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Old 10-15-2008, 06:34 PM   #9
Mister Moo
I barely grok the obvious
 
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Default Re: Mokapots, Moka, or Stovetop Espresso, Period.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TRicker View Post
I keep trying mine, but it tastes burnt. I think I am running to hot?
Well... cut that out.

Slow brewing under pressure is the key. And you can't get that good, slow gooey brew if the grind isn't fine enough and the filter isn't filled FULLY and EVENLY.

Here's the deal. When water hits the ground coffee in the filterbasket it expands. The expanding coffee, soon to be a rock hard puck, creates resistance to the flow of water. The resistance creates a lot of pressure inside the lower pot, capice? It's the water, moving slowly thru the puck, that drags all the good stuff out of the grind. To get the pressure and the good stuff from the ground beans and to NOT get a burnt or bitter taste... the water needs to move thru all the coffee in the puck.
  • If there isn't enough coffee in the basket it won't be able to swell up (enough) and create real pressure; and/or
  • If the coffee isn't packed in the basket uniformly, water will cut a channel thru the path of least resistance and bypass a lot of the grind.

So you need to use a burr grinder (or buy professionally ground coffee) to get uniform grounds that won't encourage water channeling. Also, you have to fill the basket fully and uniformly to avoid channeling, insure even wetting of the grounds and to create the pressure that really gets the oils emulsified, out of the grind and into your cup.

Short version - grind evenly and pack the filterbasket full and uniformly. Brew slowly.

I hope this helps.
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Last edited by Mister Moo; 10-15-2008 at 06:36 PM.
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