s3cur3 Senior Member Joined: 12 Dec 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Missouri Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012, 7:27am Subject: Is my Brikka broken?
Hi all,
I received a Brikka as a gift a few months ago, but so far, it's been a disaster. I've attempted to brew 2 pots so far, and both wound up being a burnt mess.
Here's the method I used to brew:
Fill the bottom chamber with water, to a bit below the pressure release valve (mine didn't come with a measuring cup for the water that some people seem to have...).
Preheat my small electric burner to high.
Fill the coffee chamber with grounds, without pressing them down. (Using my Hario hand grinder, I set the grind to about as fine as I use with my Aeropress.)
Screw the top chamber on tightly, and place the Brikka on the stove.
Now, after 3 minutes or so on the stove, the Brikka makes a sort of rumbling sound (like the water inside is boiling), but *nothing comes out* in the top chamber. I've left it for another 3 minutes after that (total of 6 minutes), and still nothing. When I finally take it off the burner and let it sit for awhile (so I can disassemble it), I find the water in the bottom chamber is thick and black. It looks like coffee that's been brewed twice as long as it should--imagine that!
DCcoffeeman Senior Member Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Maryland Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: MyPressi Twist, Bialetti... Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso, Zassenhaus Vac Pot: French press Drip: Melitta manual Roaster: Hot air popper
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012, 8:30am Subject: Re: Is my Brikka broken?
I use my Brikka every weekend and have not had the problem you described. A couple of thoughts. One, you might be grinding too fine. Try a coarser grind. Two, maybe your small electric burner doesn't reach a sufficiently high temperature. I place my Brikka on high (7 on a scale of 10) on my electric stove and turn it down to 4 when coffee starts coming out the spout. It takes about 4 to 5 minutes before coffee starts coming out the spout. Good luck with the Brikka, which produces a great brew.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,017 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012, 11:37am Subject: Re: Is my Brikka broken?
Check the widget on the top, if it moves freely up and down then process of elimination says your grind is to fine. I didn't get a measuring cup either, there should be a line on the inside of the reservoir around the valve, that is the top fill line which is about 3/8" below the valve. If the grind is too fine then it will just percolate in the bottom reservoir as the valve releases pressure. I find the Brikka likes a coarser grind then moka pots and aeropress.
Posted Tue Feb 5, 2013, 4:04pm Subject: Re: Is my Brikka broken?
If you are filling your brikka to the valve, that is much too much water...the moka pots get filled to the valve area but the brikka is about half that. The older brikka came with a measuring cup but the newer ones have a level bar in the top chamber then you pour that water into the bottom chamber...
If you have a 4-tasse brikka, then the water measures to just over 1/2 cup....but I use exactly a half cup because I think it tastes a little better.
I wish bialetti would just put a measuring line in the bottom chamber...I have some moka pots made by other Italian makers and they have the line in the bottom chamber...for me, it is much easier for measuring when it is there.
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