Why 5 years later, the Brikka is still the Moka Pot I use

Buying a Moka Pot is a personal milestone. It’s not the same as brewing out of a percolator. Brewing coffee in a moka pot takes time and patience. It is an experience, and you buy it for the sensory satisfaction, the ritual, and the heavenly aroma of espresso wafting through your kitchen. Unlike complicated machines with their digital interfaces, moka pots are space-saving, but with a myriad of options and personal priorities to choose from, it’s not easy picking the one that kickstarts your morning routine. I know I had a hard time picking one. Here’s why I still choose the Brikka 5 years after its purchase.

Why did I need a Moka Pot in the first place?

The year is 2020. Lockdown is in full force, and being holed up 24/7 has the entire world’s creative juices flowing, including mine. When you’re stuck indoors and live like hamsters on a wheel, doing the same thing over and over again day in and day out, you start being bored; the routines don’t excite you anymore. You crave experiences to switch things up. Out of this need to change the routine of brewing South Indian Filter Coffee every morning and kill monotony came the string of coffee brewing experiments.

Even though I have always loved coffee and drank it obsessively even before I got married, my husband opened up my eyes to the world of other coffee brewing styles. When we first got married, he would drink espressos and French presses every AM. I hated them. But I envied his ability to appreciate stronger brews and was also equally inspired by his love for trying out new things.

Does the material of the moka pot matter?

Yes and no. The material quality and thickness play a key role. Like many users of Moka pots are aware and won’t openly accept, it is very easy to drink a burnt-tasting coffee from a moka pot. Most traditional moka pots are made of aluminum as opposed to their modern counterparts that use stainless steel. This is not to say that coffee won’t burn in stainless steel moka pots. They can both burn your coffee, but the grade of the latter’s material becomes the deciding factor. Here’s why the materials play a role –

• Aluminum has a higher level of thermal conductivity, which essentially means it’s going to heat up a lot faster. What this means is that the funnel basket holding your coffee grounds is going to start toasting the coffee grounds as the water in the bottom chamber boils.
• There are several grades of stainless steel. My initial purchases were the original aluminum Moka Pot from Bialetti, after which I purchased a stainless steel one from Ikea. The Ikea Moka Pot was terrible, and it consistently made an acidic brew every single time. That said, some enthusiasts claim that stainless steel moka pots tend to make a cleaner-tasting brew, and this is to be debated and checked.

So does the material of the moka pot matter? It all boils down to personal preferences. I personally went with the aluminum because I was curious what about this little contraption woke 59 million people every morning, but mostly because this was going to give me the purest Italian Moka pot experience.

I bought the original moka pot, but something was not right.

Unlike the moka pot, the south indian filter takes a good 20 mins before you can open the bottom half. This grueling wait every morning was becoming a hassle, and that’s when the idea to use a Moka Pot came about. No more having to wait. The coffee was done when the water boiled, about 3-5 minutes. That’s it.

And who could do it better than the Italians, whose daily morning routine starts with this cherished contraption? Without hesitating and zero research, I got the Original Moka pot, in an effort to shorten brew times and experiment with newer methods. The brew itself was disappointing. The aroma was unmistakable and rich, but the brew fell flat, bordering on acidic. Hoping this was to do with the grind/brand/bean, I switched coffee types and brands, but none passed – not even Italy’s beloved Lavazza or America’s finest Blue Bottle.

Why does my coffee taste burnt in a moka pot?

Moka Pot users have, for several generations, been unable to openly come out about their predicament, that their moka pot brews taste terrible. It is a hard truth, and a harder truth is how finicky this device is when brewing a cup of coffee.

Here are some things that could be in the way of brewing the perfect cup.

• Clean Moka Pot – This is highly debatable with two schools of thought – one for cleaning without and one for cleaning with soap. I highly suggest checking my post on which method is better after you’re done reading this.
• Right Heat – Too hot can burn. Less heat can take forever to boil, invariably burning the grounds that remain in the hot basket for longer than usual.
• Right Grind – The grind levels vary from one moka pot to another. It all boils down to the perforation on your filter.
• Puck Preparation – Some get the best results with a tighter puck, and some with loosely packed grounds.
• Water Temp – From my experiments, I believe that pre-boiling water may help the grounds from getting toasted in a dry environment as you wait for the water to boil. The moisture and humidity from the pre-boiled water might help soften the blow.

It’s none of the above. It’s the method itself.

That said, the biggest reason, and it has nothing to do with any of the above, including material, is the brewing method itself. Let’s compare the brewing methods of a Moka Pot and a South Indian Filter. Both use two sections – one for the powder and one for the coffee, with an additional section in the moka pot for the water. But the difference is in the cooking method. One cooks it on the stovetop. The other boils the water on the stovetop and uses gravity to do the work. It takes longer to brew, but it prevents the coffee from tasting burnt.

Why did I choose the Brikka over the Original Moka Pot?

Several trials and errors later, and as someone who can’t give up until I know why, I persisted in my search for the Moka Pot that produces the richest crema, a critical expectation for an espresso. After a fair amount of due diligence, I zeroed in on Brikka, the only one that ticked all my boxes.

The Creamiest Crema

Without a doubt, the Brikka had the best-looking crema of all the images and videos I saw, with or without photoshop.

Silicone Pressure Valve

The older Brikka models had a weight mechanism that helped form the crema, but newer models had a simpler silicone pressure valve that Bialetti claims produces a creamier crema.

Better View

The open lid of the Brikka helps watch when to lift the Brikka off the heat. This is crucial as even a few seconds over can burn the coffee.

In the past, I had been burned quite literally by the original moka pot. There was also a lack of crema and body, the presence of which makes the best espresso. Ultimately, it’s all about the crema and where I think the Brikka shines apart from its siblings.

So the biggest burning question in everyone’s mind right now is –

Does the Brikka burn the coffee?

The answer is Yes and No. We can’t fix the method, but we are still in control of all the other variables that go into making a stovetop espresso. The Brikka can burn your coffee if you spend a second too long. But the more important questions to ask yourself are if you have appreciated moka pot coffees in the past and are open to trying something new?

No bean tastes the same. The same applies to brewing methods. The mildly toasted flavor of a traditional moka is distinct and balances a unique flavor profile on its own. It’s the one I reach for when I want to have a sit-down frittata breakfast or when I want to relive my trip to Italy. Invariably, it was always about the experience. So yes, 5 years on, the Brikka is still the Moka Pot I use.