Moka Pot sputtering or not working correctly: how to solve it!

If your Moka Pot is sputtering or spitting coffee while brewing it, or it is not even brewing coffee, it just releases steam, in this I give a tip of how to solve this issue, so that you can brew a perfect coffee with your Moka Pot!

[blobscott]

I think the key of this (that you point out with your great experiment) is that the pressure must be sealed in the lower chamber and not leak past the funnel edge. The fix using just the parts of the Moka Pot is to make sure the gasket seals against the funnel. Most people focus on the gasket sealing the threaded lower part of the pot to the top, but the gasket has a second separate purpose: The funnel must also seal to the gasket so that the steam pressure does not leak around the funnel edge and up the "stack" (the part that the coffee eventually comes out of).

To make sure the funnel seals: 1.Make sure the gasket is still pliable (incidentally, a brand new gasket doesn't always seal as they are a bit stiff from the factory). 2. Make sure the gasket is clean (i.e. No coffee grounds stuck to or embedded in the gasket). 3. Make sure the top edge of the funnel is clean and free from coffee. When you fill the funnel with fresh coffee, make sure to run your finger over the edge and remove any coffee grounds before screwing on the top. Any bits of coffee between the funnel edge and the gasket will stop the funnel from sealing properly. 4. Make sure the pot top and bottom are well tightened. I hope this helps someone out there :)

[mesri]

you wonderful, wonderful man, this absolutely solved my moka pot problem. i was literally jumping for joy when the coffee came up smoothly and it was nice and strong and the coffee itself (with a touch of milk) tastes so good. thank you, thank you, thank you. may the coffee gods bless you with many years of great brews.

[jonggisiagian]

The way this guy pronounces funnel deserves a 🥇

[TabularAcrobat]

Holy wow what a difference. I was convinced that I was doing SOMETHING wrong even if I didn't know what it was. One wrap of the yellow Teflon tape (rated for gas so it's a little thicker) and 10 mins later I have a beautiful constant brew going for the first time since I bought this thing! You sir, are a hero!

[ewqewq]

can't thank you enough. this guy saved me from buying another $100 bialetti mokapot. love from australia. merry christmas you bloody legend :)

[aranpura]

I have never, ever commented on a video before, but I am so grateful to you! I spent days searching for a solution to this problem before I found your solution. It was a very frustrating experience because I absolutely couldn't find anything wrong with my moka pot, but it stopped working after years of reliable service. This little solution solved my problem, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you!

[missroserebelle]

Don't know what I love more, the fact this simple video actually worked and I can get through the afternoon OR that there's so many coffee lovers gushing over this vid 😁. Thank you!

[shikyokira]

thank you for this video and showing us what's the cause. i solved this issue by screwing the top and bottom chamber as humanly tightly as possible. Perhaps you guys should try to tighten it as much as possible first. If that doesn't work, then try other workaround like the one shown in this video

[karenfox]

Hi Vini; Thank you so much for posting this video. I am sending my gratitude from Israel. The coffee was perfect! The Internet is wonderful for sharing information, to help each other, as you have done. Peace and health to all.

[Lunibruniful]

Genio! I just got the best coffee i've ever gotten out of a moka pot just now thanks to you

[vanbrabant]

I changed my grind up and down, lowered and increased the flame under the pot, changed the beans to another brand but none of that made a difference, I would not get enough coffee into the pot, I was ready to give up on the mocha pot. BUT, this video saved it, I applied the plumber's PTFE tape trick and this fixed my problem. Thank you!!

[SteffenThole]

This was one of the easiest fixes with one of the biggest impacts I have ever tried anywhere, especially when talking about coffee. Thank you so much, sir! I hope you have a wonderful day.

[marcocaldana]

Great tip, Vinnie. I struggled trying to figure out the problem, always thinking it was the gasket or the filter. Your solution is spot on. Many thanks!

[marilynsides]

Genius, I tried everything and was about to turn into a yard sculpture, but then! And I had that tape on hand, so immediate gratification. I love DIY fixes. Thanks you my friend.

[tonycullen]

Had sputtering problems with a new Moka Pot. Tried everything, but nothing worked until I tried this. And it worked perfectly, thank you!!!

[drakemallard]

Great fix! This also implies that one should not knock their baskets out for cleaning. Though convienient, it will also knock the basket out of alignment.

[simon]

Your video is a really good contribution to troubleshooting a malfunctioning Moka pot. Well done and thank you from Australia!

[nodiscutamosche]

This is f... awesome. My pot was sputtering and the result was a burt coffee (and dirty stove). The solution with the tape made all the difference. I was jumping all around the kitchen watching the stream of black liquid coming out eavenly. I am now enjoying an exquisite brew. Thanks!!!

[Muddy]

Your video was a real revelation to me, Vini. I had always thought that the sole purpose of the gasket was to stop the coffee that enters the funnel from escaping through the screw thread that binds the two compartments. It had never occurred to me that the gasket is also there to stop steam and potentially hot water escaping from the lower compartment through the gap between the rim of the funnel and the rim of the lower compartment. Your demonstration shows this brilliantly.

This has made me understand better how my Moka pot works. But it has ALSO made me question some of my fundamental assumptions I had made until now about what is happening in my pot.

I have learnt over the years that each time I replace the gasket, I can expect a livelier brew for the first five or so days, in which the brew takes longer, there is a clear and throaty sound as it rises through the column in the upper compartment, and it will start sputtering earlier. The more the gasket gets seasoned, the more the pot returns to normal brew times and to a silent trickle as the coffee comes out of the column.

I had assumed that the new gasket provides a firmer seal, that this raises the atmospheric pressure in the pot, and that it is this that causes a longer heatup time and a livelier brew. But I am now wondering whether the reverse is true: that the gasket needs time to perfectly mould itself to the rim of the pot, and so the first brews are longer and livelier due to a less efficient seal (and consequently *lower* atmospheric pressure in the lower compartment) and this is why a new gasket can cause longer heatup times and livelier brews. So can you explain which of these two (or maybe neither) is so??

If I can understand better how the Moka pot works, I wil be able to make better Moka coffee and more easily resolve some of the problems we can encounter from time to time 😉.



After well over 10 years (probably nearer 20) of making Moka coffee daily, I can honestly say this is the *_best_* and most useful YouTube video I have ever seen on the Moka pot. I very much hope you will post more videos with tips on how to further improve our Moka brewing skills ☕!



By the way here is the context of how I came across your video:

I had just changed the gasket on my 3-cup pot and, though I am used to a new gasket causing a longer brew with sputtering starting much earlier for the first five or so days resulting in an over-extracted flavour, this time I was getting alarmed that it was remaining the same for much longer than five days (with the sputtering starting right from the beginning of outflow) and with no immediate prospect of resolution.




So anyway, I very much hope you can find time out of your doubtless busy schedule to answer my question from paragraphs 3 and 4 😁.

[goofy]

This is brilliant. Using Moka Pots for years, and mine was making good coffee, even though it was leaking at the chamber joint. The gasket was hardening, so, I changed out the gasket. After putting in a new gasket, had gurgling from the very beginning and not all the water would boil out. Looked at this video and applied two rounds of pipe joint tape as instructed. Works like a charm, and as an engineer, knew this made complete sense as soon as seeing the video. The coffee is stronger, too. It's one of those, "now why didn't I think of that" fixes. If you have an older pot, try this before you do all the fixes with the grind of the coffee, the water temperature, the fire temperature, etc. Over the years, the funnel and chamber fit get out of round, and this solves it. Thank you!!!