Stovetop Brewing Guide

Photograph by mizuno kozuki

Stovetop Brewing Guide

Also called the Moka pot, this device brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. It's a versatile brewer that works best with espresso roasted coffee. Please note that the size of the device is based on 'Italian espresso cups' which equal to approximately 30mL of coffee per cup.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

This recipe is to produce 300mL of stovetop coffee in a 6 cup brewer using 25 grams of ground coffee. The ratio in use is 1:12.

METHOD

Step One
Fill the base of the stovetop (the boiler) with 300mL of water - you can use the scale or fill to just below the pressure valve.

Step Two
Place your filter funnel on the scale and add 30g of coffee - don't tamp the coffee but leave it quite loose.

Step Three
Insert the filter funnel into the boiler and attach the top part of the stovetop (the collector). Make sure the two chambers are screwed in tightly.

Step Four
Place the stovetop on the heat source - keep the heat setting low/low flame.

Step Five
Allow the coffee to percolate into the collecting chamber but remove from the heat source as soon as you the 'sputtering sound' (this sound tells you that the water in the boiler is all gone) - don't overheat the coffee or you'll have unpleasant bitter flavours in the cup.

Step Six
Stir the coffee in the top chamber before serving.

Enjoy your stovetop coffee!
At the end of the brewing, you will have approximately 180mL of freshly brewed coffee.

TOP TIPS & TRICKS

Generic Recipes:
4 cup brewer = 18g coffee/200mL water
6 cup brewer = 25g coffee/300mL water
10 cup brewer = 45g coffee/550mL water
Use the above as a starting point, but feel free to increase or decrease the coffee quantity, experiment with espresso or filter roasts and with blended and single origin coffees.
Extraction time:
The time it should take for the stovetop to brew coffee once on the heat source is approximately 5 minutes.
Starting with near boiling water in the bottom chamber will help precent unwanted bitterness from developing and will ensure a better extraction. Be careful when you follow this method as the metal will get hot and this might prevent you from screwing the two chambers tightly together resulting in sputtering of boiling water from the device.
Grind your coffee medium fine and don't tamp it once in the filter funnel. This might precent the water from flowing into the upper chamber causing the device to overheat and trigger the pressure valve.
Clean your stovetop brewer regularly by rinsing it under running water and allow to dry before assembling together.