4 or 5 years ago I got one of those.
It's a fascinating invention, but the coffee it makes is "different" because of the steam and other temperature and pressure differences from a drip machine.
I like the coffee that it makes, but I haven't figured out how to drink the stuff. The one I have says "8 cups", but that's barely enough to fill a mug. Then I remember that it's 8 of those little tiny European cups.
I haven't used it in a long time.
Moka pots don't
technically make espresso, and the taste of the coffee they produce is a bit different from espresso. In Italy, Moka coffee is usually called
nero (black) rather than
espresso (made by using pressure). In the States, people other than enthusiasts tend to call both types of coffee espresso.
Moka coffee is made by heating water until steam is produced. The steam passes up through the ground coffee and condenses in the top of the pot as liquid coffee. There isn't a whole lot of pressure, which is why it's not espresso. The temperature of the steam is doing the heavy lifting.
Espresso coffee, on the other hand, is made by forcing very hot liquid water through the ground coffee using pressure of
at least 10 bars. Most better machines use ~ 15 bars of pressure. Both the heat and the pressure are involved in extracting the flavor from the ground coffee.
Traditionally, espresso was made using a hand-operated machine with a lever that the
barista pulled to manually force the water through the puck of coffee. Because this procedure involved a certain amount of skill both in terms of packing the puck and pulling the lever, a barista who could "pull" a good cup of espresso was highly respected.
The usage of the term "pull" with reference to making espresso has also survived in some enthusiast circles, even when automated machines are used. If I have a guest who I know to be an enthusiast, I'll offer to "pull" him or her an espresso, not "make" one. Also, the word "cup" generally isn't used with reference to espresso or cappuccino. You don't say, "I'd like a cup of espresso." You say "I'd like an espresso."
Cappuccino is espresso with frothed milk (or sometimes cream) on top. The milk may or may not be mixed with flavorings like vanilla or almond extract, may or may not be sweetened, and may or may not be topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices and toppings.
Latte is coffee of any sort mixed with heated milk rather than with frothed milk sitting on top of it.
The actual cups used for espresso or moka coffee, by the way, are known as
demitasse cups. That's French for "half cup," but the term is used in many languages. It's also sometimes used for the actual beverages of either moka coffee or espresso. If you go to an Italian or French restaurant and ask for a demitasse after dinner, they'll know what you mean.
The flavor of properly-made moka coffee will generally be much better than that of a cheap espresso machine (many of which technically aren't even espresso machines because they don't generate enough pressure). That's because the moka pot relies on the natural steam to make its way up through the coffee at its own rate and condense in the top of the pot. It's the heat that releasing the aromatic oils, and it's not in a hurry to do it.
A cheap espresso pot, on the other hand, usually will force a mixture of water and steam through the coffee at a temperature that's not quite high enough to make good moka, a pressure that's not quite high enough to make good espresso, and a rate that's too fast to coax the aromatic oils out of the coffee. The result is a dull, flat beverage lacking in depth and breadth of flavor.
A good espresso pot will force hot water on the verge of boiling through the puck at high pressure at a rate determined largely by how tightly the puck was packed. Too loose a puck will result in weak coffee with no character. Too tight a puck will result in burnt coffee that will overpower the natural flavors. The perfectly-packed puck will result in something almost mystical.
Finally, many people add some alcoholic beverage or another to their espresso or moka.
Sambuca (an anise-flavored liqueur), brandy, or rum are probably the most common. (I usually don't add anything.)
Rich
