Espresso Coffee Pot ("Moka Express"-style)

cheap, practical alternative to an espresso machine

espresso, coffee, moka express

This is a device invented by an Italian fellow named Bialetti, almost one hundred years ago. It's a simple tool for making espresso at home using just a stove or gas burner, and even the most expensive ones cost at most $50 (totally usable cheap ones are available for $15-$20). Even better, when you're done just rinse it and put it away (no bulk on your countertops).

Note that "Moka" is a brand name, but many people refer to the general class of coffee pots by that name.

created: Friday, July 06, 2007 (PST)

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Espresso brewing relies on heat, pressure, and a surrounding liquid to extract flavors and caffeine from coffee grounds. A typical espresso machine uses an "infusion" method, in which hot water is forced at high pressure downward through a pile of grounds, soaking up flavor as it goes.

A "moka" espresso pot supposedly works on an "extraction" principle, in which a mixture of hot water and steam is forced upward (by steam pressure) through a pile of grounds, acquiring flavor and caffeine. I don't really see how this is chemically any different from "infusion", but due to the action of the steam it indeed operates at higher temperature and pressure, resulting in a stronger coffee mixture.

The pot consists of three parts:

1) A small, sealable chamber to hold water; this is the top-right item in the image.

2) A coarse filter and panel to hold coffee grounds above (1); this is the bottom-center item in the image.

3) An empty vessel (with a second filter) to collect the output of (2); this is the top-left item in the image.

Stick that on a stove, and the water in part (1) will eventually boil and steam, creating a flow upward that carries flavor from the grounds (2) up into the collection chamber (3). After a couple of minutes, open up (3) and there's your espresso.

Note that due to the somewhat less controlled brewing process, and the (typically) coarser filter, this device results in a thin layer of sediment collecting at the bottom of the collection vessel. As with turkish coffee, you don't drink that part :)