Finding the best coffee beans for your moka pot can feel overwhelming.
With 12+ years of experience as a barista and coffee trainer, I've brewed dozens of moka pot coffees.
In trying to pick the right beans you’re faced with endless choices. And factors like price, reviews, and flavours further complicates everything for you.
Then, there's the brand's credibility and ethical practices to consider.
Before you know it, you've wasted COUNTLESS hours scouring the internet (all in vain).
Save yourself the headache. I’ve done the heavy lifting for you.
The THREE brands below are my personal favourites in terms of price, flavour and bean quality:
- Balance Coffee (Free from toxins) + GET 15% OFF
- Volcanica Coffee
- Illy
Note: Use the below SKIP LINKS to navigate to the section majority of the 2000 readers focus on.
Since coffee can also be classed as single origin or blends, I created this article on single origin coffee vs blend, worth checking out to validate your preference.
But wait!
What Coffee is Best For Moka Pot?
The best coffee for Moka Pots is Balance Coffee’s Level Up Blend - no ifs, buts or maybes.
And you don’t need to summon any voodoo to brew a splendid cup of coffee through a Moka Pot; just combine two things:
1.) Our magical Level Up Blend, Rated 5-stars (I’ll get into the details shortly)
2.) Our Moka pot recipe video guide (at the bottom)
Now, without any delay, I'm going to share my carefully curated list of the best coffee for moka pots. I must admit, it was quite a challenge to narrow down the selection, but I've done my best to compile a list that you'll find truly remarkable.
Here were the areas I researched and judged:
- Whether the coffee was optimised for health
- The type of coffee bean (Arabica vs Robusta)
- The grade and quality of coffee (speciality-grade vs commodity)
- The freshness of the coffee supplied by the brand
- The overall commitment of the brand to ethical sourcing and sustainability
- The flavour, aroma and aftertaste of the coffee when brewed in a Moka pot (yes we tasted each coffee).
- The roast level (medium roasts tend to work best for Moka pots!)
Where To Buy Coffee Beans For Moka Pot
Navigating the maze of over 1000+ online moka pot coffee reviews in the UK can be daunting, right?
Especially if you are busy with life, but fear not, I've done the legwork for you like I said before.
Drawing on my 12+ years of coffee experience, I've curated a list of the top 3 coffee brands with the best moka pot coffee beans for you.
Each brand provides FAST delivery and complimentary FREE shipping for its premium coffee beans for Moka pot.
Limited Time Offer: If you place an order with Balance Coffee now, you will GET 15% OFF to relish in coffee beans specially crafted to enhance your vitality and increase your productivity by 100%.
| Product | Benefits | where to buy |
|---|---|---|
Level Up Blend |
|
Shop & Save 15% |
Sulawesi Coffee - Celebes Kalossi |
|
Shop Now |
Ground Moka Classico Coffee |
|
Shop Now |
If you're anything like me, you probably know how challenging it can be to thousands of beans reviews.
Trying to decipher the multitude of customer feedback leaves you with two negatives and just one positive remark.
After devoting 60 minutes to this task, you realise you've squandered a valuable hour. Yet, you're no closer to reaching a decision.
Undeterred, you give it another shot. This time, you stumble upon favourable reviews from various brands that have garnered positive feedback.
However, you now find yourself entangled in the web of choice paralysis. Eventually, you settle on one of the brands, only to discover that their coffee for the moka pot is far from satisfying.
The impulse to demand a refund bubbles up within you, but your civility prevails, and having already consumed the coffee, a return is out of the question.
Back online, you go, subjecting yourself to the same laborious process once more, all because your last purchase left you dissatisfied.
Does any of this ring a bell?
Truth be told, I've encountered these very scenarios with coffee and across various aspects, and the experience is downright dreadful.
However, let's work together to change that narrative, shall we?
The exasperation I described earlier is all too familiar, having experienced it firsthand.
That's why I've taken the initiative to craft this ultimate guide on the finest coffee for your moka pot, designed to save you from repeating the very mistake I made.
But why should you trust my expertise? Simply put, I boast over a decade's experience in the coffee industry, having served as a professional barista.
My extensive background of over 12+ years proves invaluable in assisting you in identifying the optimal coffee beans for your moka pot.
I endorse the brands listed below with absolute confidence, as I've personally put each one I recommend to the test.
Among these, Balance Coffee stands out, emphasising sustainability and ethical sourcing.
They specialise in sourcing high-quality coffee beans devoid of pesticides, mould, and mycotoxins – all of which can lead to enduring health concerns if ingested.
Furthermore, they provide swift, no-cost shipping and delivery of your coffee and each brand has over 500+ positive reviews. As a special perk, first-time purchasers can enjoy a substantial discount.
1. Balance Coffee Level Up Blend
I know for a fact that the majority of coffee drinkers in the UK love a medium roast.
It's important to note that when using a Moka pot, a dark roast coffee can sometimes lead to over-extraction and result in bitter flavour notes. I'm assuming that's not the desired outcome you're aiming for.
Our Level Up Blend, a medium roast coffee, offers exquisite flavours of milk chocolate, red berries, caramel, and pecans when brewed in a Moka Pot.
However, the reason why I positioned the Level Up Blend at the top of the list is not solely based on its flavour profile. It's primarily because, at Balance, we have embraced a science-backed approach to coffee.
Plus our brand is one of the best coffee roasters in the UK, and health is our focus.
All the coffee at Balance, including the Level Up Blend, is free of nasties like mould, mycotoxins and pesticides. It contains 1000+ antioxidants, contains Vitamin B3, and is rich in polyphenols.
It is speciality-grade and 100% premium Arabica and sourced from the top 5% of coffee farms.
Lastly, the Level Up Blend is one of our top sellers and the most versatile across our entire online shop. This means that it’s perfect for being brewed as a delicious Espresso in a Moka Pot but is also just as mouthwatering for milk-based coffee.
Overall, the Level Up Blend is the best coffee for Moka Pot in the UK because it is exceptionally healthy, free from nasties, delectable and of top-notch quality.
Struggling to wrap your head around the facts above?
Here’s what our super satisfied customers have to say about this blend:
Click here to shop Level Up Blend by Balance Coffee
2. Sulawesi Kalossi by Volcanica Coffee
You know you picked the proper coffee for your Moka pot when it results in a coffee with a heavy body but a creamy texture and light flavour profile.
This is precisely the case with Sulawesi Kalossi.
It’s a classic medium roast, single-origin Arabica coffee grown exclusively on the small Indonesian island of Sulawesi, near the town of Kaloss.
The flavour notes are even better! When brewed to perfection, you can enjoy undertones of fruit, nuts and chocolate.
All of these qualities combine beautifully to make this coffee one of the best ones on the market for a Moka pot.
3. Moka Classico Coffee by Illy
Whether a raging coffee enthusiast or a beginner, you must have heard about Illy. It’s one of the most popular coffee brands out there!
And when it comes to their Moka Classico, it makes for one of the best coffee for moka pots in the UK. The reasons are simple.
It uses 100% premium Arabica beans that prevent your coffee from tasting bitter or acidic. The brand also uses techniques that are sustainable for the environment.
And when it comes to the Moka Classico, you’ll relish its lingering notes of caramel, orange blossom and jasmine.
Also, it comes packed in a vacuum can to keep the coffee fresh. The only downside to this coffee is that it comes in the pre-ground form. But this can also work in your favour if you’re looking for coffee on the go!
4. Gimme! Leftist Espresso
Some of the best coffee made from Moka pots are balanced. I also had to pick Gimme’s Leftist Espresso; it is easy to brew a balanced mug of delicious coffee with it.
It’s also one of the best blends on the market for Moka pots and combines different origins.
Once you brew your coffee with it, you can taste sweet and delectable flavours of chocolate, vanilla and brown sugar. Doesn’t the combination sound incredible? Well, it is.
This clean coffee is perfect for an ideal Moka Pot brew since it is medium-bodied and has bold and enjoyable flavours.
5. Coffee Bros. Espresso Roast
I’ve been following and sampling coffee by the Coffee Bros. for quite some time, and I have to say this; their coffee is a job well done!
This is also why I wasn’t too surprised when I tried their Espresso Roast and found it ideal for Moka Pot brewing.
The flavour profile is smooth and contains hints of red fruit and vanilla. But, honestly, it’s such a refreshing burst for your taste buds!
Another fact that I adore about this coffee is that its roasting process yields a porous and richly sweet coffee bean and is 100% Arabica. It's also roasted in small batches, so you can count on its freshness.
6. Lavazza Espresso Italiano Ground Coffee Blend
Lavazza is a coffee pioneer who has been around before many of us were even born. And the experience has got to count for something, right?
All their coffee experience is very well reflected in their blends and coffee. For example, their Espresso Italiano is an excellent blend and is a proper match for a Moka Pot brew.
Let me quickly explain why.
It is long-roasted for a smooth and rich flavour and has tasting notes of fruits and flowers. Very summery!
Lastly, it's non-GMO and, of course, 100% Arabica!
7. Peet’s Major Dickason’s Blend
This is the only dark roast coffee on the list, and despite being dark, it is still an excellent fit for the Moka pot.
The blend has included beans from all over the world to create a wonderful and surprising fusion of flavours.
The roasting process gives it a full-bodied texture and rich flavour that successfully dodges bitterness.
Moka Pot Vs Stovetop - Any Difference?
For the purposes of this article, I just want to clarify that the phrase Moka Pot' and 'Stovetop' are in fact exactly the same coffee brewing device.
Both are commonly used but with the same meaning. Since I'll be referring to both in this article, I just wanted to clear that one up. Right, let's go!
Buying Guide: for the Best Coffee for Moka Pot
Today I'm pouring every gram of knowledge into this article (see what I did there), to give you the best practises, secret hacks and instructions on exactly how to produce the best coffee for your Moka Pot.
It isn't all down to the coffee itself, but that is definitely one of the biggest variable factor. I'll be breaking today's article into two sections covering coffee buying instructions as well as some technical hacks which will you everything you need to get started.
1. Choosing the Right Roast Profile
Step one, is choosing the right roasting profile to suit your personal preferences. Don't worry, there's some top advice coming your way. The good news is, you may already have developed an understanding on your favourite roast profile
Medium Roast
A medium roast for Moka pot is one of the most popular options when it comes to roast profile. Why? It produces an elegant, rich and balanced cup. Perfect if you enjoy sipping on your stovetop coffee brew waiting for that caffeine kick.
Light Roast
Choosing a light roast is a delicious route to go down if you like fruity, floral coffees. With coffees that are classified as light roast, they are cooked in the coffee roaster for a lesser amount of time compared to medium and dark.
The visual aspects of the bean are lighter in general and the bean is harder and less brittle.
Dark Roast
Dark roasts are notoriously robust, punchy and packed full of stronger coffee notes. You might love this style of roast, or you may hate it, it’s certainly not for everyone.
A coffee which is dark roasted is simply cooked for longer inside the coffee roaster to change the coffee aromas from naturally sweet to more charged ashy notes that becomes pronounced inside the cup.
Expert Tip for Stovetop Coffee
There is also a hack to understanding what coffees typically work best with the Moka pot too. Generally speaking, medium and dark roasted coffees tend to work best for the stovetop brewer.
This is because this method of brewing uses a small amount of pressure produced from the device itself.
Hot water gently fills up the vessel as it boils which then to pushes the coffee upwards into the top part of the vessel.
Recommended For You: Flat White vs Cappuccino vs Latte vs Americano vs Macchiato
The result? A richer, espresso-like texture is produced (although not as intense as espresso) which is why medium to dark roasted coffees generally work so well.
2. Choosing the Right Type of Coffee
There are various different grades of coffee available for you to purchase and choosing the right type of coffee is highly important. If you want the quick version: the coffee grading score for ‘speciality coffee’ is designed to separate out average coffees from some of the most exclusive coffees from across the world.
It acts as a perfect mechanism to filter those coffees which are perfectly ripe, harvested and sorted to guarantee only the highest of quality. We did a whole piece on understanding speciality grade coffee and why you should choose to buy it.
You can search for coffee roasters online and look out for any phrasing around ‘speciality’ when it comes to their sourcing. Make sure you grab a bag of some of the best speciality coffee online and start brewing today with your favourite new coffee.
3. Why Ditch Ground Coffee To Buy Coffee Beans
If you don’t know about this already, then this is possibly our biggest hack yet. It’s the single most important upgrade than you can do to dramatically improve how good your coffee tastes at home.
It might feel like it’s a large amount of effort for little reward, but it’s quite the opposite if flavour is your top priority.
I ditched ground coffee back in 2013 and it was the best decision I’d made in getting closer to coffee shop standard coffee at home? If you’re thinking of switching from ground coffee, then you’ll need to invest in a coffee bean grinder.
How exciting! Once your new grinder has arrived, you can purchase coffee beans online (this is also better to extending the life of your coffee).
Recommended For You: How To Make An Americano Coffee At Home
Plus, you’ll now be able to grind coffee just before brewing to squeeze maximum flavour out.
Technical Hacks: Unlock the Best Coffee for Moka Pot
1. Best Coffee Grind For Moka Pot
Does the coffee grind you use make a difference to the flavour of your coffee from your stovetop brewer? The answer is yes. it makes a huge difference.
The good news is with the right knowledge you'll be making incredible tasting coffees in no time at all. So how do I choose the right grind setting and what is the best coffee grind for the Moka Pot? That all depends whether you're buying wholebean or ground coffee. If you have a decent coffee grinder at home and you're already buying some of the best quality beans in the UK, that's a great head start. If you're buying ground coffee, not to worry, you'll still get a good result (just not not as good as grinding fresh).
My one main tip for you, would be to ensure you're buying from a coffee roaster who roasts fresh to order. At least that way, you'll be using freshly roasted ground coffee that has aroma and freshness.
2. How Many Grams for Moka Pot
Using the right amount of coffee in your Stovetop coffee maker is a super important if you want to taste top notch coffee at home.
Let's say you're looking to find out how much coffee to use for a 3 pot moka pot, run through the table below to understand exactly what measurements you'll need to explore.
Don't forget wholebeans need to be freshly ground right before you start to make coffee.
You might also be wondering how much coffee grounds for moka pot you should add into the basket as part of the preparation. You can make as many cups as you want with the Moka Pot. However, the size of the Stovetop maker you choose will create a restriction to how much water can be added to the chamber.
Depending on the size of the Bialetti maker or other brand you use, you can follow our guidelines in our table to make the best coffee for moka pot uk.
3. Start with a Clean Moka Pot
Urgh, cleaning! Do we have to talk about that? Yes unfortunately so. It's absolutely paramount to achieving wildly delicious coffee from your Moka pot. You might be thinking, how on earth can that make such a difference?
Does that really have an impact on whether or not I find the best coffee for my Moka pot?. Let me explain... You could buy the best coffee in the world for your trusty stove top brewer and bask in the glory.
Until you get home that is, and you brew this wonderful, expensive coffee and find out that find it tastes bitter and unpalatable.
Trust my advice and by the end of this blog, you'll get the coffee you really desire every morning. Now we've established that maintaining your Moka Pot is very simple.
The good news is that you don't need to use any strong cleaning materials or detergents. Providing you rinse your Stovetop each time after use, you'll keep it in good condition.
Periodically you'll want to clean it with something stronger to ensure no coffee oils are building up which will taint the coffee maker. Over time, the rubber gasket of your Moka pot will need careful cleaning too.
4. Water Quality
If we take a moment to think about it, we usually put a huge amount of emphasis on just the coffee and the equipment we use. As I've mentioned already, these are hugely important factors for epic coffee.
But water for coffee is another huge factor that significantly impacts the flavour in your cup. For example, certain areas of the UK are fraught with hard, chalky water (London), which does not bind well with coffee to produce a quality extraction.
So what is the solution? Soft, filtered water is the key to unlocking amazing quality coffee for your Moka pot maker.
Once you've purchased quality speciality coffee, grind your beans fresh and brew the perfect recipe from our guide. Now the final action to take is to upgrade your water quality.
Let us know how you get on.
How To Use the Moka Pot?
So now you know exactly what the best coffee for bialetti moka pot is. Brilliant! What's next?
Figuring out how to properly use the Moka pot is a great idea, because this can also affect the flavour itself. Watch our video below explaining everything you'll need to know on the Moka Pot and How to Use It.
If you've reached this point and you've run out of coffee, it's time to stock up on the best speciality grade beans online.
