So I'm reading... fill the basket of a mokapot fully... fill it to over flowing... don't fill it all the way. Then in every combination with above you should and should not tamp, some say tamp it somewhat hard, some say soft, some say just enough to level it out...no real pressure... some say tamping is the devil.... heat on high, heat on medium...hell heat on low. But wait there's more. Heat the water before you connect everything... And make sure you tighten the top and bottom very tight... or not...very loosely... well kind of tight but not very... or really?

I've read threads, read instructions, watched videos... it's enough to make me give up coffee and go straight for the vodka.
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You've got it now, Grasshopper. :-)
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I gently fill mine to a slight cone/mound and then screw the cap back on. This packs it down nicely for me, but not as firmly as an espresso.
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There are only two people in this world you should be listening to about a moka pot. Everything else is just filler.

Seriously if you have a cup at the end that taste good to you than you have made a moka pot. To make it do the extreme of what the pot can handle than you have graduated. This can't be accomplished with out a good burr grinder, a grinder that gives of to much fines will throw results off.

Packing, whether you tamp, pile high, or tap the filler basket to compress are all doing the same thing, getting more grind in the basket. This is nowhere near tamping for espresso which wants 30lbs of pressure.
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Vodka - Seriously. You're the only one here with an hourly search scheduled for instances of "vodka." THAT is the kind of commitment that makes you great!

Moka - Seriously. Carefully review this Italian "How to" moka web site. It's all there except the details.

http://www.caffeina.org/caffe/inglese/01.htm


I have one recommended deviation from this step - I fill, tap and lightly tamp the filterbasket BEFORE putting it into the lower pot. This keeps coffeegrounds from getting into the threads on the lower. dn
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I am VERY serious about my Vodka, Dan. :-)
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