Whether you are finessing your coffee making skills as a home barista or looking for a new brewing option, we’re here to help you with mastering your at home coffee consumption. Whilst you may have selected the best coffee beans, it all comes down to the brewing process, which can vastly impact the taste and strength of your cup.
Here we’re looking at two popular at home espresso making products, the traditional Italian Moka pot vs the American Aeropress, both great options and extremely pleasing designs that will help you make an excellent morning espresso. Between the two different methods, we’re here to help you assess and decide which is the best, most viable option, for you and your morning coffee.
What is a Moka Pot / Stovetop Espresso Maker?
An Italian staple, and ever popular in South America, the Moka Pot was named after, you guessed it, the Yemeni city of Mocha. Invented by the Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933, the original design was made out of aluminium with bakelite handles, an iconic design which is still preferred today, you can even find it in the Cooper-Hewitt and London Science Museum.
Crafted for stove top brewing, the Moka brews your coffee by simply passing boiling water through the ground coffee, and extracting the flavour via steam. Just be careful it doesn’t boil over or burn! The key is to master the heat (we usually recommend a low heat to begin with) and time, the key is the coffee will be ready once the bubbling stops.
Drink as soon as it is ready for an authentic Italian espresso style drink, this unchanged method is a favourite for a reason. Sit back, close your eyes and imagine you’re in Naples or Rome.
Check out our Stovetop Espresso Maker brewing guide for more in-depth knowledge.
What is an Aeropress?
A more recent invention, the brainchild of Alan Adler, an engineering instructor at Stanford University, the Aeropress was born out of a brief conversation with his wife regarding her distaste for her watery drip coffee and how to combat this. He set out to correct this, having already invented the Aerobie flying ring, and alas the Aeropress was created.
The Aeropress is light, portable and offers an extremely easy process for coffee making. This is useful to bear in mind if you are a keen traveller or camper, the Aeropress is compact enough to brew on the move, plus it’s made from durable plastic.
To make your espresso simply add (and push) the plunger once there is enough pressure from the water and coffee. The coffee grounds are then steeped through the removable filter for a fresh and quick brew, which still brings out the full flavour of the bean, and is ready in an instant.
Check out our Aeropress brewing guide for more in-depth knowledge.
With both the Aeropress and the Moka Pot available in different sizes, you can vary your design depending on who you are making it for. If you are a big family, we recommend the middle size at least, for yourself the small should be suffice.
With both of these methods, you can also warm up some milk, put it into a French Press to add air to it and make a Latte.
We hope that has helped you make a decision between the two, in general we would highlight that the Moka Pot makes a stronger brew, perfect for coffee lovers, whereas the Aeropress offers a lighter, easy option for first time brewers. It all depends on your taste level.
As always we’re interested with which you’ve decided on, let us know below and feel free to share any of your brewing tips below...
“and alas the Aeropress was created”
alas… reads as expression of despair. “and thus” would be better. Unless you really don’t like Aeropress
mark pearce on