- 1Fill the hopper with whole beans — only what you will drink in a week or so, and keep the rest sealed.
- 2Set the grinder one notch finer if the coffee tastes thin, one coarser if it tastes harsh.
- 3Run a blank shot to warm the group, then brew straight into a warmed cup.
- 4Rinse the brew unit weekly. Old coffee oils are the most common cause of a bitter cup.
Get the best out of every bag
We grind each bag to match your kit, so the hard part is already done. These are the small things that take a good cup to a very good one.
- Ground to match your kit
- Two minutes to read
- No jargon
Five ways to make it
Every guide assumes the grind we already send you, so you can skip straight to the method.
- 1Distribute the grounds evenly in the basket, then tamp level with firm, steady pressure.
- 2Lock in and start the shot straight away so the coffee is not sitting on a hot group.
- 3Aim for roughly double the dry weight in the cup — 18g of coffee gives about 36g of espresso.
- 4Running fast and sour? Grind finer. Slow and bitter? Grind coarser. Change one thing at a time.
- 1Warm the jug with hot water and tip it out — a cold jug drops the brew temperature fast.
- 2Add the coffee, pour all the water in one go and give it a gentle stir to wet every ground.
- 3Lid on, plunger up. Leave it for four minutes without touching it.
- 4Press slowly and pour the whole jug out. Coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting.
- 1Rinse the paper filter with hot water first, then discard it. It removes the papery taste.
- 2Add the coffee and level the bed so water passes through evenly.
- 3Pour a splash to wet the grounds and wait 30 seconds — the bloom lets trapped gas escape.
- 4Pour the rest in slow circles, keeping the bed level. Aim to finish draining by four minutes.
- 1Fill the base with already-hot water, up to just below the safety valve.
- 2Fill the basket with coffee and level it off. Do not tamp — moka pots need a loose bed.
- 3Assemble with a cloth (the base is hot) and put it on a medium heat with the lid open.
- 4When it gurgles, take it straight off and cool the base under the tap to stop extraction.
Four things that matter more than kit
Buy little and often
Coffee is at its best in the few weeks after roasting. A smaller bag you finish beats a big one that goes stale.
Keep the bag sealed
Air is the enemy. Reseal after every use and keep it in a cupboard — not the fridge, and not the freezer.
Weigh it once
Scales cost very little and remove most of the guesswork. Once you know your dose you can eyeball it.
Use water you would drink
Coffee is almost entirely water. If your tap water tastes of chlorine, filter it and the cup changes completely.
Tell us how you make it
Answer a few quick questions and we will match the coffee and the grind to your kit — then send it on a schedule that suits you.


