b3d9&pf_rd_r=Y3YX3TKZ6EZK560QTS2B&pd_rd_wg=0Uooi&pd_rd_r=e5b68913-d0cb-4e84-b66b-0a12ff4f595e&pd_rd_i=B08BRYT5Y4&psc=1

I use my bialettii everyday. I throw it in the dishwasher. This is a cardinal sin- I know! But I like things shiny.

Is it aluminium? I don’t put mine in because I’m worried it will make it go rough and cloudy, not shiny!

Im going to get one, Im just thinking about what colour or design. There seem to be quite a few different ones for suckers like me discerning consumers, so I'll think carefully. It wont be going in the dishwasher thats for sure, I hate the thing, it ruins everything.

It’s stainless steel so that it works on my induction hob. I bought it on amazon.

Which one is it if you dont mind saying. And can you use the induction versions on a gas hob, they look slightly different

I agree the coffee is nicer than aeropress, filter or cafetiere.

@Funnywonder I hold ours under a cold tap for a moment, it is soon cool enough to dismantle then.

I’ll give that a go thanks!

I use a really old one- makes lovely coffee. But please tell about how to make a noisette coffee!

This is the one. I have the 2 cup and 6 cup version.

https://amzn.eu/d/0lUgbPC

I have two, differing sizes. Use them every day, and have done for decades. Best coffee makers there are, in my opinion.

I bought a moka pot when on holiday in Italy many years ago. Cliched but true… I used it regularly for a while but whatever I did I couldn’t get the stupid thing to produce a proper crema on the espresso so I gave up on it. Probably my dodgy technique rather than the pot, to be fair.

I grew up in an Italian household in the 70s abe 80s so can't imagine not having several in various sizes. Not having a mocha in an Italian household is a bit like not having a kettle in a UK one.

DH and I used a mocha for many years but the reality is we prefer a larger mug type coffee so ended up adding water and milk to a double espresso. We did this for years but then made the switch to nespresso pods where we have double pods, which are much easier to make. We still have two mochas that we occasionally use but I can't bring myself to get rid of them

Growing up we had at least 3 different ones , for 4, 6 and 10 people and they were used a lot when we had ( Italian) visitors

You can’t get crema with a Moka pot as they don’t apply enough pressure. Bialetti did a special pot that produced an imitation crema effect but it wasn’t brilliant. We switched to a bog standard Nespresso machine, less faffing and you get a crema.

Thanks I was looking at the Venus.

From what I have gleaned its not designed for that, they dont make 'espressos', even thought most people call it that

Not that it bothers me as I am not an expert at all

If i couldn't have my aeropress id have a mokka pot. But the aeropress is just cleaner, quicker and easier.

Why are they called moka pots anyway, does anyone know?

And is it mokka, moka or mocha?

In Italy it's 'Moka'. The name "Moka" derives from the Yemeni city of Mokha, an important coffee trading port between the 15th and 18th centuries. Alfonso Bialetti chose this name for his coffee maker in 1933 to associate it with the quality and experience of coffee, recalling the prized blends that originated in that area.

So this bloody thing has arrived.

I say 'bloody thing'

I see now why people invented instant coffee

Im not even a 'coffee aficionado'

Im struggling with this. I did the 3 rounds to season the pot thing

But these are the problems

a- it gets very very hot obviously and once you're done with your coffee and may want to make another, its too hot to handle to get the funnel out and dispose of the grounds
b- getting the grounds out is messy work, they all seem to stick, if I turn the thing upside down I get a load of water coming out that is residual in the bottom, causing mess everywhere, I cant get the funnel out because the lip of the funnel is below the ledge of the bottom section
c - the coffee grinds dont seem to come out in a packet or puck like they do in a cafetiere, so theres tons going down the sink, causing god knows what damage to the local drainage systems.

Ive also since found out that not all 'grinds' are suitable for this pot, it mustnt be too fine or too coarse and most bog standard packs of coffee dont have the grind level on it, so Im clueless (and no I dont want to grind me own beans).

And also Ive discovered that we shouldnt have packs of opened ground coffee hanging around the cupboard, it should be in the fridge but Im not sure we drink coffee enough to warrant bags of it in the fridge and they all seem to come in 200-250g bags. I need 100g really.

Any help gratefully received about this thing.

Oh dear!

Right. I’m not an expert but… coffee doesn’t need to be in the fridge or freezer if you are us8ng it regularly. It’s only if the bag hangs around that it really matters. You could decant some into a pot for the cupboard and put the rest of the bag in the freezer?

Cleaning. Either leave it to clean until later when it’s cool, or if you need to reuse it immediately run under the cold tap for a few moments.

I use my nail to pry up the metal disc with the coffee in. Hold it over the bin and tap sharply with a spoon, or tap on the side of the bin. Rinse in the sink then repack with coffee.

Hopefully someone with the same brand will be better at the how you get it out bit.

Don’t worry about grounds in the sink. It’s a tiny amount, really. I rinse far more down my sink all the time, no problems.

Thank you. Yes unfortunately the lip of the funnel is below the ledge of the bottom section so you cant prise it out with any nails or anything, you just cant get purchase on it.

I think we will try to find very small bags of coffee and keep them in the fridge then because we only have it once or twice a week.

This mornings debacle did not result in a nice exit from the funnel of coffee grounds. I was tapping the funnel upside down but those grinds were stuck fast in it, like mud, nothing was coming out. So had to scrape it all out and then only bits came out at a time. Mess everywhere.

Coffee can be frustrating- there’s a reason pod machines are popular! My mess issue was more about filling the coffee tray.

DF had a preferred spoon for poking out the coffee puck. His was an espresso machine though.

Could you unscrew the machine upside down over the sink? That way the tray would be upside down on the top half. You still have the releasing of the coffee puck to manage.

You’ll probably get the knack.

I would second an aeropress. Good coffee and the paper filter just pops right into the food waste, so no mess.

I am still persevering with this.

Turns out we have the wrong coffee anyway so have ordered some fine ground stuff. We just used up the last of the fine ground Greek coffee from Lidl and that was the best flavour so far (although thats the stuff that got stuck in the coffee funnel like mud)

Also I have now learned that we should be using either filtered or bottled water with the thing due to limescale. Our water must be the hardest in the UK, its dreadful, we have worked our way through a brita tap, filter jugs, various softners etc etc. All resulting in limescale on our kettles over the years so its impossible.

My technique so far is to have a small bowl of water by the side to plunge the thing in once done. Also a smaller bowl to put the bottom section in upside down.

Still making a lot of mess.

I’ve been reading the thread so apologies if you said this earlier, but I’m not clear why you can’t wait for it to cool down before you open it?