The moka pot uses pressurized extraction, and its principle is the same as that of an espresso machine, so it can make black coffee with a concentration close to espresso, and many people use it as a home alternative to an espresso machine, then use it as a base to recreate Americano, latte, mocha, and other specialty coffee drinks. However, the moka pot's pressure is limited, so the coffee concentration is only close to espresso; adding milk directly often makes it taste too watery, so the key is to increase the concentration of the coffee itself. This article will explain why the coffee-to-water ratio and extraction efficiency should be increased, and give adjustment directions for grind size, coffee dose, heat level, etc. At the same time, it recommends floral and fruity coffee beans suitable for the moka pot, and finally uses Golden Mandheling as an example to fully demonstrate the production process and parameters of a moka pot latte.

Moka pot extraction is pressurized, which is exactly the same as an espresso machine, so it can also brew black coffee with a concentration close to espresso. For this reason, many people treat it as a home substitute for an espresso machine: first get a cup of relatively concentrated coffee, then follow the espresso approach to make various specialty coffee drinks, such as moka pot Americano, moka pot latte, moka pot mocha, and so on.

From experience, the vast majority of coffee beans can be used in a moka pot. If you prefer floral and fruity notes, you can give priority to medium-roast single-origin SOE or espresso blends.

If you want to drink a moka pot coffee with a fresh floral type, the most recommended is Front Street Coffee Grana Estate Geisha SOE, where you can taste yellow peach, citrus, lemon, and berry flavors; if you prefer rich fruity aromas, Front Street Coffee Strawberry Candy Espresso is the first choice, with especially distinct notes of rose, grape, berry, and fruit gummy candy, and it is also very easy for beginners to handle.

Although the moka pot and the espresso machine both use pressurized extraction, its pressure is far lower than that of an espresso machine, so the coffee concentration can only be said to be relatively close to espresso. The ratio of milk to coffee is of course important, but once the coffee concentration is not high enough, no matter how you adjust the proportion of milk, the milk coffee produced will not perform too well.

From this it can be seen that the core thing that needs adjustment is the concentration of the moka pot coffee itself. If you want to raise the concentration further on the original basis, you need to reduce the amount of water and at the same time improve extraction efficiency.

Why increase the coffee-to-water ratio?

So-called coffee concentration refers to the percentage of dissolved coffee substances in the coffee liquid. When the total amount of coffee substances remains unchanged, the less water there is, the higher the proportion of coffee substances, which means the higher the concentration; the more water there is, the lower the proportion of coffee substances, and the lower the concentration.

Therefore, if you want to increase the concentration of a cup of coffee, you should use as little extraction hot water as possible and reduce the proportion of water in the coffee liquid. Conversely, if you want to lower the concentration, you need to increase the amount of hot water used.

Why improve extraction efficiency?

After the extraction hot water is reduced, the overall extraction efficiency will also decrease accordingly. If you want the coffee to still taste full, you must make up for the extraction efficiency from other aspects.

As with other extraction methods, there are also many ways to improve extraction efficiency in a moka pot: grinding the coffee finer, increasing the amount of coffee grounds, turning to low heat during outflow to extend the extraction time, and so on.

About choosing coffee beans

If you want the milk coffee you make to suit your own taste better, you still need to put some care into selecting coffee beans.

If what you want is a cup of rich, aromatic milk coffee without acidity, then it is best to choose medium-dark roast coffee beans: first, the coffee flavor will be richer, and second, it can bring a fuller crema-like oiliness to the latte. If you really do not know how to choose, you can directly buy Front Street Coffee Classic Espresso Blend; the smooth taste of the Brazilian beans plays a complementary and balancing role in the flavor. Front Street Coffee Classic Espresso Blend adds Robusta on the basis of the Mamba recipe, significantly improving the oily mouthfeel and making the body of the moka pot coffee stronger. It is suitable for home preparation and can also be used for latte art.

How to make "latte coffee" with a moka pot?

We chose Front Street Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling to make this moka pot latte. Its medium-dark roast will bring a richer roasted aroma and can also extract a fuller "crema-like oil."

The parameters are as follows: 20g coffee dose, grind size like fine salt, use warm water, coffee-to-water ratio 1:4. First put the water, coffee grounds, and other materials into the moka pot, and heat until liquid begins to flow.

When you hear the moka pot begin to make noise and liquid is about to come out, immediately turn off the heat source and use the residual heat of the stove to extract the coffee liquid. This ensures that the entire outflow is slow and stable, and the coffee therefore obtains a sufficient extraction yield.

After extraction is complete, pour the coffee liquid into the prepared cup, and finally add an appropriate amount of milk, and a delicious cup of milk coffee is done. The amount of milk should be determined according to the roast level and processing method of the coffee beans. Here, because Golden Mandheling dark roast is used and a hot "latte" is being made, add 180ml hot milk, that is, a ratio of 1:3.5.

From the color, you can see that this cup of "latte" made with a moka pot is very close to an authentic espresso latte. In terms of taste, the nutty, chocolate, spice, and pine aromas of Golden Mandheling are all well displayed. Although the mouthfeel is not as rich as an authentic latte, at least it is not as watery as before, and it goes down very smoothly, quite good!!

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