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How to Use a Greca

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This sleek design is a more modern version of the traditional Greca which has an octagonal shape (I think it's 8)
This sleek design is a more modern version of the traditional Greca which has an octagonal shape (I think it’s 8)

If you’ve ever traveled to Puerto Rico, maybe you’ve seen one: A strange looking metal contraption with a handle. It’s a Greca. A greca is an old school coffee maker. Frankly, an ingenious invention, the Greca is both travel friendly and eco-friendly. Compact and enduring, the Greca coffee pot works directly on any stove, grill, or open flame.

Yes, I know by looking at it, it’s probably baffling, but trust me, this type of coffee maker simply never fails.

How does it work? Simple:

Greca_2014-03-26_0041. Open the Greca. Twist off the top part. You will end up with 2 chambers and a funnel-like filter like the picture on left.

Greca_2014-03-26_0052. Fill the bottom chamber with water up to the small screw nut at the top (tap is fine… the water will boil).

3. Fill the filter with ground coffee.
Greca_2014-03-26_0023a. For strong Puerto Rican coffee squeeze the coffee flour down into the filter and fill again, squeezing and filling until the filter is filled to the rim.
3b. For milder coffee, don’t squeeze, fill the filter loosely with coffee.
3c. Obviously you may play with coffee intensity by varying the water levels and coffee quantity used.Greca_2014-03-26_003

4. Place the Greca on the stove (high heat).

5. Wait about 10 to 15 minutes, until the top chamber is filled with coffee. (The water in the bottom chamber boils and rises, passing through the coffee in the filter/funnel and up to the top chamber.

6. Serve.

7. Enjoy delicious old school Puerto Rican coffee!
8. Clean the Greca after it cools.

Have a nice day!

12 thoughts on “How to Use a Greca”

  2. oh my GOD. maricel… LOL! how nice to find your blog when looking to describe an Old School Puerto Rican Coffee Pot to a visitor soon landing to help out a farmer up a big big hill. xoxo. i hope we get to reconnect this year:) tu amiga abril hojita

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  3. They are commonly called grecas in some parts of Latin America but the product is a Moka pot invented in Italy by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933. They are not Puerto Rican, or Cuban or Dominican as I always hear. That’s a wrong statement. If you go to Spain they called these coffee makers Cafeteras Italianas.

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      1. Oh, I get it! You wrote this hack job and now you are so thin-skinned that you are not allowing any more comments from yours truly.

        Here’s your FALSE statement “A greca is an old school Puerto Rican coffee maker.” And now here’s your IGNORANT/ARROGANT reply to my comment “I’m sure there have been Greca versions all over the world. Where they originated from seems irrelevant.” Your first statement says the greca is Puerto Rican. Your riposte tries to cover up your Nationalistic Arrogance with a “…there are other Greca versions, blah, blah, blah.” No, Madam, there’s is just one Greca and it was invented by an Italian, not a Boricua, a Dominican, a Cuban, a Mexican and any other group.

        And it’s QUITE RELEVANT where it was invented, Madam. You are acting just like the old Soviet Union, when they used to swear they invented everything on Planet Earth, even Penicillin. Your inferiority complex is leading you to a false premise, that the Greca is a Puerto Rican invention. Again, is Greece our next door neighbor? Who the hell in Puerto Rico would call a coffeemaker a Greca? Maybe we could have called it a Dominica or a Cubana or a Taína but not a Greca.

        Ignorance is bliss…enjoy your Happiness, Ignoramus.

        P.S.

        I unchecked all the “Notify me…” options, no need to reply. And enjoy your Puerto Rican Greca, Patente número el que me de la real gana!! Con esa arrogancia y prepotencia, probablemente eres de Ponce!

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    2. CHILD! A greca’s real name is Moka, and it IS in fact Italian. We have been using an incorrect name for way too long, which is not an issue, but to claim ownership… no girl. Credit is due to Luigi de Ponti, a name all of us “greca” lovers should know. You know, the person who actually invented it.

      Don’t be dismissive of criticism, take it and stand corrected. It’s really very simple.

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