Moka Coffee 101: Common Problems & Solutions (Part 1)
Getting to grips with moka coffee for the first time can be slightly tricky. Even though it’s technically one of the simplest coffee brewing devices on the market, you still need to pull off a bit of a balancing act to get it right.
On the plus side, get it right just once and you’re golden. Once you’ve come up with the right formula and method to suit your tastes, moka coffee can be both simple and exquisitely delicious.
Not to mention, an exceptionally cost-effective way of brewing a gorgeous cup of coffee.
Along the way, there’s every chance you will encounter one or two common issues. The classic moka coffee pot may be as simple as it gets, but there are still several ways things can go wrong during the brewing process.
In all instances, whatever it is that’s going wrong should be fairly easy to diagnose and rectify. Over the course of this post and the next, we’ll be providing a few troubleshooting tips for anyone struggling to get the best out of their moka pot at home.
Let’s get started with a selection of common problems and how to resolve them:
1) Water leaks from the pot when it is heating
If water or steam is escaping from the central area where the two parts of the pot screw together, this suggests one of two problems. It’s either that you haven’t screwed them together tightly enough, or that there is something wrong with the seal/gasket.
Check for debris or any kind of obstruction that could be preventing the gasket from sealing gap properly. If this still doesn’t work, a new gasket can be picked up for next to nothing to create a seal that will not leak.
2) There is steam coming out of the safety valve
The safety valve fitted to the lower chamber on some moka coffee pots is there to prevent explosions from occurring. If you see steam coming out of the safety valve, it suggests that: a) there is an excess quantity of water in the reservoir, or b) you have compacted/tamped the coffee grounds excessively.
On rare occasions, it could also simply be that there is a blockage within the valve itself, which should be easy to detect and remove.
3) My moka coffee pot doesn’t seem to be producing much coffee
This is another issue that is almost always related to coffee grounds being packed too densely in the chamber. While it can be tempting to cram in plenty of grounds to achieve a deliciously strong coffee, doing so can and will compromise the result.
There’s a degree of trial and error involved in getting it right, but keeping things relatively loose is the way to go.
4) There’s still water in the chamber after I brew
This isn’t actually a problem – it’s a deliberate a necessary part of the moka pot’s mechanism. A small amount of water should remain in the chamber after brewing, so as to prevent what would otherwise be a dry surface burning and becoming damaged.
Though if there is an excessive amount of water left in the chamber, it could be that you are adding too much in the first place or your grounds are too tightly packed.
Stay tuned for the second half of our two-part moka coffee post, coming soon…
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