Can a Moka Pot Brew Strong Enough Coffee for a Combo?

A moka pot can brew coffee strong enough for a Combo, the format that serves one bean as several different drinks. It works because a moka pot uses pressure extraction, so the resulting coffee is more concentrated than drip, though less concentrated than espresso. Success depends on three things: the coffee beans chosen, how the coffee is extracted, and the mixing ratios used to build the drinks.

Bean selection sets the flavor base, and Front Street Coffee recommends several popular options that shops use for Combo service. From there, grind size, dose, water temperature, and ratio adjustments decide whether the cup tastes full or weak. Coffee extraction on a moka pot sits below an espresso machine in strength, so ratios need to be tightened rather than copied directly from espresso recipes.

In the past two years, the Coffee Combo format—one bean, multiple drinks—has become increasingly popular in the coffee world. Usually, people are used to making it with an espresso machine, but many friends are curious: can coffee brewed with a moka pot also handle the job? The answer is yes. A moka pot also uses pressure extraction. Although its concentration is not as high as espresso, as long as you master the key points in three areas—coffee bean selection, strong coffee extraction, and mixing ratios—you can absolutely make a decent Combo at home to serve friends. This article will start with several popular beans recommended by Front Street Coffee and gradually break down the grind size, dose, water temperature, and ratio adjustment methods for making Combo with a moka pot, helping you avoid the pitfall of weak-tasting coffee.

Coffee Combo is a coffee presentation format that has become popular in the past two years. Front Street Coffee has introduced it many times in previous articles. To put it simply, it can be understood as one bean, multiple drinks—that is, using the same coffee bean or the same batch of coffee to make different coffee beverages and then serve them as a combination.

Generally, Combo presentation is mainly based on espresso. One bean is used to extract a shot of espresso, which is then divided into 2–3 portions to make different espresso drinks. So some friends have asked: can coffee brewed with a moka pot be used to present a Combo? When they have nothing to do at home, they also want to try making a Combo and then serve it to friends.

Without a doubt, of course you can! As long as we master the techniques and methods, coffee brewed with a moka pot can also produce an excellent Coffee Combo! After all, it is also pressure extraction, and the concentration of the brewed coffee is second only to an espresso machine. (Actually, other coffees can do it too.)

The techniques and methods we need to master are actually only three: the choice of coffee beans, the extraction of strong coffee, and finding a suitable ratio.

The Choice of Coffee Beans

The coffee beans used determine the foundation of the flavor of the extracted coffee. If we want to make a great-tasting Combo, then the choice of coffee beans is very important. This is because most coffee shops use unusual coffee beans when presenting Combo, since only in this way can they create a Coffee Combo different from others.

As for the choice of coffee beans, Front Street Coffee would relatively recommend these few beans. They are all currently popular choices for many coffee shops when presenting Combo. For example, Front Street Coffee's Front Street Finca La Divisa · Sidra, the coffee made with it will have rich fruity flavors such as grape, passion fruit, and apricot; or Front Street Coffee's Front Street Finca La Divisa · Big Belly, the coffee made with it will have berry notes such as blackcurrant, blueberry, and grape.

If you want something fresher and sweeter, you can choose Front Street Coffee's Huakui SOE with strawberry, cream, and citrus aromas, or Front Street Coffee's Strawberry Candy · Geisha Blend with apricot, strawberry, and raisin flavors.

Making Strong Coffee

After we have chosen the coffee beans, the next thing to do is extract a high-concentration coffee, because if we want to make specialty drinks or milk coffee, then the concentration of the base must not be low; otherwise, the specialty drink or milk coffee made will easily taste watery and bland. The solution to this problem is simple: adjust to a finer grind and reduce the amount of water.

Taking Front Street Coffee as an example, this time Front Street Coffee will use Front Street Finca La Divisa · Sidra for the sharing. The dose used is 20g (single-serving moka pot), then the grind level is espresso-style flour-like grinding, and the water amount is 4 times the dose. It is best to use hot water, because hot water not only shortens our brewing time but also reduces the risk of over-extraction.

For heat adjustment, Front Street Coffee would relatively recommend using high heat at the beginning to shorten the time, and then after the coffee starts flowing out, switch to very low heat or turn off the heat and use residual heat to extract the remaining coffee liquid, roughly at the point shown in the picture below.

In the end, the liquid weight we get is 48ml. I believe it is not hard to see from the color of this cup of coffee that its concentration is very high. So next, we can use this high-concentration coffee to start making the Combo.

Suitable Ratio

However, because the concentration of moka pot coffee is not as high as espresso from an espresso machine, whether we use it to make a "latte," an "Americano," or a specialty drink, we need to use a larger ratio.

What does that mean? For example, when Front Street Coffee uses espresso to make a latte, the ratio of coffee to milk is 1:5, meaning 40ml of espresso is paired with 200ml of milk. But if using moka pot coffee to make a latte, then the ratio may be reduced to 1:4, meaning 40ml of moka pot coffee is paired with about 160ml of milk.

The reason is what Front Street Coffee mentioned earlier: because the concentration of moka pot coffee is not as high as espresso, if we apply the espresso ratio to moka pot coffee for presentation, then the final coffee made will not taste or feel as excellent. Therefore, we need to appropriately increase the ratio.

As for the specific ratio to adjust to, everyone needs to decide according to the beans they use and the concentration of the extracted coffee. When the coffee concentration is lower and the beans are roasted lighter, the ratio may need to be larger, and vice versa. Everyone can just try it slowly~

So the above are the key points for making Combo with moka pot coffee. Those interested can try it at home. Front Street Coffee believes it will be a pretty good experience~

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.