The One Genius Hack To Up Your Moka Pot Game

We love a little moka pot for its rich, hearty, espresso-like coffee, about as close as you can get to an espresso-machine brew at home. But if you're looking to further elevate your moka pot coffee, getting it closer to the Platonic espresso ideal, then this hack is for you — pre-boil your water before adding it to the boiler.

It may seem counterintuitive, but starting with hot water significantly improves flavor extraction. Moka pots rely on heat to brew. When the water in the bottom chamber starts to boil, the resulting steam creates pressure and pushes the hot water from the bottom chamber up through a bed of ground coffee in the basket, and into the top chamber. Using pre-boiled water means that the water boils a bit faster, and the pot spends less time over heat, reducing the chance of overheating your coffee grounds — and overheating is the number one culprit behind that sharp bitterness we all try to avoid. Starting with hot water also means it takes less time to brew your coffee overall, and that's always a plus.

The only tips to know when employing this hack are to let the water cool to just a bit below boiling, so you don't totally blast the flavor of the coffee. In addition, make sure that when you screw the pot together, you use a towel or oven mitt to not scald your hands.

Once you've mastered the pre-boiling hack, there are several other tweaks that can take your moka pot game to the next level. First, always fill the little metal basket completely with coffee, but don't tamp it down, or you might create too much pressure, risking an explosion. Also, keep the moka lid open while brewing to keep an eye on when the coffee starts flowing; then cut the heat once it's ready. This prevents that overheated sputtering which means steam has blasted through and ruined your brew's balance.

In addition, make sure you're choosing the best coffee for your morning cup. Know what to look for on coffee bean labels: Whether you're buying single origin or blends, understanding how roast profiles impact flavor is key. For a moka brew, you typically want medium-roast coffee or espresso beans for a balance between complexity and smoothness; a dark roast can come off too strong, and a light roast is likely to end up tart. Also, a medium-fine grind is best for moka pots as it allows the water to fully pass through the grounds, but it's not so fine that the grounds themselves will end up in the brew as well. 

Once you have the coffee brewed, you can take it all a step further and easily make a whole latte using only your moka pot, with the milk of your choice. (Both oat milk and almond milk work great in a latte; it just depends on your personal tastes.) Whether you opt for this or plain coffee, just remember to start with pre-boiled water, and your brew will be everything you could dream of.