Ot: bialetti moka express

MrCookingNurse

Anybody use one? I know we have some coffee lovers on here.

What grind do y'all use? I just picked up one. I love my French press so excited to try this tonight.

chipman

Grind a little finer than a standard drip grind. Not as fine as espresso however. Also, don't tamp down the the grinds before brewing.

BigGreenBamaGriller

huh? we're French press fans around here

BigGreenBamaGriller

I just googled it. My mother brought one back to me from Puerto Rico. It was too small for the burner on our stove, so I never use it. It took forever, but made a decent espresso.

MrCookingNurse

This thing is taking its sweet time

BigGreenBamaGriller

Is yours big enough that the flames heat the bottom, or are they kinda heating the outer rim of the thing?

MrCookingNurse

I've got an induction cooktop. I think it'll work. No coffee yet though

MrCookingNurse

Actually wasn't that long. I was just sitting watching it.

BigGreenBamaGriller

Well, how is it?

A little late for coffee, isn't it?

chipman

if you are not getting any coffee brewing within a few minutes, you probably either ground too fine, or tamped the grounds down. brew under no more than a medium heat.

flemster

MrCookingNurse said:

Anybody use one? I know we have some coffee lovers on here. What grind do y'all use? I just picked up one. I love my French press so excited to try this tonight.

Waiting to hear the reviews... I bought a Breville Barrista Express a year ago and love it... Gave up my drip coffee maker for espresso and americanos.  

MrCookingNurse

@chipman

It prolly was only about 5-7 min. I did two clicks over medium ground

MrCookingNurse

@biggreenbamagriller

It's very good sir! Bold! Mount Mombacho from Nicarauga last year.

I'm stay up a while and watch some football and study for finals!

flemster

Que Futbol?  I thought nothing had started yet... reruns?

BigGreenBamaGriller

MrCookingNurse said:

@biggreenbamagriller It's very good sir! Bold! Mount Mombacho from Nicarauga last year. I'm stay up a while and watch some football and study for finals!

I am currently wasting time from studying for Legal Environment of Business final I have in the morning...

MrCookingNurse

@flemster

Espn played their top 25 of last years college games and I recorded some.

MrCookingNurse

BigGreenBamaGriller said:

MrCookingNurse said:

@biggreenbamagriller

It's very good sir! Bold! Mount Mombacho from Nicarauga last year.

I'm stay up a while and watch some football and study for finals!

I am currently wasting time from studying for Legal Environment of Business final I have in the morning...

That sounds awful. I've got advanced pharmacology next week and ill be done.

MrCookingNurse

Very impressed with this cup of joe. Taste like dirt! Just the way I like it! 3.99 for this thing was a good investment

@flemster

I can't give up my BUNN. I drink about a pot before I leave the house in the mornings and when I work nights we have motor oil on tap at work so I'm not picky. But when I can be a snob I grind and French press me a special cup.

BigGreenBamaGriller

Is this your RN, or something different? What school?

flemster

MrCookingNurse said:

@flemster Espn played their top 25 of last years college games and I recorded some.

ENJOY!  I am guilty of having watched reruns of previous season's games, masters rounds etc.  SWMBO thinks it is nuts...

Good luck on finals!

MrCookingNurse

@biggreenbamagriller

No, I'm at UAB getting my masters. Acute care nurse practitioner and surgical first assistant.

U_tarded

I had no idea what you were talking about until I saw it.  We call them Italian coffee makers here, its my second favorite to a perfect cup of french pressed coffee.  

miguelramosv

I am more of an espresso lover myself. Got myself a pimped out Gaggia Classic, with a PID to maintain temperature, and upgraded the steam wand.

Good enough for now.. will upgrade to a dual boiler in time.

Also, investing in a good grinder is very worth it

Plunging into espresso addiction is another rathole.. sortof like the egg!

JRWhitee

Espresso for me as well, have had a Delongi Espresso machine for about 5 years now next one will have a dual boiler too. 

EagleIII

Mr Cooking Nurse, I am fairly new as an Egger (got a Large BGE about a month ago...loving it), but I am fairly experienced at the Moka Pot and have had one for years.  Use mine every weekend(no time in the AM on weekday work days).  You will love it...it will make a very decent espresso, although like you noted, it will take about 5 or 6 minutes to brew a pot.  Be careful when you place the pot on the burner, that the burner (be it flame or electric) does not stick out past the edge of the pot on the "handle side"....as that can burn the handle.  Also, I have read that your burner should be set to just shy of "hi" so the pot doesn't boil too vigorously and try to push too much water through the grounds in too short of a period of time.  Spend the money for some decent beans or grounds and enjoy!

MrCookingNurse

@eagleIII

Thanks man! Just any beans, or expresso beans?? I really enjoyed the cup it made last night

Chef Charles

I started using a bialetti mocha when I was living in France (believe it or not, it was not easy finding a french press!) and have been hooked ever since.  I am now using the bialetti easy coffee which is an electric version of the mocha model -- I have one at home and one at work.  I still have a 6 cup and 9 cup version of the mocha in case company is coming over.  I grind my own beans at home and find that one bordering on medium works well.

Tom

EagleIII

MrCookingNurse, with respect to the Beans, I like an Espresso roast bean...nice and dark and stout.  That can be a matter of preference, so experiment a little.  I also order some espresso grounds off of Amazon.  I order a brand called "Lavazza" which I happen to like(again, these are grounds, not beans, but you can get them both ways).  If I order them 8 vacuum packed bricks at a time, they do not charge shipping.

You will love that Moka Pot, I am sure...

MrCookingNurse

So the cup I made last night was a bold Nicaraguan blend that I ground med-course. It was amazing. This morning I made a medium Guatemalan that a friend brought me an was pre ground fine for a coffee maker. It was terrible I couldn't drink it it. Extremely bitter.

Does the grind make that much of a difference??

@eagleIII

EagleIII

MrCookingNurse - I am certainly not the foremost expert on Moka pots and making espresso....but here is what I do know.  On a Moka Pot, you cannot use too fine of a grind as Moka pots are pushing the water through the grounds, up the stem, and into the upper chamber of the pot, and a fine grind will clog up the ground basket.  Too fine of a grind does not allow the water/steam to properly saturate the grounds and extract the flavor profile out of those grounds.  Another tip is not to tamp down the grounds in the grounds basket of a Moka pot or the water will not be able to push through the packed down grounds - and all your water will go hissing out your pop-off valve on the side of the pot(in the old days, before they had those pop-off valves, sometimes the pots exploded!). So, not too fine of a grind and not tamped down at all.  If you like a nice cup of espresso, look for some beans/grounds in an espresso roast(helps if you have an Italian Market/Deli in the neighborhood that might sell them).

williamadamsesq

I use lavazza gold in my Jura capresso ena superautomatic every day. My travel rig is cafe bustelo espresso (other end of Walmart from the royal oak, lol) in a moka pot. When the water boils and the coffee starts, turn the stove off. Leaving the heat on will melt the gasket.