Let’s face it, no espresso that we make at home will ever taste like what we are spoiled to have at our favourite coffee shop. Unless, of course, one can afford or is willing to spend the thousand of pounds necessary to buy the equipment necessary to provide the pressure and grind accuracy/precision needed to extract the perfect shot. However, an amazingly intense, rich and fragrant coffee, like a very close relative of the espresso, can still be produced at home with a 10 quid worth device! We, at Vaxx, believe that fantastic coffee should be enjoyable everywhere by everyone, and that’s why we love our moka pot so much. Moreover, Our specialty coffee is particularly suitable for this kind of short, intense and rich extraction, which will ensure the explosion of all its wonderful hidden flavours. We hope that reading this leaflet will help you understand why this inexpensive albeit brilliant device keeps being a loyal companion of Italian families since 1933, and why it is becoming more and more popular worldwide. If this is your first time, we wish you an awesome first experience brewing your favourite Vaxx coffee to perfection!
From one coffee addict to another,
--the Vaxx team
ANATOMY OF OUR MOKA POT
OUR SIZES
Whether drinking coffee is a lone wolf activity for you, or a moment of pleasure you prefer to share with friends and family, don’t you worry, just check out our sizes and pick the one that is more suitable for you:
|
Size |
Water Tank Capacity (ml) |
Height to rim (mm) |
Width of base (mm) |
Spout to handle (mm) |
|
1 cup |
50 |
100 |
60 |
75 |
|
2 cups |
100 |
120 |
70 |
90 |
|
4 cups |
200 |
130 |
75 |
100 |
|
6 cups |
300 |
155 |
90 |
120 |
BEFORE FIRST USE
1) Remove all labels and packaging
2) Hand wash all parts with warm water (NO WASHING UP LIQUID!!)
3) Make a pot of just water, then one or two of coffee to season the pot. DO NOT attempt to drink this coffee – it will taste like rubber and metal!. We hate wastage as much as you do, but seasoning your pot before actually using it is, unfortunately, a necessary step.
HOW TO BREW DELICIOUS COFFEE
Water quantity and quality
Step one of brewing a delicious cup of coffee that you’ll never forget starts right here!
Fill up the boiler chamber with the right amount of cold water (that’s right below the valve btw!). Make sure to use either bottled or filtered tap water. Remember, water hardness is good coffee’s number one enemy, also don’t forget that coffee is 98% water!
Coffee grind. NEVER GO TOO FINE!!
If you prefer grinding our coffee at home and fill up the entire house with the wonderful smell of our beans, then MEDIUM to MEDIUM-FINE is the way to go. It might take you a couples of tries to find the perfect spot, but trust us, once you find it your taste-buds will know! Please, remember NOT to go too fine, as once you cross that line your coffee will start tasting burnt, and no one likes that, right?
If home grinding is not for you, don’t worry, we will take care of it for you to ensure the best possible results.
Filling up the coffee basket
Some say coffee should be level with the basket, however we prefer trusting the old-established southern Italian “montagnella” rule (lit. little mountain), which states that the coffee basket should be filled until coffee forms a little mountain, like so:
Even though you want to form a little mountain, don’t try to overfill the coffee basket by pressing the coffee down! This won’t do any good and it will just clog the filter.
Don’t tamp, fit the coffee basket onto the water boiler, screw the coffee chamber in and you are ready to go!
On the burner!
LOWEST flame, no rush! Coffee is a pleasure after all
Brewing on a low flame allows for water to simmer gently rather than boil, so pressure in the boiler chamber will build up slowly and the coffee will be brewed gently and evenly, letting all those delicious flavour emerge for you to enjoy!
YES! It’s coming out! But is this the way it should look like?
Like for many other coffee related matters, Neapolitan wisdom can provide us with some important rules of thumb to ensure we are able to recognise whether our brewing is indeed successful, and it can do so through the picturesque language of tradition, that we would like to share with you. As far as Neapolitans are concerned, Moka pot coffee is not merely a hot beverage to be enjoyed alone or in good company, but rather an essential part of their life and culture, and, as such, every old person in Naples knows the following:
Brewing is divided into three stages, namely “La testa”, “Il cuore” and “La coda”.
Like when a newborn baby is first brought into the world, “La testa” (the head) is the very first part to come out. This first part of the coffee flow should be thick and heavy, its colour should remind us of golden amber, caramel and chocolate, its smell ought mesmerise us. This first layer of coffee is packed with all the acidic and fruity notes, and is truly beautiful to watch. This is especially true if you are grinding your Vaxx coffee on the spot, as this would allow the maximum preservation of all the fats and natural oils that are responsible for the creation of that marvellous phenomenon known as crema, which is what makes this first part of the flow so beautiful and appealing!
“Il cuore” (the heart) is the second part of the coffee flow. This layer of coffee should look more liquid and syrupy than the first one, albeit still packed with a thin layer of crema. The heart of your coffee is responsible for sweetness and balance, as sugars are the main chemical compounds extracted at this stage. This part of the flow should be calm and even, as sugar molecules need their time to be fully dissolved by the water.
“La coda” (the tail), is the third and final part of the coffee flow, and it should not be welcome in your cup. Fibers and other plant matter are the only components yet to be extracted at this stage. Unfortunately, they taste dry and bitter, they’ll water down your coffee making it taste hollow, empty and thin. Not really looking forward to that, right? No worries, as taking your pot off the fire as soon as the “heart” flow starts swelling up will do the trick, the tail won’t be extracted, for yours and our relief. Bear in mind that this will happen before the pot starts gurgling, so don’t forget to keep an eye on it. Cutting off the tail will leave you with less coffee overall, but with a better one! Lastly, if you fail to banish the tail from your cup, don’t worry, that’s no big deal, we are just very picky about our coffee, probably just like you!
TIP: when coffee is about to come out and flow into the coffee chamber, hold your cup face down right above the spout for a little while.
This will both warm up your cup and let it capture the intense scent of coffee released by the heat, an evergreen trick from the old days.
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
Good cleaning and maintenance habits are as important as correct brewing techniques. If you stick to the following, your pot will last a longer time and, more importantly, the delicious taste of your favourite Vaxx coffee won’t be compromised.
1) Wash by hand with warm water after use. NO washing up liquid, as this would taint the taste of your coffee
2) Dry thoroughly with a clean towel
3) Do not reassemble the pot until all components are completely dry to avoid oxidation and formation of mold
4) DO NOT put in dishwasher
5) DO NOT use steel wool or other abrasive products/sponges
6) NEVER use your pot to brew other products besides coffee, like tea, cacao powder or instant coffee as this will simply clog the filter
7) NEVER use the pot without water, as if the pot burns dry it will irremediably need to be replaced
8) Periodically check the funnel, filter and gasket for wear, as they may need to be replaced over time
