Listening to a moka pot bubble up some freshly-ground coffee is music to my ears – and the scent is simply divine. I’ve had this vintage pot for ages that I snagged in the Dominican Republic, but it’s mostly just been collecting dust. That is, until I learned you can use it as a kinda DIY air freshener! Apparently, you can fill the filter with some fragrant goodies like citrus peels, spices, or dried flowers, and let the hot water work its magic. Who knew my old coffee maker could pull double duty? Now, my three-dog household isn’t exactly the freshest-smelling place. But I love how simmer pots can add both nice scents and moisture to a space. So I was curious to see if my trusty moka pot could step in as a cute little stove-top diffuser.
Lindsay Donaldson/House Digest
Turn an Old Coffee Pot into a Quick Air Freshener
Turning a moka pot into a simmer pot
Lindsay Donaldson/House Digest With winter in full swing, an evergreen-scented simmer pot sounded like just the thing. I headed out to my little wooded property and snipped up some juniper, Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine – figured the more greenery, the stronger the scent. I wasn’t sure if a moka pot would really work for this, since they’re not exactly designed for long, slow simmering. But I figured I’d give it a shot.
I chopped up a nice pile of the foliage and filled the filter basket, not packing it too tightly. I also added some extra bits to the receptacle, just to maximize the aroma. After the water boiled up through the greenery, I turned the heat down low and left the lid off so the scented steam could waft out.
Does the moka pot trick work?
Lindsay Donaldson/House Digest Would the quick burst of boiling water actually pull much scent out of the greenery? Moka pots are pretty good at extracting coffee flavor, so maybe they’d do an okay job with this too. I stepped outside for a bit to clear my nose, then came back in for the big sniff test.
The kitchen had a nice, subtle pine aroma. I could pick up a faint whiff in the living room about 15-20 feet away, and even a little in my office next door. Not bad! But for comparison, I also put together a more traditional simmer pot in a saucepan. And that filled the whole space with a lovely fresh-from-the-forest scent in no time.
Moka pot simmer pots are charming but not that effective
Lindsay Donaldson/House Digest Okay, I have to admit – the moka pot did look pretty cute sitting on the stove, all steamy and piney. But the truth is, it just didn’t put out enough aroma to really make it worthwhile. The small surface area and quick boiling time just didn’t allow the scent to properly disperse. A simple saucepan with a bigger volume of water and greenery worked way better.
Don’t get me wrong, I was hopeful the moka pot would be a fun, free, and non-toxic way to freshen things up. But in the end, the traditional simmer pot was just more effective. Ah well, at least I got to use my vintage coffee maker for something a little different!
