I've been meaning to get some proper coffee making equipment these days (my french press broke recently) in the meantime I've been experimenting with making coffee on the stove with a pot and for the most part it works.
however since the water is boiling sometimes the consistency of the coffee (clearity/concentration) vary with each brew. With a french press there is some mechanism in place to improve clearity.
Are there any ideas for filtering using a stove top?
Sometimes I'll do this when there's a kitchen but no coffee making equipment.
Boil water in the pot.
Once it's boiling, take it off the heat and wait 20-30 seconds.
Add 2 tablespoons (15 g) of coffee to the pot for every cup (8 oz / 250 mL) of water.
Wait 4 minutes.
Pour coffee slowly into a mug/cup through a fine mesh sieve with a cheesecloth or coffee filter (if you have one). Try to leave as many grounds in the pot as possible. This is what has the biggest effect on clarity.
Things to try:
Preheat your pot by adding hot water, dump it, then assemble with coffee and hot water. The idea here is to reduce the amount of heat needed to generate steam.
Buy a new pot. A quality moka pot will have a thick bottom to encourage even distribution of heat. Your pot may also be too large or too small for the amount you brew. Check these variables and see how your pot stacks up. If it doesn't check out, replace it with a more appropriate model.
Try using filtered water. Filtered water is not ideal for making coffee, but it might be better than tap water if your tap water has a high concentration if particulate matter (e.g., well water or poor quality city water).
Use lower heat. Experiment with this. You actually don't want your water to boil with a moka pot; you just want it to come close. Slow down the heating to gain better control. Easier with a natural gas cooktop than with electric or induction.
Hope these ideas help!
