Italian Moka Pot Espresso with Foam (Stovetop)

This shows my technique for making stovetop espresso with a moka pot. The 'crema' (foam on top) is created by whipping sugar with some coffee before pouring the finished coffee into the cup. It's not the crema that you'd get from a real espresso machine but it's still good! I find that 2 parts of sugar with slightly less than 1 part coffee gives the right consistency (it takes a bit of practice). You have to use the first bit of coffee that emerges because it is thicker. The song is "40 Cups of Coffee" by Ella Mae Morse. Thanks to Jordan for filming!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• stove
• top
• espresso
• Italian
• coffee
• crema
• mokapot
• moka
• pot
• Bialetti
• expresso
• stovetop
• macchinetta
• cafe
• express
• mokka
• perfect
• sugar
• foam

[mark2500]

Thanks for the video. Maybe I'm just imagining things but after I tried this method, I found that whipping up the sugar like this somewhat gave the mixture a better taste than by simply pouring it from a container and mixing it. I don't know....Maybe the sugar spreads throughout the cup better when whipped than when simply mixed in.

Anyway, great video.

[YoPaulie21]

@mark2500 Not sure, you may be right - i find it's a different taste when the foam works out thick vs just adding sugar to the finished up. Thanks for watching :)

[trinakria1282]

Disregard my earlier comment.

I took a closer look at the video and realized my color and consistency were off. Mine was darker and thinner. So I tried it again, reducing the amount of coffee, and it worked.

I would say the ratio of sugar:coffee is more like 3:1 or 4:1, rather than 2:1. It seems rather important that the mixture be thick, because it won't work otherwise.

[YoPaulie21]

@trinakria1282 I'm glad it is working for you. Yes, it takes a bit of trial and error to find the right ratio. i've been doing it this way for a long time, and occasionally i will still add a bit too much coffee and it won't turn out.

[BonesTheCat]

What's stopping you from dropping some shots of the coffee and heating milk and using a battery whisk for froth?

[YoPaulie21]

@BonesTheCat Milk froth is also good :) - this foam is thicker (and sweeter)

[YoPaulie21]

@perryham yes, of course - that's why 'crema' is in quotes. This is just sugar foam. You need a real espresso machine with more pressure to make crema.

[hallnoats4ever]

@YoPaulie21 looks like just a strong cup of coffee

[Darkfalz79]

@prafty That's because people don't know how to use theirs. A Moka will do better with off the shelf pre-ground stuff because that is just no good for the higher pressure espresso extraction - it'll just come out too fast and over-extracted. Because in a Moka there's only 3-4 bars of pressure, there's little risk of over extraction. However, if you get the grind (with fresh roasted beans) dose and tamp right, the coffee is much better, full stop. A Moka pot can make a nice long black though.

[chrisbear08]

This looks no way near like an espresso with crema...

[prafty]

@Darkfalz79 debatable, most commercial 'home' espresso machines make pretty average coffee. stove-top's may not be economical with coffee used and slow, but i find their brew to be a step above the entry level affordable espresso machines

[Tonystarkes888]

nice

[monkfan72]

That's a good trick - especially if you like a sweeter cup, but if you want real crema, try adding more coffee and then tamping it down with the top part of the pot, and of course use fresh ground coffee. I've gotten great crema with my French press and fresh beans that were ground the same day.

I love the song that goes with the video. Very cool.

[nnigro]

you have to be kidding me with the medaglia d'oro coffee, that shit is nasty as hell. get some real coffee like lavazza or illy ... i do like your modern pot though

[tourextravel]

Can i use brown sugar?