What a Moka Pot Actually Is (And Why Yours Tastes Bitter)

nside a Bialetti Moka Express: trapped air and water vapor push hot liquid water up through the grounds once, starting well before anything boils. We show it in a live cutaway with real temperatures from a 2009 instrumented study, explain the "strombolian" gurgle at the end, compare the moka pot with an espresso machine and a percolator, and walk through the six usual suspects behind bitter moka coffee.