Why did the new mocha pot be dumped the first three times?

As one of the common espresso extraction utensils, mocha pot is deeply loved by many coffee people because of its advantages such as friendly price, light looking, portable operation and so on. When consulting the mocha pot tutorial, some novice friends noticed a saying: the newly purchased mocha pot should be tried 2 or 3 times before use, and the coffee liquid should be poured out. Why is that?

First of all, there are many common styles of mocha pots on the market, which are generally made of metal shells and other small parts, which are divided into three parts: the upper pot, the powder bowl and the lower pot, and the middle is connected by a conduit. the metal part is usually made of aluminum alloy or stainless steel. In the process of production and transportation, a small amount of micro-metal residue may be attached to the mocha pot, and the smell of metal is inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the mocha kettle before formal extraction. This step is also called "opening the pot". When the new mocha pot is in hand, we can first take each of its parts apart and rinse it simply with running water to remove the debris and dust stuck to it. Then wipe off the droplets with a dry towel or paper towel and let dry.

Then follow the normal steps to make a pot of coffee, that is, filling water-filling powder-tightening-heating-liquid-pouring-cleaning, so repeat 2 or 3 times to complete the "unpacking ceremony" of the new pot. The coffee liquid extracted at high temperature flows down the catheter and into the upper pot through the filter screen, which can not only effectively remove the residual micro-metal during production, but also skim off the unpleasant smell of aluminum to a certain extent.

In the boiling part of the new mocha pot, it is not recommended to directly use clear water for trial cooking in Qianjie. Because of the lack of coffee powder as a "barrier", hot water is easy to spatter under pressure, and there is a risk of scald. As the first three trials are to clean the cracks in the mocha pot, which may be mixed with sundries, Qianjie suggests dumping it directly and not drinking it. If we feel wasteful, we can also use the deep-roasted coffee Chen beans (powder), which has been kept for a long time, to boil the pot, and then use our favorite fresh beans to extract when the purpose of safe cleaning is achieved.

In fact, in addition to doing a good job of opening the pot, the following details also need to be paid attention to when using the mocha pot.

The extraction form of the mocha pot is similar to that of an Italian coffee machine. when heated at high temperature, the water in the lower pot is first heated and converted into steam, forming a certain pressure, prompting the water vapor to push from the bottom up. When the hot water reacts with the coffee powder, the increasing pressure pushes the extracted coffee liquid to the pot, and we get the espresso we need. So when a certain link is blocked, or the coffee effluent is too big and too fast, it will lead to spatter.

The amount of water added to the pot should not exceed the standard scale, that is, it should be controlled at 0.5cm below the pressure relief valve line. The purpose of this valve is to prevent explosion caused by excessive pressure caused by some factors (such as coffee powder is too fine). If the water does not pass through the valve, the pressure relief effect may be lost and there is a risk of burst.

If the grinding degree of coffee powder is too coarse, it will lead to insufficient extraction, too little resistance and spatter, while too fine will lead to over-extraction, and the coffee will be bitter and difficult to import. The powder trough needs to be filled and paved (the degree of bulging into a hill). If there is not enough coffee powder, the water in the lower pot cannot be fully extracted when it enters the middle powder layer under steam pressure, which will cause the upper pot to be spattered into a "double ponytail". It is conceivable that the taste of coffee will be indescribable.

As most mocha pots are designed with a metal shell and high thermal conductivity, try not to touch the kettle body after heating, remember to do a good job of thermal insulation, you can use wet towels to avoid burns. If we hear a whining sound, but the coffee liquid has not spilled from the upper pot, it is likely that the outlet is blocked, so we should first remove it from the heating source to avoid safety risks caused by excessive internal pressure.

Every time the mocha pot is used in the front street, it will be cleaned and dried upside down, so as to avoid oxidation. If the old coffee stains remain in the filter, gasket, extraction channel, it may cause blockage, affect the normal extraction, and eventually lead to taste and bitterness.

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Front Street Cafe

No. 10 Baoqian street, Yandun road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou, Guangdong province