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July 4, 2005
Our Little Lavazza Moka Pot
Once and a while I come across a tool that has been forgotten, but proves its worth and comes back into my consciousness again. This weekend, I was reminded how wonderfully useful our little Lavazza Carmencita stovetop moka pot is.
Gail, Nathan and I traveled up to a friend's cabin for the long 4th of July weekend, to get away from the city, spend some time sailing on their boat and just hanging out with friends. On a lark, I grabbed the Lavazza moka pot and some Café Goya espresso for the trip. I wasn't sure how much use it might get, yet I talked myself into taking it along.
The Lavazza is small and light, yet simple and effective. It's a coffee pot made of heavy-gauge stainless steel, designed for brewing delicious espresso-like coffee on a stovetop. Really, it would even work on a campfire or anything that can generate sufficient heat (maybe even an engine block).
Making coffee is dead-easy: Simply unscrew the upper and lower portions from each other, and the lower chamber is filled with water just below the steam release valve. A metal filter drops into the water chamber and receives the loose, ground coffee. Next, screw on the upper part of the pot and put on medium heat.
The upper portion of the pot has a filter and circular rubber gasket to hold it in place. Heated coffee escapes past the filter (which traps the grounds) and travels upward through a long narrow tube, and is deposited at the top of the tube, into the upper chamber of the pot.
Once brewing is done, the pot grows quiet and the can be removed from the heat source. The top section of the pot has a handle, which is used for pouring coffee into your favorite mug — and boy-o-boy is it tasty!
Cleanup is quite easy: just dump the grounds and wash the pot off to make it ready for the next batch of tasty, rich coffee.
I understand from Italian friends, that these types of moka pots are quite popular in Italian kitchens, and I can see why. If you love good coffee and have a chance to try one out, give it a spin!
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July 4, 2005 9:22 PM | Food & Drink | 
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Rohdesign is the site of designer Mike Rohde, who writes about design, sketching, writing, mobile computing, technology, travel, cycling, books, music and more.
