Choosing the best Moka pot to serve your coffee needs is quite important. In fact, for a coffee snob, I will say it’s quite a significant decision. Today, I will be walking you through different Moka pot sizes to help you make your search for the perfect pot easier.
Moka Pot Sizes and Comparisons
| Moka Pot Size | Capacity | Dimensions |
| 1 cup moka pot | 2 oz or 59.1 ml | Height: 5¼ inches (133 mm) Base: 2 ½ inches (64 mm) |
| 3 cup moka pot | 6 oz or 177.4 ml | Height: 6¼ inches (159 mm) Base: 3 ¼ inches (83 mm) |
| 6 cup moka pot | 10 oz or 295.7 ml | Height: 8½ inches (216 mm) Base: 4 inches (102 mm) |
| 9 cup moka pot | 18 oz or 532.3 ml | Height: 10 inches (254 mm) Base: 41/8 inches (105 mm) |
| 12 cup moka pot | 25 oz or 739.34 ml | Height: 11½ inches (292 mm) Base: 5 inches (127 mm) |
There are five main moka pot sizes, and the size you choose to buy determines the volume of coffee you will end up brewing at a go.
These sizes are calculated mainly by the number of fluid ounce (fl oz) cups the pot can make at once, and it’s up to you to decide how many of those cups of coffee is enough to make your day.
I will advise you to get a Moka pot that is at least a size bigger than you usually consume, except if you wouldn’t mind making it in batches whenever you have visitors around. So what size exactly do you go for, you ask? Well, read on…
1 cup Moka pot:
I will not recommend this size for you except if you plan to buy it to supplement the Moka pot one you already have. A 1-cup size pot will brew 2 oz of coffee (the equivalent of 1 espresso cup), which I’m sure you will agree with me is a little small than an adult’s everyday need.
3 cup Moka pot:
This is one of the Moka pot sizes mostly found with people staying alone, though it will not brew enough to serve the daily need of a heavy coffee drinker at once.
The 3-cup pot will get you about 6 ounces of coffee in a single batch. With this size, you will get a second serving when alone, and it will easily go round when you have a company to enjoy a quick single serving of coffee with you.
6 cup Moka pot:
If you are with a roommate and you are both the type of people who needs more than a single serving of coffee daily, the 6-cup Moka pot will be ideal for you.
It is larger than a 3-pot size and can brew up to 10 ounces of coffee at once. If you are like me, who drinks more than a cup of coffee in a day, I will advise you to go for this size, even if you stay alone.
The 6-cup Moka pot serves my coffee needs throughout the day when I am alone and also goes around when I have someone over to share with me.
9 cup Moka pot:
This is ideal for the average-sized family of coffee drinkers or for an apartment with more than two regular coffee drinkers. The 9-cup Moka pot will brew about 18 ounces of coffee for you in a single batch and will serve about three espresso cups.
12 cup Moka pot:
The 12-cup Moka pot is the 5th and largest of the most common Moka pot sizes you will find around. With the capacity to brew up to 25 ounces of coffee at a go, it can serve up to 12 standard espresso cups when it is brewed up to capacity.
If you are alone and looking for a Moka pot for your daily serving alone, this pot size is definitely not for you. You should only go for this size if you have a lot of people coming around for coffee at your place or if you have more than three heavy coffee drinkers around.
Comparisons Between Moka Pot Sizes
As I have stated already, Moka pot sizes are calculated mainly by the number of espresso-size cups of coffee they produce in a single brew. But when choosing the perfect size for use, there are other factors to consider aside from the number of cups you get.
You will also have to consider important things like how often you travel and if you always want to take it around with you, how often you drink alone and with other people, how much coffee you tend to consume on average daily, and the ease of maintenance of your Moka pot.
All these are some of the factors you have to consider when you go out shopping for the right one.
Size of the pot is essential: If you are a frequent traveler who loves making your own coffee wherever you are, you want to consider getting either the 1-cup Moka pot or the 3-cup Moka pot.
These two are the lightest of all the pot sizes I listed above.
The 1-cup Moka pot is about 5 inches tall with a base of 2½ inches, and the 3-cup is 6 inches tall with a base of 3 inches, while the other pots’ sizes range from 8½ to 11½ Inches tall and base range of 4 to 5½ inches.
So if for any reason, getting a lighter Moka pot is essential to you, your choice should be between the 2, though I will go for the 3-cup Moka pot if such a choice is up to me. Remember that the larger the size of your pot, the more the coffee you get to brew with it.
Ideal Moka pot Size for a group:
When shopping for the perfect Moka pot that will be used to make coffee for a group, the most crucial factor to consider here is the number of people in the group.
A 1-cup Moka pot is too small to be considered here, while the 3-cup Moka pot can only be okay for two light drinkers. For a group comprising about 2 to 4 people, the 6-cup Moka pot size will go round, and any group beyond that number should consider a 9-cup or 12-cup Moka pot size.
What you must note is that the number of people to be served should be highly considered when making these decisions.
Ideal Moka pot size for two people:
If you are trying to choose the pot size you will be using to brew coffee for two average consumers of coffee, the ideal one to go with is the 6-cup Moka pot.
The 1-cup Moka pot brews only a single cup; hence too small. The 3-cup brews three espresso cups and may be fantastic if you both are drinking once a day, while the 9-cup and 12-cup sizes may be too large for only two people. Going for the 6-cup simply seems like the perfect choice here.
Ideal Moka pot size for one person:
For a single Person’s coffee needs, the 12 and 9 cups are just too large to consider, except if you are the type that constantly stays up through the night and have to stay hooked on caffeine.
The 3-cup Moka pot is ideal for one person, and six may be okay for one who drinks a little bit above average. I will advise you not to bother buying a 1 cup Moka pot size if you are a moderate coffee drinker; it will not be enough.
Pezzetti Moka Pot sizes
Pezzetti Moka Pot is one of the highest quality coffee makers in the world. It has eight sides that help it evenly diffuse heat to boost the great taste and aroma of coffee.
With the proper cleaning and maintenance practice, the Pezzetti Stove top Moka pot will make your perfect coffee for a long while, even real italian coffee.
Pezzetti Sizes:
Like all other Moka pot brands, The Pezzetti Comes in the most common moka pot sizes listed in the table above, ranging from the 1-cup capacity Moka pot to the 9-cup capacity Moka pot.
But instead of the 12 cup moka pot size, you get the 14 cup moka pot size.
The Pezzetti 14 cup moka pot dimensions are 3.46 x 6.3 x 6.02 inches, and can hold up to 14 espresso cups of coffee.
Bialetti Moka Pot sizes
The Bialetti Moka Pot is the original Moka pot and was invented in 1933 in Italy by an Engineer named Alfonso Bialetti. It got its name, Moka, from Mocha, a city in Yemen.
Bialetti Moka pot is a pretty affordable coffee maker found in various homes and offices across the world. Unlike other popular espresso machines, the Bialetti Moka pot is relatively easy to operate. It does not need one to go through any complicated learning process before one using.
Bialetti sizes:
The Bialetti Moka pot is a unique coffee maker with the most common sizes ranging from the 1-cup capacity Moka pot to the 12-cup capacity Moka pot. Although there is an 18-cup Moka pot capable of brewing about 27 ounces of coffee at once, the 1-cup to 12-cup range remains the most common of all the sizes produced.
The 18 cup moka pot
I must inform you at this point that the Bialetti Moka pot doesn’t brew espresso as you know it. I love the delicious coffee I get from my Bialetti express more than the coffee made from an espresso machine, but I will not misguide you. The Bialetti just can’t brew at the level of pressure needed to produce true espresso.
Moka Pot Maintenance:
No matter what you do, do not wash your Moka pot in the dishwasher. Doing this will cause the aluminum surface of the pot to corrode. If keeping your Moka pot in good order for a long time is one of your goals, I will advise you only to rinse it with a mild detergent and warm water, then wipe the insides to dry.
This way, you can have it clean and make it serve you great coffee for a while. But how does pot size relate to maintenance?
Well, the thing is, the bigger your Moka pot, the heavier it is and the more space it occupies. Cleaning and maintaining a 1-cup or 3-cup Moka pot is easy peasy, unlike doing the same with a 9-cup or 12-cup pot, considering the extra weight due to their sizes and the space they tend to occupy.
The ease of maintaining the 6-cup Moka pot is not as difficult as the 9 and 12 and not as easy as the 1 and 3. So, if ease of maintenance is one of your top priorities in a pot, you want deeply think about it before going for the large ones.
How to Tell What Size of Moka Pot You Have
The Moka pot comes in different sizes, with each cup corresponding to about 2 ounces of an espresso cup. So, what if you had previously purchased a Moka pot without checking its size, but you are now interested in knowing its actual size?
Well, you don’t have to fuss over it because I have you covered.
Firstly, check the entire body of your Moka pot, including the bottom part, to be sure the correct size is not stamped somewhere on it. If that fails to produce your desired result, you can then check for or manually measure the height and base of your pot.
On getting this, you will then compare it to the standard length and base of Moka pots, which I shared in the table at the beginning of this article.
After taking the measures, all you have to do is check for which Moka size has the same length and base as yours, and there you have it, the category it falls in is the size of your Moka pot.
Of course, you can also find an espresso cup, brew coffee in your pot and simply check how many espresso cups you can get out of your coffee-making machine.
To make your search for the right pot size easier, I have listed the corresponding lengths and bases to the five common Moka pot sizes I discussed in this article.
Final Thoughts:
Different people define a perfect coffee differently, but the most important thing is that everyone wants their coffee to be great.
When it comes to moka pots, there are definitely some variables to be taken into consideration, variables that could prove important when it comes to taste and flavor.
From water to coffee ratio, to temperature, to pressure and brewing time, one small hiccup could result in weak, sour, or bitter Moka Pot taste.
That said, one of the most important things to consider when it comes to moka pot sizes is if the method you’re adopting will be compatible with your chosen size.
