How to Make Espresso Without An Espresso Machine

An Espresso can be described as a highly concentrated beverage made up of fine grind and dark roast. It is the combination of these two ingredients mixed with hot water under pressure that makes the perfect espresso. It is coffee distillate in it’s the purest form. It is the literal essence of a bean in a cup!

Admittedly, espressos are best made with an espresso machine. A manual espresso machine requires you to grind your beans (or buy them already ground), measure and load your required ground shots into the portafilter. Some manual machines would require heating the water to the perfect temperature. The process can laborious and time-consuming, especially if you intend to make more than one cup of espresso, also considering that your portafilter requires cleaning after every shot.

A fully automatic espresso machine, on the other hand, does most of the work for you. At the press of a button, you will have a fresh shot of espresso flowing out the nozzles and brewed to your specifications in less than a minute! You can have single, double, one cup, two cups Americano, etc.  Most models even come with hot water attachments, as well as milk-frothing attachments for lattes and cappuccinos.

Where there are no Espresso Machines

 I love coffee so much that my every day begins with a cup. If you’re like me and have to travel to places or be in situations where there are no hi-tech espresso machines, you should learn how to make espressos without using the machine.

There are a few ways I know to do this, best of which (to me) is the Moka Pot, the AeroPress method and the French Press method.

Since the Moka pot method for brewing espresso is the personal favorite, here is how it’s done:

How to Brew Espresso with Moka Pot

Brewing espresso with a Moka Pot is a great way to brew strong espresso. The pot is capable of generating the kind of pressure that will brew the tasty espresso you are longing for under the circumstances.

Here’s how you brew your espresso with this pot.

Step 1

Grind Your Beans

Make sure you grind the beans as finely as possible.

Step 2

Fill the Lower Chamber of the Pot with Water

It’s preferable to Pre-heat the water before pouring into the Moka pot, although, whether you pre-heat the water or not will not have any effect on the result. When you place the pot on the stove, the pressure produced by the lower chamber of the pot will pass the water through the powder, and heat fast, producing a strong, well-brewed espresso.

However, make sure the level of the water doesn’t go beyond the valve located on the side of the water chamber. This is because your Moka Pot can explode if pressure accumulates and cannot be evacuated through the valve.

Step 3

Load the Coffee Basket with the Coffee Grounds

When filling the basket, do not push and level the grounds. Do not also overfill the coffee basket. If you do, water will not properly pass through the coffee grounds, making the espresso very weak.

Step 4

Screw the Moka Pot Together

Before you screw the pot together, clean the grounds that could probably not allow the pot to screw correctly, which could turn your pot into a dangerous little explosive. You must be very careful because of the pressure.

Step 5

Put the Moka Pot on Low Heat

Remember to put the pot on low heat because the pressure will build up very fast and the espresso won’t be in the collection chamber if you mistakenly put the Moka pot on high heat.  Also, the sprout will spit the espresso all over the stove.

When you put the pot on low heat, coffee will barely flow through the sprout, but it will flow very fast when it is too high. Hence the need to regulate the heat accordingly.

Step 6

Remove the Pot from Heat

Remove the pot from the stove before the coffee rises and bubbles; otherwise, you will have a bitter espresso. At the end of the brewing process, pour the espresso in a cup, a kettle, or cups, depending on how big is your Moka pot.

Step 7

Clean the Pot

Now that you have finished brewing your espresso, it is time to clean the pot. Simply clean the Moka pot with hot water. Do not clean with dishwasher, as it will leave the pot with a horrible finish afterward.

Why the Choice of Moka Pot

Even though there are other methods and devices you can use to brew espresso without using an espresso machine, the Moka pot method is the best. This is because pressure is needed in making espresso and  Moka provides the highest pressure.

Although Aeropress and French press can make espressos, the espressos they produce are not as strong and tasty as the one produced with a Moka pot.

On the other hand, Moka pot is great because it will last for a lifetime since they are normally manufactured using stainless steel.