CoffeeGeek - Articles: Quickshot Review Feedback, Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Articles: Quickshot Review Feedback
Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Commercial Equipment

Nuova Simonelli, La Marzocco, Rancilio. Nationwide installation. Instant financing options.
www.seattlecoffeegear.com

Not Logged in:

updated topics	new posts	new unanswered
search	faq	sign up

Discussions > Articles > Quickshot... > Krups Moka Brew...

view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics

showing page 3 of 6

first page | last page

previous page | next page

Author

Messages

cafedj
Senior Member

Joined: 3 Oct 2003
Posts: 635
Location: NC
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bialetti, Aeropress
Grinder: Rocky doserless
Vac Pot: Bodum
Drip: Behmor Brazen
Roaster: Counter Culture

Posted Tue Mar 16, 2004, 7:34am Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

You just haven't quite found the right grind and amount of coffee. You'll know it when you find it, believe me. My experience is just a little too much coffee with the machine pushes a very good bean into too strong, overextraction quite easily. I admittedly use a fine grind, probably finer than the recommendations, and I can't use anywhere near the amount of coffee they suggest. I also tamp pretty heavily but that's because I always make a partial pot. And I'm getting all the body and taste I could want, and zero bitterness. I also have to make small adjustments depending on the particular bean. It sounds like your resolution of measuring is a whole scoop. That's about 7g. I can taste a significant difference in my brew if I'm off by 1g in either direction. You now have the boundaries on too much and too little coffee, you just need to zero in on the precise amount that gives you the taste you want. This machine is very capable of making a truly exceptional brew, if you find it's sweet spot.

aetoole
Senior Member

Joined: 21 Apr 2004
Posts: 10
Location: Baltimore
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Mon May 17, 2004, 6:44pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

I love my Moka Brew and found the CG review to be very accurate and really useful to supplement the skimpy Krups directions. I'm very glad I purchased it and the forum helped me understand that I might burn through some beans to get the right grind which I quickly did. Only negatives: 1. It really does need an auto-shut off mechanism. In a household with kids, pets and elderly parents and lots of general chaos this machine has been turned on twice by accident and I myself have turned it on by mistake. We have little real estate to give up in the kitchen so I have the coffee station up on the kitchen counter with everything else as opposed to a separate coffee altar that I wish I had the luxury of space for... Though nothing horrible happened with the accidental turn-ons, I still find it kinda scary and I think this is a major oversight on Krups part. 2. In this busy world I just want to stick the pot back onto the machine after pouring the brewed coffee into the insulated thermos and deal with cleaning after I come back and make the second pot. But, there is really no resting place for the pot; it has a tendency to slide right back out unless you clamp the lever down in between pots. This is a minor issue though and has not really detracted from my enjoyment or use of this machine. I'm just moving slowly before that 1st cup and maybe a little lazy in my coffee making regime while attempting to also get the household up and running... Still very pleased overall with the review and product.

dana_leighton
Moderator

Joined: 11 Jan 2002
Posts: 1,723
Location: Scranton, PA
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Isomac Relax; Caferina...
Grinder: Macap MXK; Baratza Vario-W;...
Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup
Drip: Technivorm; CCD; Melitta
Roaster: Poppery I w/PID controller

Posted Sat Jun 26, 2004, 10:58pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

I was wandering around London Drugs yesterday and noticed they marked the price down to CDN$130, which is approximately USD$95. The price tag was marked "no rainchecks," so I presume they're closing them out. Two pots so far. One with a french roast, ground too coarse (30 on my Rocky that zeros at 3). Overextracted to the max. Lots of foaming during the brewing. Second was with a Moka Java from Second Cup. Ground at 20. 1/2 cup of grounds (8 TBS). Better, but I think the grind has to be a little finer. Still tuning. Thanks Mark and everyone for the comments!

Dana Leighton - Espresso hack and CoffeeGeek moderator

sabrowne
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Jul 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Los Angeles
Expertise: I live coffee

Posted Thu Jul 1, 2004, 5:11pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

I'm having a problem getting the pot to complete a brew. I've varied the grind, the amount of coffee, and the number of cups (between 3-8 "large" cups). Each time, the pot stops brewing after about only 2.5 large cups are brewed, leaving a large amount of unused water in the reservoir. And yes, I let it sit there for 20 minutes to make sure it's done brewing. It doesn't have this problem when I run water throught it with no coffee. I'm a newb with respect to Moka brewing, so what am I doing wrong here? Any thoughts?

Posted Thu Jul 1, 2004, 6:30pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Has it ever brewed correctly with coffee in the basket? My initial thought was your grind must be too fine and you're choking it, but you say you've varied the grind. What kind of grinder do you have, and does it produce lots of dust? How much coffee are you using? Just as an experiment you could try using some pre-ground canned coffee, with 1g per oz of water. If that chokes it then I'd have to say the unit is defective. If that works ok, then it's your grind and/or amount of coffee. Dana - by my calculations a 1/2 cup of coffee is about 112 grams. From my experience, and from your description of the results being "overextracted to the max", you're using WAY too much coffee. The usual suggested starting ratio for the Moka Brew is 1g of coffee per oz of water. A full pot is 38 oz. From there you will need to adjust up or down depending on the beans, the grind, and your taste. When you get it right you'll find a very rich, full-bodied, complex, smooth brew, with no bitterness at all.

dana_leighton
Moderator

Posted Thu Jul 1, 2004, 11:59pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

cafedj Said: Dana - by my calculations a 1/2 cup of coffee is about 112 grams. Posted July 1, 2004 link Your calculations are incorrect. 1/2 cup is 8 tablespoons. I just weighed out 1/2 cup of junk drip-grind coffee and my surprisingly accurate 50 cent thrift-store kitchen scale says 45g, or 5.625g per tablespoon. So based on the 1g per ounce of water starting point, I am using a bit too much coffee, but not by much. more finely ground fresh beans probably are a bit more dense... Even a half cup of green beans is only about 80g. My last brew was quite good, using freshly roasted Celebes, ground at 15 on Rocky. Still playing with it, and the tamp pressure too -- I tamp with a fair amount of pressure, maybe 5-10 lbs. I am getting some pitting in the "puck" where the water holes are, mostly toward the outside of the brewing area.

Dana Leighton - Espresso hack and CoffeeGeek moderator

sabrowne
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Jul 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Los Angeles
Expertise: I live coffee

Posted Fri Jul 2, 2004, 1:38am Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Thanks cafedj, it might be the grind quality. Yes, I'm using a crappy blade grinder for now - I bet it's the dust that's choking it. It completed a brew on its own only when I used an insanely coarse (think pebbles) grind. Of course, the coffee looked like tea... I found a work-around while I'm awaiting a real grinder: simply tap the pot as soon as it stops brewing prematurely. It immediately completes the brew. It's a tasty cup of brewed coffee, I might add. I'm looking forward to seeing what this thing can do when I use a quality grinder. Thanks again for the advice/pointed questions.

Posted Fri Jul 2, 2004, 6:30am Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Dana - yeah, sorry, I was using wet measurement versus dry. The basic point was the same but not to the extent I was imagining. I use about 33-35g for a full pot, and about 24g for a 25 oz partial pot. I've found the MB to be very sensitive to the amount of coffee. Being over or under by 1g produces a significant variation in taste, and I have to make adjustments in the amount when I change beans. I also use a heavy tamp for partial pots and a fine grind. I see the pitting in the grounds, but the taste is spectacular.

RLembke
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Mar 2004
Posts: 26
Location: Overland Park, KS
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Briel Lido
Grinder: Rocky DL
Vac Pot: Bodum I and II
Drip: Krups Moka Brew

Posted Tue Jul 27, 2004, 4:13pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

I GOT IT...I GOT IT....I GOT IT!!!!!! cafedj.......you've made me dream of this pot for months! It took a beginner's espresso machine to bring this pot on. I purchased a Briel espresso machine off of ebay last week because I just had to give it all a try. I've been playing with it for the last week using pods (I know, I know) and some store-ground espresso blend because I know my DeLonghi grinder is not capable of an espresso grind. After a few days of mochas and double shots, I had to come back to the Moka Brew. After searching for this thread AGAIN and reading up one more time, I thought I'd give your measurements one more try, this time with the espresso grind I have on hand (a few days old but worth a try, I figured). UNREAL! I really can't imagine what a freshly roasted, freshly ground brew in this pot will taste like now. This few-day-old, store ground batch is fantastic! Even my wife who despises coffee thinks this is pretty damn good! Moral of the story for those of you in the same boat I've been in, continually searching for threads like this to get the best of this machine, I'm going to play broken record - the grinder could be the killer. I could never grind something this consistently. Just to get the feel of what this machine is capable of without going out and buying a new grinder, snag a half pound of your favorite coffee and try the store grinder on an espresso fineness. Use cafedj's 1-oz-to-1-gram ratio and see what happens. Thank cafedj....you've made pull the plug on the espresso machine and plug the Moka Brew back in....for a few days anyway! Rob

MamaMeg
Senior Member

Joined: 29 Aug 2004
Posts: 2
Location: Oxford, MI
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Aug 29, 2004, 6:42pm Subject: Re: Krups Moka Brew Pressure Brewer

Our Krups AromaCrystale of the past 8 years died about two weeks ago. In researching a new pot I found this site. What a great place to learn about coffee and all of its accessories. After reading about the Moka Brew my husband and I decided to splurge and give it a try. Neither of us have ever had Moke brewed coffee before. But after reading the intriguing review by M. Price and all of the reviews here we thought we might enjoy it. I purchased ours from Williams/Sonoma a week ago. It was on clearance for $64. We appreciated the price but it makes us a little concerned about the longevity of the product. We really do enjoy the coffee. It has spoiled us completely! Coffee from anywhere but home now tastes pretty shabby. It's like having coffee shop coffee right in our kitchen. We wish the pot was larger. The 8 large cups are not large enough for us. So we brew a little more often. We also pour the coffee into a thermal carafe after it brews. It stays hot longer - it also gives us the ability to brew a second pot in the morning so we can take our brew with us. That coffee at work just doesn't cut it anymore. Thanks for a great website and for allowing people to express their opinions regarding different products. We found it to be a great resource.

showing page 3 of 6

first page | last page

previous page | next page

view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics

Discussions > Articles > Quickshot... > Krups Moka Brew...

updated topics

new posts

new unanswered

faq

Not Logged in: log in
Discussions Quick Jump:
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:
No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.
No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.
No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.
Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.
Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.
Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.
Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.
Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.
Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.

LavAzza Espresso Machines

Awesome capsule espresso machines. Perfect for home, office and restaurant applications.
www.espressozone.com