The Best Moka Pot for Authentic Espresso at Home

The Moka Pot is an great solution for people who want to make low-cost, espresso-style coffee at home. In this article, we will discuss this coffee brewer, its history and look into different types of Moka Pots. If you decide the Moka Pot is the right fit for your home brewing routine, you can discover more about the right Moka Pot for you at the end of this article.

This guide shows you how to buy the best moka pot for your callsfor. We likewise reviewed the best stovetop espresso coffee makers on the market for various categories.

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Moka Pot And Coffee Cups
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What is a Moka Pot?

The Moka Pot is a type of stove coffee maker that was invented by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933. The Bialetti company marketed their Moka Pot under the name ‘Moka Express’. The Moka Express is still successfully sold today, nearly 100 years later. This stovetop coffee maker makes coffee by passing water through finely-ground coffee utilizing pressure from steam. In this way, it is similar to espresso coffee coffee.

History of the Stove Top Coffee Maker

If we think about it, stove coffee makers are the original coffee brewers that have been used since our ancestors discovered that coffee beans could be brewed and drunk. Our stove is just a heat source for brewing the coffee. Before stovetops, we crafted coffee in a pot over a fire. We can technically prepare our Moka Pot coffee on an open fire today if the Moka Pot is the right material. Nevertheless more on that later on..

Up until the 18th century and even for some of the 19th century, coffee lovers still boiled it over a gas fire or stove. There was no science or measurements; they simmered the mix until it smelled right. 

Then coffee was introduced to France, where they revolutionized the brewing procedure. They realized that coffee shouldn’t be boiled directly for optimum effects. 

So they came up with the idea of vacuum brewing, which didn’t burn the coffee in the same way as boiling. The early version of a vacuum brewer was the Siphon. The next coffee maker to replace the Siphon was the Percolator. The Percolator was the most popular method for brewing coffee until the invention of the Moka Pot in the early 20th century. To this day, it is a popular technique of brewing coffee.

Moka Pot On Gas Stove

How does a Moka Pot Work?

The Moka Pot is made up of three parts. The bottom part is the boiler. Water (preheated if you want a quicker brew) is added to the boiler up to the safety valve. Some companies include a water extent mark for ease of use.

The second piece, the funnel, is then inserted into the boiler and finely ground coffee is added into the funnel. 

The upper part is then screwed onto the base, and the Moka Pot is added to a heat source, i.e. a stovetop. As the water boils, the steam pushes the water upwards. It then passes through the coffee and is collected in the upper chamber.

Stove Top vs Moka Pot

The Moka Pot is commonly discussed just as a stove coffee maker. But, there are other kinds of stove coffee makers, such as the classic percolators; Moka pot is the many popular stove today. 
You can in fact get a Moka Pot that is not a stove. I’ll speak about that more in a little.

Coffee Cups With Stove Espresso

Why Choose the Moka Pot?

The Moka Pot is a great domestic coffee solution for numerous people. The main advantage is that it produces a coffee with a stronger and thicker quality similar to espresso coffee. If you prefer espresso to filter coffee, the Moka Pot could be a good option for you. 

The Moka Pot is likewise really low-cost compared to home espresso coffee makers and is a good way of creating espresso coffee type coffee cheaply at home. 

Finally, the Moka Pot requires no electricity. This brews it an excellent solution for campers or people without access to electricity.

Moka Pot coffee vs espresso coffee

Though similar, Moka Pot coffee isn’t exactly the same as espresso. Both methods utilize pressurized steam. Moka Pot coffee uses much less pressure than espresso coffee, but. The industry standard for espresso is 9 bar pressure, and the Moka Pot only uses 1 or 2 bars of pressure. 

The coffee is likewise ground much finer for the Moka Pot than for espresso coffee. The Moka Pot filter is much bigger than an espresso machine portafilter. This results in less resistance for the water, hence less pressure. The finer grind gives that resistance. 

The Moka Pot cannot develop the 9 bar of pressure because of the design. 

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How Does the Moka Pot Coffee Taste

Moka Pot coffee has many the dark, oily qualities of espresso coffee without being quite as concentrated to taste. It is somewhere in between American coffee and espresso coffee coffee if we were to approximate a taste profile. 

How to choose the best Moka Pot

How numerous cups can your Moka Pot brew?

Moka Pots come in various sizes. If you are just creating coffee for yourself, the classic 1 to 2 cup Moka Pot will do nicely. If you are creating coffee regularly for family or guests, the larger Moka Pots are going to be a better option. 

Basically a quick disclaimer – Moka Pot cup measurements, in traditional Italian style, are small. A ‘cup’ is primarily 50 ml, which is similar to an espresso serving. Bear this in mind and choose your size accordingly! 

Material – Stainless Steel vs Aluminium

And so we come to the materials. The original Moka Pot, the Moka Express, is brewed of aluminium. It is cheap to buy, resilient to heat and a good heat conductor. Having said that it is not resilient to all heat, and so, stainless steel Moka Pots were invented. 

Stainless steel is even more resilient to heat than aluminium. Stainless steel Moka Pots are likewise dishwasher safe. The downside is that they are more expensive. 

Stovetop Compatibility

Make sure to check out what type of stovetop you have before you buy your Moka Pot. If you have a stovetop that operates at an extremely high temperature, such as an induction cooker, you will need a stainless steel Moka Pot.

A summary of the best Moka Pot Coffee Makers

Bialetti Moka Express 

The Moka Express is the original Moka Pot. It stood the test of time and for a good reason. It is brewed from aluminium so it is cheap, versatile and these days comes in all sorts of sizes and styles. Sizes start at the 1 or 2 cups, priced at a bit over $10, and go all the way up to the 18 cup brewer, which retails at around $60.

If you close your eyes and imagine a Moka Pot, you are probably imagining the Moka Express. It has been featured in pop culture and movies countless times, and it is just a typical in reality. 

Bialetti Moka Express Stove Espresso Maker
Cuisinox Roma Moka Pot Coffeemaker

Cuisinox Roma Coffeemaker

If you are in the market for a bigger Moka Pot even though, we advise you go for the Cuisine Roma Coffee Maker.

It is crafted of stainless steel, so it is more durable and induction safe. The design is sleek, humble and resembles a steel Cafetière or traditional coffee pot. A 4 cup brewer will cost around $100.

Bialetti Elegance Venus

The stainless steel option from Bialetti is also a ideal investment if your priority is the material and not the size. This coffee maker is probably the safest choice to go for if you have an induction cooker. It comes in smaller sizes and so is drastically cheaper than the Cuisinox Roma, starting at $25. Also, as the name suggests, this Moka Pot is, well, elegant. The design is lovely and steeps a excellent addition to your kitchen. 

Bialetti Venus Coffee Maker
Delonghi Emk6 Alicia Moka Espresso coffee Maker

DeLonghi EMK6 Alicia

This coffee maker is an electric Moka Pot coffee maker. It comes with its own hot plate that the Moka Pot fits onto. You simply need to plug it into an outlet, and it is good to go – no stovetop essential, just electricity.

If you don’t have a stove top, or have a small stove top with one or two rings, the DeLonghi EMK6 Alicia is a wonderful option. 

bonVIVO Intenca Stove Espresso coffee Maker

bonVIVO Intenca is another fun option to check out. The main feature of this Moka Pot is its design.

It looks classically Italian and has a copper chrome finish, which I ought to say does look lovely. It is stainless steel, steeps 4-6 cups and retails at around $50. 

Bonvivo Intenca Stove Espresso Maker

It’s Decision Time!

So, we’ve talked about the properties of Moka Pot coffee, its design and our picks of the recent Moka Pots out there.

The Moka Pot is an excellent preference for home coffee preparation. If you like espresso-style coffee but don’t want the hassle or the price of an espresso machine, this is definitely the right way to go.

If you’ve decided to give the Moka Pot a try, have a look at some of the options above and find the one that is wonderful for you. We would enjoy to understand how you get on!

This post was first published at Moka Head, a wonderful coffee website that specializes in Moka pot brewing recipe.