MokaPot (Stovetop Espresso) Brewing Instructions from Sweet Maria's! New- Download and Print this Tip Sheet in a Single Page .PDF Format.

Thanks for purchasing a stainless steel moka pot (stovetop espresso maker) from Sweet Maria’s. This unit is made from 18/10 food grade stainless steel, safer than the less expensive aluminum moka pots that are more common. These are some basic instructions that you will, undoubtedly, adapt and refine to suit your purposes...

• You can use electric or gas heat source for the moka pot. Use a low to medium flame, which also helps avoid blackening the brewer (and melting the handle!)
  
• Before using the unit for the first time, fill the bottom with fresh water (up to the level of the pressure relief valve), put unwanted or spent coffee grounds in the filterbasket, attach the top, and allow it to brew. This is to clean the unit and to make sure the pressure relief valve works fine.

Brewing:

• Fill the bottom with good fresh water up to the level of the valve or a little over it.
  
• Fill the filterbasket with coffee. The grind should be fine, but not powdery, about the same as for a fine filter drip. Do not pack the coffee or tamp it down. As the coffee becomes wet, it will expand so it effectively tamps itself... (Some units come with an extra filterdisc. This is supposed to allow you to brew a 1/2 batch by filling the filterbasket halfway or so, putting the disc on top of it, then assembling as normal and brewing. I find this isn’t as good as brewing a full batch).
  
• Drop the filterbasket into the bottom, assemble the top, put the coffee maker on a low to medium heat
  
• Brewing should take 5 minutes. If it takes longer, try raising the heat a bit next time. Brewing has completed when all the water has been percolated into the top. You can tell because the sound of the brewer changes from a sort of bubbling/spraying sound to a drier sound.
  

Enjoy!

Note: If you find the coffee is not brewing correctly, check first to see if steam is escaping from the area where the top and bottom are screwed together. If the connection here is not tight - if steam can escape out the side - the pot will not work. Try to screw the parts together more tightly next time. I have found the easiest way to do this is to hug the pot close to your chest and twist the top and bottom together as tightly as you can. You can also try to use two gaskets. It does require some effort to screw the two halves together tightly enough for the pot to work. You might also check that the filterscreen is clean - if this is clogged with coffee grounds or oils - it could prevent the steam/coffee from rising to the upper chamber.

Care Instructions:

• Do not wash with an abrasive scouring pad or steel wool
  
• It is best to hand-wash the unit. Do not use a dishwasher
  
• It is safe to use Urnex or other coffee-maker cleaners, since this mokapot has no aluminum.

This page is authored by Tom Owen and Sweet Maria's Coffee, Inc. and is not to be copied or reproduced without permission.