Food - Drink

How The Moka Pot Brought Freshly Brewed Espresso Into The Home

By RYAN CASHMAN

An espresso machine seems like the best way to make perfect café-style espresso at home, but these devices can be costly, and in smaller kitchens, they take up a lot of space for a gadget that only performs one task. For an affordable, easy-to-use tool that makes great espresso-style coffee, look no further than the Italian moka pot.

According to Serious Eats, the moka pot was invented by Luigi di Ponti in 1933, and Alfonso Bialetti brought the device into mainstream production. At the time, Italy's economy was not doing well, and the multi-chamber moka was a convenient way to brew strong coffee on one's own stove top, without the need for filters.

The way the moka pot works is complicated, but for a very brief summary, water heated up in the lowest chamber of the pot rises up and over coffee grounds placed in the middle "coffee chamber," extracting the grounds. The liquid coffee then travels up a spout into the top chamber of the pot, where it is ready to be poured.

Coffee lovers may tell you that moka pot does not make true espresso, but Bon Appétit explains that the device still makes reasonably strong, espresso-style coffee, and the appeal lies in its affordability, portability, and low-tech quaintness. It’s a straightforward tool that requires less money and space than an espresso machine.

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