Brew with Moka Pot Summary From James Hoffman Video (dated 2022 Jan)

Note

• This post serve as a summary note for the James Hoffman YouTube video below. 
• I will write another with just guidelines. 

 

Brewing with Moka Pot - James Hoffman style

Link - Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

Starting temperature in the boiler.

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

Grind size, the value corresponds to the value on Niche. 

• The finer, the higher the extraction, the higher the brew temperature too.
• When brewing with freshly brewed water, the water in the chamber will hit about 101 to 130 degree Celcius. That will create the so called “moka pot harshness”, that you would want to avoid.

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

For heating power

• Brewing in low heat setting is better, 
• High power will generate more pressure that will effective push out more coffee before it starts to “cough”, or sputtering.
   

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

 

From 200g, get 130 to 140 g out before it started to sputter. 

• Using a steel plate (or a diffusion plate) is a very good idea, it acted like a thermal capacitor, where it will slowly discharge the heat as you brew is completing, with lower chance of sputtering. 
   

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

Use Aeropress paper

• Slight increase in pressure, therefore, slightly higher extraction. 
• The extract is cleaner, sweeter, nicer to drink. The coffee is also a little bit foamier. 
• Remember to use the standard Aeropress filter, and not something ticker. 
• Ticker filter will create more resistance - as if it was grind finer - and resulting in a higher pressure and temperature. 

Bloom

• No need to fill the coffee to the brim. It may get in the way of even extraction. 
• Just need to fill the coffee into the funnel “comfortably”. 
• Blooming not necessarily help because the grind coarseness is not pour over, so blooming don't really help in moka pout, unless you grind coarser, but that defeat the purpose of moka pot because you then need to adjust other parameter.  
   
   

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

Stainless steel is better.

Due to thermal mass in the boiler.

Get at least 60% of the coffee out before it starts to sputter. 

• For lighter roast, more water may be needed.
• The reverse is true for darker roast, and you can take it off earlier.

By using a diffuser plate (steel is better, thicker is better)

• Use Aeropress paper. 
• Heat it on high
• Just when the coffee begin to accumulate on the top chamber, cut the heat. DUring this time, the pressure should be about 0.3 bar. 
• Let the diffuser plate release its heat and continue supplying heat to the boiler below. The pressure should reach about 0.6 bar at this point. 
   
   

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

 

Cut the heat when you saw the coffee started to accumulate on the top chamber. See the diffuser plate below. 

Image from James Hoffman-Understanding the Moka Pot (Episode #2)

 

 

You want your coffee to reach 60% of the boiler volume before you saw sputtering. 

Dilution

• For a 120g moka pot coffee, use from 80 to 120g of extra hot water to dilute it, will balance out the drink and make it pleasant. 
• The extract amount of the water you add will depend on the acidity, meaning if you find that the drink is just too acidic for your taste - which is very common for a high altitude coffee and a light roast - use more (hot) water.