How to make an italian coffee the good old way

In Italy, ordering a Caffe Moka is quite different from, say, calling for a Mocha coffee in America. To sound alike is not to taste alike, coffee-style. For making moka, the chocolate syrup is nowhere in sight. From Trieste in the north east all the way down to Trapani in Sicily, the espresso is very popular since many generations of italians. 

Small, two-chambered moka pots sit on many Italian stove tops, easy to use and producing a full-bodied coffee, rich in aroma. Many have an hourglass shape, but you can find moka pots in a variety of styles, all based on the same operating principle.

 Water is heated in a lower chamber. Vapor pressure approaching two atmospheres pushes the water up through ground coffee in a filter, which collects in the upper chamber as liquid coffee.

It’s really that simple, but it does take some practice, a careful eye and the right grind, never too fine. Use a low flame, and be sure not to overheat to coffee.

Making a moka coffee:

• Fill the base chamber with cold water up to the level of the valve. Insert the filter.
• Completely fill the filter with ground coffee, but don’t pack it down.
• Make sure the filter and rubber gasket are in place. Screw the two chambers tightly together.
• Place the moka pot on the stove. Warning: keep the heat low.
• Remove pot from heat just when coffee starts to gurgle, before it starts to rise and bubble. You’ll be sure to extract only the best parts of the coffee.
• Mix the coffee with a spoon before pouring into cups.
• Rinse the coffee maker with hot water and let dry thoroughly before screwing chambers back together.

The Italian coffee culture:

Coffee is so much a part of Italian culture that the idea of not drinking it is as foreign as the idea of having to explain its rituals. These rituals are set in stone and not always easy for outsiders to understand.

In fact, as in any self-respecting cult, they are made deliberately hard to comprehend, so that the initiated can recognise each other over the bar counter without the need for a curious handshake (which would only lead to stubborn cappuccino stains).

Some might object that the Italian coffee cult is now a worldwide church with branches in London, Dubai and Bora Bora. But although the Arabica coffee blend is often perfect, the cups just the right size and shape, the machines as Made in Italy as they come, Italian coffee bars outside Italy almost always adapt to the host culture – just like the vast majority of Chinese restaurants outside China. If you take your cue from your local high street espresso purveyor, you risk straying from the True Path on arrival in Italy.

The excellent alternative to an Italian coffee is Hawaiian!

At least equally or even better tasting coffee flavor is from Hawaii. To my surprise, I was impressed with the quality of their roasted coffee beans. What struck me the most is a type of coffee from the brand Lion. Original Lion Coffee is noted for its subtle sweet taste and flawless smooth finish. This original coffee blend is created from hand selected coffee beans from specific growing regions.

Singapore Coffee Made Easy

Recently there has been a campaign in Singapore Kopi education to reduce ignorance among tourists and business travelers by Coffee Toast, Ya kun Coffee and others. I must admit that this campaigning is really good and even myself discovered that there is much more than Kopi C or Kopi O in Singapore Coffee.

I should actually include Malaysia as well, although not sure if the names of Kopi are the same or not. To order kopi like a pro in Singapore is not easy if the pronunciation in hokkien dialect is not accurate. The best ever experience for me is to learn pronunciation skills from local colleagues in Singapore. Even my dearest friend from Switzerland can speak hokkien better than I do, simply because he has been living in this city since quite sometime and he counts as very experienced kopi drinker..

I guess that celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Olivier never heard of anything like this in the UK before and discovered kopi on their first visit to Malaysia and Singapore many years ago. The love affair with kopi o and kopi peng went on till Jamie launched his first restaurant at Vivo City in Singapore. Surely not for long and Gordon Ramsay will follow Jamies footsteps and launch his own Restaurant somewhere in Katong area where he did learn lots of skill and secrets in making Laksa and Chicken Rice.


Western coffee expressions such as “black”, ”cream and sugar”, “flat white” or just plain “coffee” will likely gain you little more than a confused look and unwelcomed libation at a hawker center in Singapore. These are just expressions of headless tourists not informing themselves before stepping foot in south east asia. Hello, south east asia is not all about surfing in Bali or snorkeling in Tioman ok!

Singapore Kopi Owl Brand since 1956

So take a moment to learn the lingo with our quick guide - starting with the four basics:

kopi = coffee with condensed milk

kopi-c = coffee with evaporated milk (sweetened)

kopi-o = black coffee with sugar 

kopi-o kosong = plain black coffee (unsweetened)

And then add additional expressions to adjust for your preference:

kosong = no sugar

ga dai = extra sugar

siu dai = just a little sugar

po = weakened with water

di lo = strong; no water added

peng = iced coffee

dai bao = take away

All that’s left to do now is slurp away (although take the first sip with caution – it can take a few attempts to find the perfect kopi for you!)

Wild Kopi Luwak from Indonesia