What is it and how did the coffee maker come about? The elegant coffee maker was originally named Moka, as Bialetti was inspired by the name of the city of Moca (Yemen), where great coffees came from. The design represents the silhouette of women of the time and even today Moka is present in about 90% of Italian houses. In 2018 alone, 72 thousand copies were sold in America.
The idea of how it worked came about while Alfonso watched women washing clothes in a tank in which hot water and soap reached the clothes through a central tube. Thus, the boiling water pressed and went up to the tanks. Can you already identify the similarity of this system with the Italian coffee maker? No? So let’s explain about the best coffee machine.
Moka is one of the only coffee extraction methods that works under water pressure and that provides a drink with slight bitterness and little acidity. There are several other ways to make excellent coffee, such as brewing methods and strained coffee . But the Italian coffee maker is definitely worth a try!
How does Moka work?
The Italian coffee maker has two main compartments. The bottom part holds water and is in direct contact with fire. Meanwhile, the top part has an octagonal shape similar to that of a pudding shape, pierced in the middle. That’s where the ready coffee goes.
Moka Parts
The drink reaches the top compartment through a small central tube with two holes on top; it is where the coffee goes through the pressure that the hot water exerts. After all, when the water heats up, the steam begins to evaporate and is driven through the coffee.
Between the two compartments mentioned, the powder is placed in a piece of metal filled with holes, so that the water passes through the coffee while it is rising. Inside the top compartment there is also a metal plate with small holes, so that the water rises towards the surface without taking the coffee powder along, resulting in a pure and consistent drink.
“At home, an espresso as in the cafeteria.”
That was the Moka slogan created by Alfonso Bialetti, which is still valid today. The Italian coffee maker is not the same as an espresso machine, but it is also a method of pressure extraction . We talked a little more about this type of extraction, AeroPress and Siphon here on our blog.
How to prepare coffee in the Italian coffee maker?
When properly prepared, the coffee resembles the taste of an espresso, a strong and full-bodied drink. This method highlights the bitterness of coffee, while the acidity stands out less.