If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love a good cup of coffee. And after a few years of making it espresso in my Moka pot, I have picked up a few tricks along the way.

• Clean the pot. Some people say to leave the upper part of the pot unwashed to get a buildup of espresso for more flavor. This can actually make your espresso bitter so I like to wash my pot after every use. No need to wash with soap every time as it can be cumbersome to thoroughly get all the soap out, but a good rinse and wipe will do.

• Use purified, room temperature water. Some people say to use boiled water to speed up the heating process and prevent the coffee from burning, but I find it works better for me to just use filter water. And filtered or distilled is key because depending on where you live your water may be harder or softer and that affects the taste of your espresso as well as the metal of your Moka pot. 

• Use the right amount of water. Another major key is to add the right amount of water, never fill the bottom past the vent. And if you like super strong coffee you can play with using even less water than usual to get a stronger flavor.

• Find the right grind, and use good quality coffee beans. I like experimenting with local roasters' darker blends. The grind should be close the that of a traditional espresso machine. Fine, but not too fine. You are looking for something like table salt and less coarse than powdered sugar.

• Don't overpack the coffee pod. The water in the bottom of the pot needs to be able to percolate up through the coffee grinds to you don't want to press down on the grinds firmly like you would with other espresso machines. Filling the pod and giving it a light press will do fine.

• Heat low and slow, and remove from the heat as so as the coffee starts making a gurgling sound. I find making it this way avoids overheating the coffee avoiding that burnt taste you can get when you do.

• Store your pot assembled but not tightly screwed on. This might seem like a trivial thing but by storing it this way your rubber gasket will last longer giving you a better seal and overall better espresso. 

• Practice because you'll only figure out just how you like it by doing!

Do you have any tips or tricks for the perfect espresso? Let me know!! 

And for all of the tools I use (plus some cute mugs), I have an amazon list here (I encourage you to also not buy them on Amazon, it's just the most convenient way for me to make lists at the moment).