A good moka should last (almost) forever! Here’s a few tips in order to clean it and take care of it in the best possible way
What’s the moka? The moka is what we could define as an Italian-style stovetop coffee maker. It’s an Italian invention dating back to 1933. Italians are deeply linked to their traditions and therefore is no surprise that the moka is still the tool of choice of the vast majority of Italians when it comes to coffee making. Such a beloved tool needs to be taken care of to perfection! Here’s a few tips on how to clean it so that it’ll keep making a perfect coffee.
Only use water, vinegar and bicarbonate
Beware of those who tells you that you need specific chemicals or products to clean your moka. Two simple home staples like vinegar and bicarbonate are everything you need in order to do the job.
The everyday cleaning
Remember the most important thing of all is to never use dish soap or any other kind of soap to clean your moka! This would leave weird aftertastes in your coffee.
The basic everyday cleaning is the simpler of all: just rinse the moka with water after use! After a while, you might see a little bit of limescale appearing in it, and that when sodium bicarbonate comes to use! You have to put water in the lower part of the moka together with a tsp of bicarbonate. Add one more tsp of bicarbonate in the filter and put the moka on the stove at medium heat – just as you would do to prepare coffee! When the water comes up just empty the moka in the sink and rinse it thoroughly with water before your next use.
A more thorough cleaning
You should use this method no more than once every month, and only if you use your moka a lot.
Before starting, check the general state of the tool: does everything look normal? No clogs or anything? Great!
All you need to do is to take a bucket (or a big pan) and fill it with 3 parts of hot water a 1 of white vinegar – just enough to be able to put in every moka’s component in it (not the assembled tool). Every component needs to be completely covered by the solution. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. When the time has elapsed, rinse the moka and prepare a coffee with it – but with no coffee – just make the water come up from the lower to the upper part. Rinse it again before your next use.
What to do when your moka is stained
If you your tool appears to be stained or encrusted, try this: in a glass mix some hot water and 3 tsp of bicarbonate and a splash of white vinegar. Use a kitchen sponge – better one with an abrasive side – and rub the bicarbonate solution on the stains. Rinse it. Make sure to let the moka dry completely before putting it away: humidity is not good for this kind of tools.
Just found my old moka: should I clean it?
If you want to use a moka that hasn’t made a coffee in a long time, is better to clean it well! You should fill the lower part with water and vinegar (3-1) and put the moka on the stove until the vinegar solution comes up. Do it once more but do not add vinegar this time – only water. Rinse it well and you are ready to go!
You are all set! Ready to have a delicious authentic homemade Italian espresso. What Caffe Aiello blend will you choose?
