To wash or not to wash the mocha pot? A question that can spark a fiery debate in Italy. While we often fumble here, the Italians are clear. And they take the whole matter almost as a question of their honor.
I first realized this the moment my friend Francesco Ranieri, a patent Italian from Florence, caught me at the sink. I had a moka full of suds in my hand and a satisfied feeling that I had just done something good for hygiene. Francesco paled, gasped, and stopped me with an expression as if I had done something unforgivable. “What did it do?” he said. And then he solemnly explained to me that the mocha was not just an ordinary dish, but an almost sacred object.
Why Italians hate spring
According to Francesco and most Italians, the basic rule is simple. Moka is rinsed with hot water after each use, but never washed with a cleanser. And the reason is simple and logical. Aluminum and seals easily absorb the smell and taste of cleaning products, and the coffee then acquires an unpleasant chemical taste. And that is unacceptable in a country where it is almost a religion.
And then we have the famous widespread myth that unwashed mocha improves because it forms a kind of protective film. But the truth is actually less romantic. The residues of coffee and the oils it naturally contains burn and oxidize over time. Dirty mocha does not make the coffee tastier, but bitter and stale. That’s why even the Italians recognize that mocha must be cleaned, they just go about it differently than we do.
And then there’s the issue of mold and scale. If the mocha is not thoroughly dried after rinsing and folded wet, an unpleasant coating may appear in it. Francesco emphasized to me that the mocha should dry spread out, ideally in the air, not in a closed drawer among other dishes.
How to deep clean without sin
But once in a while you need to be a little more careful. In this case, the Italians reach for white vinegar, citric acid or baking soda. A mixture of water and vinegar is poured into the lower tank, the mocha is folded and left to “cook” without coffee. This will remove limescale and old deposits. After that, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse everything several times with clean water and ideally make one coffee passage empty.
The filter and rubber seal deserve special attention. These are rinsed separately and if they are hardened or stale, it is not a sin to replace them. On the contrary, heating the filter over the flame, as is sometimes advised, Francesco described as a kitchen crime, which rather harms the metal.
When even a little makes a big difference
When I finally learned not to wash the water with a spring and began to treat it with the respect typical of Italians, the change was immediately noticeable. The coffee was smoother, cleaner and without metallic notes. Moka is not a tool that should smell of aluminum, but of coffee. And as Francesco says every time he puts the kettle on the stove. “When you take care of your water properly, it will reward you with a coffee you’ll never forget.”
