Here's The Best Way To Clean Your Moka Pot

If going to a coffee shop every morning to get a cup of joe is inconvenient, you can invest in a coffee maker or an espresso machine. Still, there's another appliance you can use to brew your coffee: a moka pot. You can find a stovetop or electric version of this compact coffee maker, which uses a simple but effective process to brew coffee and espresso. After you fill the moka pot with water and ground coffee, the water gets heated in the machine's lower chamber until it comes to a boil. Vapor pressure then forces water through the ground coffee, which creates liquid coffee that travels through the spigot of the machine and releases it into the top chamber. Keep your pot clean to ensure your moka pot-brewed coffee always tastes great. And there are several guidelines you should follow to clean it properly.

One of the important things you should know about how to clean your moka pot is knowing what cleaning materials you shouldn't use on your machine. Do not use soap or detergents because these cleaning agents are so strong that they can ruin the flavor of your coffee. Never put your moka pot in the dishwasher since it can damage the machine's exterior. A moka pot should be cleaned daily (or after every time you make coffee or espresso) by taking the pot apart, dumping the grounds, rinsing, and drying the pot. You can descale your moka pot a few times yearly for a deeper clean.

After you've enjoyed some delicious coffee or espresso made with your moka pot, it's time to clean your machine. Take the pot apart and separate all of its pieces. Dispose of the grounds by getting rid of or storing them in your fridge to eliminate any foul odors (which is just one of the surprising uses for coffee grounds you should know about). If you don't clean out all the grounds, they can create excess oil in the pot over time or even develop mold. Check the filler plate's holes to make sure they aren't clogged. If they are, use a small brush to scrub away the debris.

Now your moka pot is ready for rinsing. Put each separate part under a strong stream of scalding water from your faucet. Pay close attention to the filter basket and safety valve, ensuring all the grounds have been washed out. When it's time to dry, use a paper towel or clean cloth to completely wipe down every piece of your moka pot. Don't reassemble the pot right away. Let the individual pieces sit for a bit to make sure they are fully dry before you put the pot back together again. You'll have to use a cleaning agent to descale your moka pot for a deeper clean.

You should descale your moka pot about twice yearly if you use it a lot or if you live somewhere with hard water. In order to deep clean your moka pot, get some distilled white vinegar. You can use two methods to descale your moka pot with vinegar. The first is to take the pot apart and submerge all the individual pieces in a mixture of ⅓ vinegar and ⅔ water between 30 and 40 minutes. After sufficiently soaking each component in your cleaning solution, rinse and dry each thoroughly before reassembling the moka pot and reusing it.

The second method is to brew coffee with your moka pot but substitute the coffee with your cleaning solution to clean every component of the machine as the liquids travel through it. To do this, simply put the same vinegar and water mixture in the bottom chamber of the moka pot, place it on your stovetop on low heat, and let the machine function as it usually would when you make coffee. The water and vinegar will go through the same process as water and ground coffee when you're brewing a cup of joe, and cleanse every part of your moka pot while doing so. Once the process is complete, dump and disassemble the machine, thoroughly rinsing and drying each component. Then, you can reassemble the moka pot and use one of the hacks for brewing the perfect cup of coffee.