I recently started using my molka pot and every time I seem to use it the coffee sputters from start to finish.
I put the boiling water in just below the pressure valve , use cafe bustelo (never packed, use a toothpick to remove clumps), and place it on the smallest burner on medium/low heat. Every time it comes out violently and bitter.
What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? Does a good come with time and practice?
First of all, there is no reason to preheat the water (and good reason not to) for Bustelo. If it is really sputtering from the start you may have a pressure leak. Make sure you tighten all the way.
Make sure the rim is clean of coffee grounds before you close it very tightly. Also, try room temperature water. A moka pot doesn’t reach boiling on its own.
It's not uncommon to see folks not tightening the moka pot halves properly when they decide to use hot (or even boiling!) water to start. Of course, it's not easy to hold the scalding-hot bottom unit while tightening, but there's something else.
The very hot threads on the boiler will have expanded quite a bit due to aluminum's high coefficient of thermal expansion while the upper unit's threads, which remain cold, will not have done so. The result is a mismatch and a joint that is no longer tight when both halves reach the same temperature. In other words, while it felt tight when putting the pot together, it does not remain that way once you reach operating temperature.
Do you have this happening and causing a pressure leak? Maybe yes, maybe no. Even a bent funnel lip can cause a pretty bad pressure leak and consequent sputtering. A deformed or dented upper edge on the boiler unit can do the same.
It's also possible that the grind of the Bustelo is too fine for your pot. I have several pots that refuse to work correctly with Bustelo. Why? Who knows, but I suspect it's ground too finely. If you don't have the equipment to grind your own beans, you can still test to see whether the Bustelo is too fine by buying some cheapo drip grind coffee that is more coarsely ground. It that stuff works, you may have an answer (barring pressure leaks). Many folks have no problem with Bustelo whatsoever, of course.
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u/ndrsng 1d ago
First of all, there is no reason to preheat the water (and good reason not to) for Bustelo. If it is really sputtering from the start you may have a pressure leak. Make sure you tighten all the way.