Coffee Appreciation

Bah....I'm 42!

I recently had this problem myself. When I looked into it, it seemed that a number of things can cause it: overfilling the basket, tamping, not tightening the moka pot properly, worn-out rubber seal, etc. It made such a mess that I wasn't in a rush to try it again. However, after reading about your experience I just had another go and it worked perfectly.

Method

-grind 14g of beans in porlex on setting 4 (this turned out to be too much coffee, by about 6g!)
-fill moka pot with boiling water to below the valve
-fill the basket with ground coffee and level off using the back of a butter knife, do not tamp
-spill ground coffee everywhere but catch most of it on the a kitchen plate
-using a tea towel around the bottom, tighten the moka pot as tight as you can
-stick it on the gas hob on full flame but turn it down to the lowest as soon as the coffee starts coming out of the top
-remove the moka pot from the heat as soon as you see/hear a change in the flow and put the bottom in a bowl of cold water
-enjoy your coffee without needing to clean the entire kitchen afterwards

You might struggle with an electric hob but good luck!

14g? What size moka?

I use 23g for a 3-cup.

Sound technique though.

Used it again this morning with much better results. No hosing! Everything was the same except I'd cut the faulty bits of aluminium out so the two holes on both sides of the stalk bit were actual holes, rather than high-pressure sprayer nossles and I used 7 on the hotplate instead of 9.

I just spoon pre-ground coffee in until it's near the top. No tamping, maybe I'll tap it, maybe I'll smooth it a little with the spoon but mostly it's just dumped in.

They are good, but raise you a barraquito.

My Moka pot doesn't so much spray as splutter, so i just leave the lid closed to avoid it going everywhere. Tried all the tips - no tamping, coarse grind, high heat then low (tried cutting the heat but then the brew essentially stalls). Holes in the top are normal sized etc.

Not tamping, putting boiling water in the bottom, dropping the heat when it starts to come through and taking off before it splutters and running the base under cold water - made a huge difference for me. Can't believe I used to make these daily for years and I was getting it so wrong.

I have lightly tamped moka pots in the past (to encourage higher brew pressure) and it’s never caused spurting.

@nefarious

Did you see my PM about the Gaggia?

Hey! Literally just replying!

Nefarious is out so my Gaggia 105 Factory is up for sale. If anyone is interested I can PM more photos.

£180 - collection from SE8 only, no postage

• The chrome is in generally good condition with some light wear marks but nothing significant
  
• There's some dirt behind the curved acrylic window / tube cover, this is removable but I didn't want to force it off
  
• Heavy rust / pitting of the chrome under the drip tray, I don't think this is easily repairable but is totally hidden by the drip tray
  
• The steam wand drips a little bit when the machine is turned on, these machines can be stripped down and serviced pretty easily so it might just be a washer/o ring which needs replacing.
  
• I struggled to get a photo of the element and boiler but it's been descaled and is in very clean condition.
  
  

Comes with:

• regular 2 spout portafilter (I think this is the original one supplied with the machine)
  
• bottomless portafilter
  
• Made By Knock tamper
  
• tamping mat and milk jug
  

1 Attachment

If I were in London I'd grab it so my Europiccola could have a buddy, I'm surprised at just how similar they look!

Very interested in that! PM’d

Nefarious is out so my Gaggia 105 Factory is up for sale

I'm going to regret this, aren't I?

^ Yes.

The Gaggia is now spoken for and awaiting collection.

I’m glad someone is going to get some use out of it after all that time sat in a box.

Staaaahp. Bloody life expenses getting in the way of my coffee toy habit :(

Lever machines are pretty simple & easy to maintain so you shouldn't have an issue picking up a decent (or easily made decent) one second hand.

Oh for sure, just reckon it's a good deal as the machine is in good nick. Doesn't make sense until I've got a working grinder for espresso anyway (new motor will arrive any day now, apparently...).

And I have a perfectly acceptable Gaggia machine for now (albeit not as nice at THAT Gaggia).

patron

Ha ha

Not actually customer though as I never give them any money.

I have this problem these days. You've just reminded me I owe Greg for a bag of coffee.

He sent me some pics of his Volvo in Scotland and made Robbie jealous...

Of Scotland I hope. The Volvo has been keeping the mechanics busy I hear 😐

I'm after a recommendation for a grinder to use at home. I've previously bought coffee ground, but now I have a bit more kitchen space want to grind my own, as I know what a big difference freshly ground coffee makes.

At the minute I brew in a Hario V60 dripper. However, I could see myself trying other methods like aeropress or maybe even espresso in the future. So I'd like something that's capable of espresso, and is easy to adjust between different coarseness settings.

I'd been thinking about getting an Iberital MC2 or Wilfa Svart second hand on ebay. Are there better options out there? I don't really have a budget, but would be most comfortable paying under £100 used.

easy to adjust between different coarseness settings.

...

I'd been thinking about getting an Iberital MC2

Doesn't meet your criteria for future use. The worm screw for adjustment takes forever to switch between fine & coarse grind.

This is an old review that lists some other possible alternatives that you may find second hand.

I think the Wilfa or the MC2 are the best options for that budget. The Wilfa won’t really do espresso, and the MC2 won’t adjust between the ground sizes easily, but will manage espresso.

However, if you’re like me and 90% of your coffee intake will be brewed coffee of some sort, I think either of those will do. You’ll be spending another £200 minimum if you want an espresso machine, and the cost of a good grinder for espresso starts at about £200 as well it seems. So you could buy the Wilfa and sell it on if you decide to dabble into espresso, or buy the MC2 and it’ll do both but might be a bit of a fiddle to dial in for espresso.

I’ve come to realise that making a good espresso at home is really involved - which isn’t a bad thing, but it starts to become a hobby and making decent filter at home is the right balance of time and money input for the coffee you can make at home. I’m not gonna wake up and start trying to dial in an espresso for my morning coffee (although it is a fun thing to do on the weekend).

Essentially, either of those should be ideal for you and within budget. I wouldn’t worry about espresso for now as it’s a whole different beast but the MC2 will do espresso if that’s a deal breaker.

:D

Tbh if it been offered with postage I'd have been very interested. I've always resisted home espresso as I could get it in work lunchtimes (and it is a deep rabbithole as I'm sure you know...) but as now I have no idea when I'm going to be back at the office, I'm starting to look at machines for the home more and more...