Is moka pot inferior to espresso machine?
It’s not necessarily inferior; the brewing’s just different. It’s still espresso. A moka pot (like the other version, the Neapolitan) is totally legitimate, because it’s what has been used in Italian households for decades, long before home espresso machines were made. Whenever you have a visitor or guest, the polite thing to do is to offer them a coffee — usually made with the moka. There’s a whole procedure to it that makes it much more “homey” than the espresso machine, which seems more suitable to a public place. And it takes some practice and skill to make a really good coffee with the moka. In addition, some people like it done a certain way, and others prefer another. Some say to leave the coffee lightly mounded when you fill the filter (it will be compressed when you close it). Others say to tamp it down. Still others (including the great Neapolitan playwright/actor Eduardo De Filippo) suggest tamping it down and, in addition, making three holes into the coffee with a toothpic
