• Preheat the water. Stop your kettle just before the water boils. Starting out with hot water allows the extraction to take place more quickly and prevents the pot overheating, which can scald the coffee grounds.

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• Grind your coffee. Typically the grind should be slightly coarser than espresso but finer than that for a French press. If your grind is too fine it will result in over extraction and bitter coffee. 

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• Pour the hot water into the bottom pot; always fill it up to the bottom of the safety valve, regardless of the number of cups you intend to make. Spare a drop for the bottom of your cup too, warm cups really make a big difference to a good coffee experience.

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• Fill the basket with a mound of coffee, then flatten it with your finger. The extraction is fuelled by pressure created by evaporation in the lower pot and compressing the grounds will lead to an over-extracted, bitter brew.

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• Place the basket, filled and flattened, into the lower pot. Screw the top on using an oven glove or a cloth as the base will be hot. Place on stove.

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• Watch for the first splutter of coffee. If you’ve done it correctly the coffee should trickle out like a thick, golden-brown syrup. As the extraction continues it will become lighter and thinner. Remove it from the heat when the espresso starts to run pale. Have a cold, damp cloth at the ready to cool the base down immediately. This brings extraction to a halt and prevents the coffee from tasting burnt. The longer the extraction runs for, the more bitter your coffee is going to taste.

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• The coffee produced by a moka pot is not quite as intense as that of an espresso machine but definitely more so than a plunger or filter pot. If you have enough coffee for more than one cup, pour it out of the moka pot into a thermal flask to prevent the coffee tasting harsh and giving it a bitter, metallic edge.