Cleaning and caring for your moka pot

The moka pot is a marvellous invention when it comes to brewing a good Italian cuppa. With all the right techniques, it could quickly become part of your morning coffee routine. Cleaning and caring for this little guy is also pretty important. Here are our tips for caring for your moka pot.

Before the first brew

If you are using your Bialetti for the first time, carry out a few practice brews and throw the coffee out. The coffee oils seal the aluminium surface and will prevent your coffee from having a metallic taste.

Cleaning

Don’t clean your moka pot with soapy water or an abrasive sponge. Remember all those great cuppas you made that imparted their special oils onto the inside of the pot? You don’t want to go tarnishing that with the taste of dishwashing liquid. Simply rinsing it with hot water and wiping it with a clean cloth after each use will suffice. Alternatively, leave it out on the drying rack for a bit so that it dries out completely.

Storage

Before you pack your moka pot away into a cupboard, make sure it is properly dry on the inside. Any moisture will cause pitting, which presents as dark grey blobs that look a bit like mouldy growth. If you have accidentally stored it away in a slightly damp condition only to find it in this state, you’re going to have to scrub it out with warm soapy water to the  slight detriment of your coffee oils.

Also, if you use it infrequently the oily coffee coating will go rancid. Wash it with some hot soapy water and give it a good scrub with a soft cloth. Rinse thoroughly and you’re good to go again.

Usage

Try not to over tighten the pot when preparing coffee, this will cause your rubber gasket to wear out more quickly. That said, if you don’t tighten it enough it may leak while on the stove and you don’t want that either. Good news is if yours does wear out, you can get a replacement rubber gasket for your moka pot in a jiffy.

With all the nitty pitty things out the way, using your moka pot is the best way to figure it out and get comfortable with the ways of this little coffee brewing barrista. If you haven’t yet mastered the art, here are our top tips for making an excellent coffee with your moka pot and if you haven’t got one yet but think you might like to see what the fuss is about, here is our moka pot range.