10 Tips for Italian Espresso

Well… that’s not so technology-related, but I think someone can find this useful.

There are hidden tricks for making a good espresso, and since noone is commenting my tech-related posts, maybe you’ll like better something not so technical. ;)

Use the right moka.
If you are Italian, you can find it in your kitchen, If you are in the U.S. or somewhere else you can buy a Bialetti (the cheap one, not Mukka Express!) on Ebay.
Use your moka & never use dish soap
The more you use your moka, the better your espresso will taste.
When you buy a new moka, you should do five or six coffee without actually drinking them: they’ll taste awful.
You can wash the moka with hot water, but never use dish soap, and do not put it in the dishwasher!
Use the right coffee
that’s easy: find an expensive one. I use illy, and I think avilable also outside Italy.
Keep the coffee powder in the refrigerator
yes, it sounds strange, but belive me: this will help the coffee it not to lose the aroma
Cocoa
Put a small spoon of cocoa in the moka with the coffee, you’ll love it!
Salt
Put a grain of salt in the water when you make the coffee if you have hard water.
Keep the fire low
You’ll have to wait a bit longer, but this way the water will traverse the coffee at lower speed granting a better taste
Keep the moka open
Do not close the top of your moka when you’re making coffee. This way the steam will not condensate and the coffee will not be watered. Threre are little caps you can be put inside the moka to avoid the spitting of hot coffee.
Super Secret Cream ©
Take the first spoon or two of coffee as soon as it cames out of the moka, and mix fast. You should get a smooth sugar cream, that can be used instead of the sugar and will give your coffee a lovely creamy effect
Serve in hot cups
If you put your coffee cups (use the small Italian ones, not the ones for American Coffee!) into boiling water and dry them before serving the coffee you can keep the coffee hot longer

That’s it… give me notices of your coffees, or feedbacks ;)

francesco mapelli

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This entry was posted by francesco mapelli on 2006/12/07 at 10:18 pm, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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Comments (38)

#1 written by Mike G
about 6 years ago

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Great tips! My partner (an Italian!) just put our coffee pot in the dishwasher by mistake. We’ll have to get another one…
#2 written by fra
about 6 years ago

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I’m happy you enjoyed the post!
Some years ago, on New Year’s Eve, a friend of mine -probably drunk- put my coffee pot into the dishwasher at late night … the next day there were something like twelve people tryin’ to kill him… but after few days the coffee was drinkable again… Are you sure you’ll have to buy a new one?
#3 written by Julien
about 6 years ago

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Nice tips, You are Italian, right ? I wonder from where exactly… anyway, I just wanted to say that you could add a few tips also on the most crucial step of making a good cofee : puting the right amount of water and cofee.
1) Thou shall fill the moka with just enough water so that when you put the filter a drop or two appears in it.
2) Thou shall never, ever, compress the cofee !!! (or it will taste sour).
Finally, may I indicates a few interesting and obsessive links (in italiano) ?
http://www.caffeina.org/caffe/inglese/15.htm
http://www.portanapoli.com/Ita/Cucina/body_ga_caffe_moka.html
http://www.caffe.it/caffe.cfm?id=7&sott=25
#4 written by fra
about 6 years ago

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Hi Julien,
I’m from Pavia (near Milan) :)
Thanks for the tips and for the links, they’re really good!
#5 written by espresso machine diva
about 6 years ago

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wow what an awesome list. Cocoa in the moka, good stuff. thanks for sharing
#6 written by Nick
about 6 years ago

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These are good tips for making coffee, but this is not an espresso as it has come to be known today. True espresso has to be brewed under pressure, much more than steam can provide. Stovetop espresso is really just strong cofee.
#7 written by sadcaffe'maker
about 6 years ago

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Grazie! I’ve been doing everything you said “not” to do. Oggi, I gave up and came to your website for advise. Now I know why my coffee is bitter, sour, & harsh. I’ll let you know how it turns out – after I implement your recommendations. LRA
#8 written by francesco mapelli
about 6 years ago

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I hope you’ll be back with good news :)
Good Luck! ;)
#9 written by Christiaan
about 6 years ago

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It’s the Brikka you’re talking about. Do you recommend the 2 cup or 4 cup?
#10 written by francesco mapelli
about 6 years ago

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I have both the 2 cup and the 4 cup.

The coffee from the smaller one has a better taste, but I think it’s because it’s used every day, while the bigger one is less used :)
#11 written by Christiaan
about 6 years ago

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Cool thanks. Hey have you tried one of those Presso’s?
#12 written by francesco mapelli
about 6 years ago

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No, I’m sorry.
They look pretty cool, but I never tried one :)
#13 written by chris
about 6 years ago

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I have a question about cleaning my new moka (which I am madly in love with!)…

I’ve had it for about two weeks, and have been cleansing it without soap. I typically make my caffe on the way out the door in the mornings, and will just fill the top of the pot about halfway with water to avoid stains. Then, when I come home, I disassemble, give it all a good, serious rinse with tap water and my bare fingers. If I make coffee in the evenings or on weekends, I will rinse out the pot as soon as it is cool to the touch and store disassembled until it is next needed.

I’ve noticed over the past few days, along with run-of-the-mill stains on the metal, a dark crunchy sort of schmutz forming in the bottom reservoir; it looks like it could be grinds, but that doesn’t seem possible. I cannot imagine that it could be rust, because it’s an aluminium Bialetti. Could this be the mysterious calcium deposits I read about? Of could I be using too fine a ground (the instructions warn against a superfine grind)? Is this my punishment for using tap water?

Thanks for any diagnosis or advice!
#14 written by Christiaan
about 6 years ago

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I got the Brikka, and it does make great coffee. Just wish I’d got the 4 cup now because the 2 cup is really a 1 cup, i.e. if you want the crema on top.
#15 written by Heather
about 5 years ago

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Thanks for the advice! Please tell me just how grungy I should let the coffee pot become, though.

I have been rinsing with tap water until all surfaces are clean, but I have never been able to get that frothy creaminess on top of my cup (I use Illy and Lavazza). How can I accomplish this? Many thanks!
#16 written by Christiaan
about 5 years ago

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Actually, contrary to my previous comment, I’m pretty with the 2 cup. The coffee is so strong you don’t need much at all, so it really is 2 cups.
#17 written by Christiaan
about 5 years ago

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pretty “happy” i.e.
#18 written by francesco mapelli
about 5 years ago

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@Christian
welcome to the *real* coffee ;)

@Heather
it’s normal to have some small deposit in the pot, so just rinse and nothing more.
Dirt and cream are not related… to have a nice cream you may try the “Super Secret Cream” tip above, or an espresso machine…
#19 written by Christiaan
about 5 years ago

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Yeap, well what can I can say francesco, thanks. :)

Heather, you might try coffee like this too:
http://www.aromatico.co.uk/brus-coffee-espresso-chiccocrem-220lb-whole-beans-p-39.html
#20 written by Bryant
about 5 years ago

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Putting coffee in the refrigerator is one of the worst ways to store coffee. Coffee absorbs the smells and tastes of things around it. (So you can see why a fridge would be problematic.)
Most coffee shops store coffee in airtight, dark (not clear) plastic containers. These are generally stored in a dark place (under a counter for example.) It’s advisable to only buy enough coffee for, say, about a month at a time to assure that it is as fresh as possible.
#21 written by francesco mapelli
about 5 years ago

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Bryant,
Keeping the coffee powder in the refrigerator -obviously in a closed pot- works well for me…
Better than keeping it on a shelf, anyway…
Coffee shops usually store coffee beans… they rarely have coffee powder stored…
#22 written by Bryant
about 5 years ago

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My bad,
I thought beans were what was being discussed. . .
#23 written by Larry
about 5 years ago

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I’ve read in a few places that you should also always start with cold water, do not cheat by using hot water and try to speed things up. Hot water sits in the pipes and can develop an off taste.

Since moving to the city I’ve encountered the calcium problem, its quite bad and there’s obvious crystals and large unsightly deposits that are greyish white in colour, on the inside and the outside of the Moka pot has a chalky substance all over it – anyone else experience the same problem? Should I wash it off or leave it?

From now on I will use filtered water but in the meantime it can be quite troubling to look at
#24 written by Heather
about 5 years ago

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Larry, for the best tasting coffee I suggest you opt to always use bottled water, regardless of how hard/soft the local water supply is. Considering the amount you pay for good beans, why not splurge on a bottle of water? You’ll probably have to wash the pot and redevelop the coffee residue–speaking of which, I’ve brewed coffee a dozen or so times since receiving the advice to not thoroughly clean the pot, and the flavor and aroma have become wonderful. Thanks!
#25 written by Alinvest
about 5 years ago

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Obviously off topic yes haha.
Thanks for the tips Fra, I am actually a coffee addict so I will probably try to reach perfection when it comes to espresso.
#26 written by sara
about 4 years ago

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Hi, I want to purchase a Bialetti Express, but I don’t know what size to get. I really don’t want to have to buy more than one. I would most often be making cappuccinos, lattes, or macchiatos and usually 2, but I would like to have more capacity for when we have guests. So my question is if I bought a 9 or 12 cup BE, would I have negative results if I tried to use it for say 2 cups of coffee drinks?? Thanks for the help, I really appreciate the advice. I’m very new to this, but want to start out the right way and not learn the hard way.
#27 written by William Gardner
about 4 years ago

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Yes you can get illy outside of Italy, you can get it in larger UK Supermarkets. When you buy illy, it usually comes in a sealable tin which goes great, as you say, in the fridge
#28 written by sara
about 4 years ago

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I found my answer… moka pots are not made to make less than the maximum amount. It would throw the pressure off and the results would not be what you want. This is why Italian kitchens have a myriad of sizes of moka pots.
#29 written by R Behrman
about 3 years ago

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I have had a 3-pot for about a year and just bought a 6-pot. The 6-pot makes much nicer coffee – could this be because the 3-pot is rusted inside? Can that affect the taste?
#30 written by flowbee
about 3 years ago

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keep it up this nice sharing.it is really nice post related to Italian Espresso tips….
#31 written by danesi
about 3 years ago

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good tips but i have to disagree with keeping the coffee in the fridge, humidity simpy destroys coffee
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about 2 years ago

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#33 written by gabriele
about 2 years ago

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The best description I have found about how to use the Moka.
I’m Italian, and I agree in every points (even the coffee in fridge).
Be carefully with the coffee grinding, it must be coarser than the espresso and finer that american coffee. You suggest Illy, that is the most famous, but I love also less famous but very good coffee like Corsini o Mokaflor (that for me is more intense then Illy)
#34 written by Safa
about 2 years ago

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It was great . thank you for this usefull tips .
so can you describe more about Item 9 :Super Secret Cream :)
#35 written by Tabitha
about 1 year ago

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Hi, I’m thinking about subscribing to Illy’s coffee program. I was wondering, do I have to use the moka grind or can I use a regular espresso grind?
#36 written by Gabriele
about 1 year ago

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Easy Tabitha, coarser coffee for moka and finer (remember the rule of the 25 seconds) for the espresso.
About the coffee school in Florence there is this one:
http://www.espressoacademy.it/lang/eng/corsi.php
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