Care and keeping
Looking after a moka pot
A well-kept pot lasts for decades. It asks for hot water, a dry cupboard and a new gasket now and then.
Every day
Let the pot cool, unscrew it, knock the grounds out of the funnel into the compost and rinse every part under hot water. Many people never use soap on an aluminium pot; a little mild washing-up liquid now and then does no harm if it is rinsed off well.
Dry the parts and leave the pot unscrewed, or only loosely put together, so it airs and the gasket is not squeezed all day.
No dishwasher
The dishwasher dulls and darkens aluminium, leaves a chalky grey film and can pit it. Wash aluminium pots by hand, always. Stainless steel pots put up with more, but hand-washing still makes the gasket last longer.
Gasket and filter plate
The gasket wears slowly and fails suddenly. Replace it when it feels hard, looks flat and shiny or cracked, or when the seam starts to leak. With daily use that is roughly once a year.
Unscrew the pot and look under the upper chamber. Prise the old gasket out with a blunt knife or a teaspoon handle; the filter plate comes with it. Clean the groove, push in the new filter plate and then the new gasket, evenly all round, until it sits flat.
Buy the gasket for the size of your pot; the cup number is the usual guide. Replace the filter plate at the same time if it is bent or the holes are clogged.
The safety valve
Every few weeks, check that the little piston of the valve moves when you press it, gently, with a cocktail stick or a pin. Never fill water above it, and never paint over or block it. If it is seized, have the pot looked at or retire it.
Scale in the boiler
In hard-water areas a chalky ring builds up inside the boiler. Every month or two, fill the boiler with half water and half white vinegar, or water with a spoonful of citric acid, assemble the pot without coffee and run it through on the flame. Throw that away and brew two pots of plain water to rinse.
Seasoning a new pot
A new aluminium pot can make coffee taste of metal. The traditional cure is to brew three or four pots of coffee and pour them away. It leaves a thin layer of coffee oils on the inside, which is why old pots are dark grey inside and should stay that way.
Do the same after replacing a gasket, with one pot thrown away.
Storing a pot
Store it in three pieces, or with the top resting loosely on the boiler. A pot screwed shut while damp starts to smell, and the gasket takes on a permanent squash.