The moka pot is the top choice for countless beginners as a coffee brewing device, simply because it is not only attractive and lightweight, easy to operate, but also very affordable compared to coffee machines that cost thousands of yuan. However, in Front Street Coffee's view, to brew a delicious Americano or latte with a small moka pot still requires certain skills. Below, Front Street Coffee will share these key details with you.
Because the moka pot's coffee extraction method is consistent with that of espresso machines—both use pressure—it can produce a cup of black coffee with a concentration close to espresso. For this reason, many people use it as a substitute for espresso machines, and after making a higher-concentration coffee, they replicate various fancy coffees according to espresso methods. Such as Americano, latte, mocha, and so on...
Many friends say that Americanos and lattes made with a moka pot taste simply indescribable. The coffee flavor is there, but the mouthfeel is very watery and thin, with almost no coffee aroma when drinking.
This situation mainly occurs because the coffee concentration is not high enough! Although the moka pot uses pressure extraction like an espresso machine, its pressure is far less than that of an espresso machine. With conventional methods, the coffee concentration can only be close to, not completely equal to, espresso. The coffee ratio itself is important, but as long as the coffee concentration is not high enough, no matter how we adjust the proportion of milk or water in the coffee, the Americano and latte we make will still not perform exceptionally well.
In summary, the target we need to adjust is clear: the concentration of the moka pot coffee itself. If we want to increase the concentration of moka pot coffee on the original basis, we need to reduce the amount of water used while increasing extraction efficiency.
Why increase the coffee-to-water ratio?
The so-called coffee concentration refers to the percentage of dissolved coffee substances in the coffee liquid. When the amount of coffee substances remains unchanged, the less water there is, the higher the proportion of coffee substances—in other words, the higher the coffee concentration; and when there is more water, the proportion of coffee substances is lower, so the concentration is lower.
Therefore, if we want to increase the concentration of a cup of coffee, we need to reduce as much as possible the hot water used during extraction, so that the proportion of water in the coffee liquid is lowered. Conversely, if we want to reduce the concentration of a cup of coffee, we need to increase the hot water used.
Why increase extraction efficiency?
When the hot water used for extraction is reduced, the overall extraction efficiency will decrease. If we want the coffee to have a fuller flavor, we need to improve extraction efficiency in other aspects.
Similar to other extraction methods, the moka pot has many aspects that can increase extraction efficiency: making the coffee grounds finer, increasing the amount of coffee grounds used, turning to low heat during dispensing to extend extraction time, and so on.
About coffee bean selection
If we want the coffee we make to better suit our taste, then we still need to put some thought into coffee bean selection~
For example, if you want a cup of rich, aromatic, non-acidic milk coffee, then the coffee beans should preferably be medium-dark or dark roasted espresso blends. Front Street Coffee Queen's Estate, Front Street Coffee Golden Mandheling, and Front Street Coffee Jamaican Blue Mountain are recommended; and if you want coffee that is not so bitter, with some acidity and a fresher feel, you can choose medium-light roasted coffee beans like Front Street Coffee Huakui, Front Street Coffee Sidra, and Front Street Coffee Strawberry Candy. These beans will have relatively rich floral and fruity aromas.
Ok, those are all the things to pay attention to. So without further ado, let's next look at how to use a moka pot to make delicious Americano and latte coffee!
How to make moka pot espresso?
The coffee beans used in this Front Street Coffee sharing are the "old regular" from the article—Front Street Coffee Sumatra·Golden Mandheling. Its dark roast brings a richer roasted aroma, and it can also extract more abundant "crema" (although crema is not very useful). The parameters are as follows: 20g grounds, grind size like flour, initial water temperature 80°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:4 (use 80ml hot water for 20g grounds). So first, we fill the water, coffee grounds, and other materials into the moka pot, and heat until liquid starts to come out.
When we hear the moka pot begin to make a sound and is about to dispense, immediately turn off the heat source, then use the residual heat of the stove to extract the coffee liquid from the moka pot. This action ensures that the coffee dispensing is slow and stable throughout, so the coffee can achieve a full extraction yield.
After extraction is complete, prepare a 200–250ml coffee cup, pour in 180–220ml warm hot water or ice-water mixture, and finally pour the moka pot espresso liquid over the surface. A cup of moka pot hot Americano/iced Americano is ready.
If making iced milk coffee, we need to prepare a 300ml coffee cup, first add 100g ice cubes, then pour in 150g fresh milk, and finally likewise pour over the moka pot coffee liquid. Moka pot iced latte is then complete; if making a hot latte, first pour the espresso liquid into the bottom of the cup, then steam 180ml fresh milk until65°Cwarm state, and finally blend the two evenly.
It can be seen from the color that the Americano and latte made with moka pot coffee are very close to the authentic latte made with espresso. In terms of taste, although the Golden Mandheling Americano is somewhat light in concentration, the overall nutty, chocolate, spice, and pine wood aromas are all well expressed. Although the mouthfeel is not as rich as the authentic latte, at least it does not have the strong watery feel like before. It drinks very smooth, very good!!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
