Few brewing methods can match the ceremony of a stovetop espresso. It’s like loading a musket rifle with coffee stuffed inside waiting to fire. There is purpose to the ritual, the twisting of the raw steel parts into separate segments. Then putting them back together with water in the bottom and coffee at top.
Unfortunately the grace tends to end there. Popular methods recommend turning off the stove fire when it starts to spew but that’s usually not enough to avoid the bad dregs entering the pot. As a result stovetops are infamous for making bitter, toasty cigars tones that require sweetened milk. Why does it do this? The makers have the same problem of percolators, they over extract coffee.
The SOLUTION is simple, use HALF the water you’d normally use. That will avoid the over-extraction. In other words you will avoid mixing good coffee with the dregs.
Another solution is to pour water to the normal full level, then SHADOW the stove holding your mug. Remove the pot from the fire the MOMENT it reaches half full. Then pour quickly into your mug. Anything beyond that results in dregs entering into the vessel.
These methods are a simple solution that makes coffee taste as complex as any other brewing method. Cheers to great coffee.
jamaicamocha 