Best Coffee for Moka Pot – Ground and Whole Beans

Italian Moka pots are known to make some of the best-tasting coffee, but do you know the best coffee for your Moka pot?

There is a wide variety of coffee available in the market, but we have come up with a list of the best coffee for a Moka brewing pot and a buying guide on choosing your coffee.

First, let’s explain what a Moka pot is to give you a better idea. A Moka pot is a stovetop coffee maker that brews the coffee by passing the boiling water that has been pressurized by steam through your ground coffee. This also sounds like a percolator. However, Moka pots and percolators are different. We have a more detailed explanation in our posts ‘How to Make Coffee With a Moka Pot‘ and ‘Best Coffee Percolator 2020‘

A modern espresso machine can brew with 8 to 10 bars of pressure, which can be up to ten times the pressure of a Moka pot. However, Moka pot brewing gives you a different taste experience.

5 Best Coffees for a Moka Pot

Here is a list of the 5 top brands you should consider when buying coffee for your Moka pot.

1. Lifeboost Dark Roast Coffee

Lifeboost Dark Roast coffee is a rich and delicious blend of coffee. It comes in whole beans, which are perfect for getting the best grind for your Moka pot.

This particular blend is not only mild but creamy, too, with hints of caramel and chocolate. It features a low acidity taste with no after taste. Lifeboost practices Fair Trade, pesticide-free and Organic farming. The coffee is grown way up in the mountains in Nicaragua.

The most noticeable downside with the Lifeboost Dark Roast Coffee is that it is a bit higher price compared to other brands on this list. Therefore, if you have a small budget, you may need to consider other brands with the same quality.

Lifeboost is one of the best coffees for your Moka pot.

Pros

• Whole bean
• Creamy dark roast
• Low acidity
• Certified Fairtrade and organic
• Nicaraguan bean

Cons

• Higher price

Last update on 2025-01-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

2. Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee Blend

Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee Blend is a medium roast blend. It is pre-ground and comes in an 8.8 Oz bag that keeps it fresh. While the Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee Blend isn’t fully organic, it is non-GMO. It is roasted and blended in Italy.

The downside of buying pre-ground coffee is finding the coffee staler than when you grind them fresh. This coffee has a bitter taste, but it might be because it is a medium roast blend

Pros

• Comes in an 8.8 oz. bag
• Medium roast
• Roasted and blended in Italy
• Non- GMO

Cons

• Has a burnt taste
• Stale taste because it is preground

Last update on 2025-01-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

3. Volcanica Espresso Dark Roast Coffee

The Volcanica Espresso Dark Roast Coffee is the best-preground coffee available on the market. This blend offers a rather delicious espresso dark roast at a highly affordable price.

It comes ground is a timesaver, especially for people who would rather not grind the coffee beans themselves. Although the Volcanica Espresso Dark Roast Coffee is a little acidic, it has a full body with hints of chocolate and caramel. It is packed with a spicy and powerful aroma.

The Volcanica Espresso Dark Roast Coffee is roasted on-demand, so you can be sure it will be fresh when you get it.

Its flavors might be somewhat mild because it is pre-ground. The coffee has a fresh flavor, but it’s often best to get whole beans and grind them yourself before coffee brewing.

It is important to note that beans from this brand are a little oily and may not necessarily grind well in your Moka pot.

 Pros

• Comes in espresso coffee grind
• Has a full-bodied
• Has a complex taste
• Highly-priced
• Spicy aroma

Cons

• Comes pre-ground and is not as fresh as the freshly ground blend
• The beans are oily

Last update on 2025-01-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

4. Lavazza Gran Filtro Decaffeinato Coffee

Lavazza Gran Filtro Decaffeinato Coffee is the best decaffeinated blend to use in a moka pot. This coffee is decaffeinated using the natural process, which means that no chemicals have been added to your coffee.

The Lavazza Gran Filtro Decaffeinato Coffee is a medium roast with spicy hints, and it’s roasted and blended in Italy. This is a plus since we all know Italians know their coffee.

However, despite it being decaffeinated naturally, it has a somewhat odd taste. It also has a stale taste. Lavazza Gran Filtro Decaffeinato Coffee doesn’t have a dark ad robust take as it is with most of the blends on this list.

Pros

• Medium roast
• Has spicy hints
• Decaffeinated through natural processes

Cons

• Has an odd taste
• Stale
• Weaker coffee
• Doesn’t have a dark robust taste

Last update on 2025-01-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

5. Coffee Bean Direct “Sulawesi Kalossi” Coffee

The Coffee Bean Direct “Sulawesi Kalossi” Coffee is an Indonesian blend that is great if you are a lover of spicy coffee.

The coffee from Coffee Been Direct is roasted just before it’s packaged, which keeps them fresher than most. It is available in whole beans of 5-lb if you are the kind of person who prefers buying your coffee beans in bulk. You can also get it in 16-oz bags if you prefer a smaller size.

Being a whole bean, you would expect it to have a strong coffee taste, but unfortunately, it falls short. Instead, it has a weak and bitter taste despite having low acidity.

Coffee Bean Direct “Sulawesi Kalossi” Coffee is somewhat stale despite being a whole bean.

Pros

• Roasted just before packaging
• Available in 5lb gas
• Indonesian coffee

Cons

• Has a weak taste
• Smells a little stale
• Tastes a little bitter

Last update on 2025-01-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Best Coffee for Moka Pot Buying Guide

The best coffee is the one that gives you that delightful taste that is subjective to your personal preference. There are, however, a few things you have to keep in mind when you go looking for the best coffee for Moka pot.

Here are the main things that you should look out for:

Pre-Ground or Whole Bean

When planning to make tasty coffee, whole bean is the best choice. We would recommend buying the whole bean and grinding it yourself just before you brew it.

If you have a good coffee grinder, you will make the perfect grind for your Moka pot. It should be somewhere between fine and medium ground.

If you are all about convenience, you can get the pre-ground coffee ground for Moka pots. However, if you get the espresso ground, you risk clogging your coffee filter because the coffee is not ground enough for a Moka pot.

The Size of the Bag

If you want to buy whole bean coffee, the size of the bag isn’t all that important. If you want to buy the whole bean, you can bulk buy to save your money since whole bean coffee stays fresh for much longer. In addition, with whole bean coffee, you can simply grind what you need whenever you need it.

If you buy pre-ground coffee, go for a smaller bag that you will use up quickly as soon as you have opened it. This will ensure that you have a fresher taste for your coffee every time you make a cup.

Pre-ground coffee often has a stale smell to it.

Robusta or Arabica

Arabica is more popular than Robusta. The Arabica variety is sweeter and fruitier and slightly acidic than Robusta.

In most instances, Robusta will leave you with an aftertaste and has a smell that is akin to burnt rubber. This is because Robusta has more caffeine than Arabica.

If you want a fruitier and sweeter taste, go for the pack labeled 100% Arabica coffee bean. If not, you can go for the Robusta variety.

Italian Coffee

The Moka pot originated in Italy and is quite essentially Italian. Therefore, it is a good idea to shop for coffee brands that are from Italy. This is because most Italian brands make coffee specifically for the Moka pot.

If you are buying pre-ground coffee, then Italian pre-ground coffee is the best choice. The grind is fine but not too fine that it will clog your Moka pot filters.

Even when you go for whole beans, picking an Italian blend will make your Moka pot experience even more authentic.

Organic or Inorganic

Check if your coffee package has been marked organic. Organic is the best choice because it means that the coffee is free of chemicals hence healthier than the inorganic.

Grind Size

It is important to know the right grind size for your Moka coffee, especially if you buy pre-ground coffee.

If your coffee is too coarse, you will make a weak brew. If your beans are too fine, it will cause over-extraction. You, therefore, need to know the right grind size for your Moka pot.

Our top pick for the best coffee for Moka pot is the Lifeboost Dark roast. It is a rich and creamy brand of coffee that is eco-friendly and healthy. It is organic, which means it doesn’t have any unnecessary chemicals and comes as a whole bean.

For the pre-ground coffee, the Volcanica Espresso Dark Roast is our pick. It is a reasonably priced, delicious blend that is also in espresso grind.

If you are a decaf person, the Lavazza’s Gran Filtro Decaffeinato Whole Bean Coffee Blend is our top pick. It is decaffeinated through natural processes and is available in the whole bean. In addition, it is blended and roasted in Italy, which is a plus for Moka pot coffee.

This buyer’s guide is designed to help you make shopping for the best coffee for your Moka pot easier. Now that you have an idea of the different brands make sure that you choose the one that appeals to you.

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