Moka Pot, Without the Bitterness

A moka pot pushes hot water up through coffee grounds using steam pressure, landing somewhere between drip coffee and true espresso in strength. Most home moka pot coffee tastes scorched — almost always because of heat, not technique.

Fill the bottom chamber with water up to (but not above) the safety valve. Use water that's already hot from the kettle rather than starting cold — this cuts down the time the coffee spends over direct heat, which is where the burnt flavor comes from.

Grind slightly finer than drip coffee, close to a fine version of table salt, but not as fine as espresso grind — moka pots are prone to clogging if you go too fine.

Fill the funnel basket level with grounds, no tamping, and level the top with your finger. Assemble the pot and set it on medium-low heat, not high — this is the part almost everyone gets wrong. High heat brews too fast and burns the coffee before it's fully extracted.

Leave the lid open so you can watch it. Once you hear a hissing, gurgling sound and see a lighter, honey-colored stream turning pale and sputtery, take it off the heat immediately — that sputtering is your signal that extraction is done and anything after it is just steam and bitterness.

Run the base briefly under cold water to stop the brewing instantly, then pour and serve.