The Moka Pot is one of the most time-honoured — yet often misunderstood — ways to make coffee. It’s also one of the most recognisable kitchen gadgets, thanks to the ubiquitous Italian design left largely unchanged since 1933. A new collaboration between Blue Bottle Coffee and designer Joey Roth revamps the Moka Pot with a brand-new and pretty-dang-beautiful design.
Moka Pot coffee is misunderstood because the conventional thinking is that it is used for making espresso. Like espresso, there is pressure involved as steam pushes water through a puck of coffee grounds. The resulting elixir is stronger than your average drip brew, but doesn’t quite involve enough pressure to produce the kind of espresso you would find in a cafe. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t left with some deliciousness. With measured expectations, the Moka Pot can serve any coffee lover extremely well.
The new design, which you can pre-order through Blue Bottle for $US100, features an attractive combination of steel and porcelain with a cork handle. It is able to produce a greater quantity of coffee than a typical Moka Pot. With 15 grams of ground coffee, you will end up with about 6 ounces of coffee, which equates to a small-ish cup by normal mug standards. If you aren’t a fan of the heavy body of the brew, you can add in a paper Aeropress filter for a lighter beverage.
You may think it’s nuts to spend $US100 on a device that usually goes for $US30 just because it was designed by a dude who also creates crazy ceramic speakers. But hey, some people just take pride in their tools of the trade, and looking at this refined piece of coffee gadgetry adorning their kitchen may brighten up their day. Happy brewing! [Cool Hunting]