Javier Tellols offers us an unique view of his creation, the MokaBot: a compact, touchscreen-controlled moka brewer with boiling-point calibration, stress estimation, and user-defined warmth profiles.
BY ISABELLE MANI
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photographs courtesy of Javier Tellols
Invented in 1933 by Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti, the moka pot has spent over 90 years as a logo of Italian espresso tradition—beloved from north to south, and synonymous with stovetop brewing the world over. Its unmistakable octagonal form and “hissy” brew routine made it a memorable every day ritual in thousands and thousands of properties, with Bialetti cementing itself because the model behind probably the most iconic and broadly bought moka pot of all time.
However regardless of its legendary standing, the moka pot continues to be a creature of imprecision. What if it have been potential to regulate each variable often left to guesswork: temperature, stress, and extra? Neglect hacks like dunking the moka in chilly water, beginning with pre-boiled water, or stirring mid-brew simply to keep away from over-extracting costly specialty espresso. That’s the premise behind MokaBot: a modified moka pot outfitted with real-time stress estimation and PID-controlled heating, all engineered into the acquainted silhouette of a basic Bialetti-made stovetop brewer.
Brewing Logic
Over the a long time, the moka has seen quite a lot of updates: fashions tailored for induction cooktops, double-chamber variants, and even smaller designs for solo brewing. However none of these modified the way it brews—solely how or the place it’s used.
“The MokaBot adjustments that. It doesn’t simply adapt the moka to trendy kitchens. It rewires the way it works,” says its creator, Javier Vidal Tellols, who’s additionally a café proprietor, IT engineer, and the CEO of Make It Brewtalist in Valencia, Spain.
The idea behind MokaBot was born in 2022, in the course of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In isolation, Javier discovered himself obsessing over espresso movies —notably the movies of James Hoffmann, whom he nonetheless cites as a serious affect. “I even purchased the ‘Hoffee Espresso’ mug,” he instructed Barista Journal with fun.
“After watching the Moka video, I assumed: I can try this with management and enhance the approach,” he provides.
Relatively than construct from scratch, he began modifying an current electrical moka pot. The Bialetti Elettrika supplied the inner area he wanted so as to add sensors and management techniques. After putting in a temperature probe, he started experimenting with PID controllers: feedback-based loops that regulate heating extra exactly than commonplace on/off thermostats.
“I added the temp sensor and began taking part in with PID controllers till I received a usable first draft,” he says. “It had cables in all places, but it surely labored—type of.”
That tough prototype sat dormant for many of 2024. Then, in November, Javier reignited the mission over an intense vacation dash. The purpose: refine it in time to indicate James Hoffmann himself, who was scheduled to look on the 2025 Madrid Espresso Fest.
The outcome: a compact, touchscreen-controlled moka brewer with boiling-point calibration, stress estimation, and user-defined warmth profiles.
The dash paid off. In February, Javier introduced the improved MokaBot to Madrid. He met Hoffmann in individual, demonstrated the prototype (carrying his “Hoffee Espresso” shirt, after all), and promised to ship him a extra secure, up to date model—which he later did.
PID 101
On the core of the MokaBot is a PID (Proportional, Integral, Spinoff) management loop—a system pulled from industrial engineering and good kitchen home equipment. Not like easy thermostats that flick the warmth on and off, a PID setup applies nuanced, real-time changes to stabilize the brew.
- Proportional (P): Will increase energy the additional you might be from the goal
- Integral (I): Corrects lingering error over time
- Spinoff (D): Anticipates quick adjustments and softens overshoot
“It’s like dimming a light-weight as an alternative of flicking a swap,” Javier explains. “That’s what makes the expertise clean.”
This methodology prevents the violent temperature swings frequent in moka pots, serving to to keep away from bitterness, over-extraction, and burnt notes.
Estimating Strain
Not like espresso machines, moka pots don’t depend on pumps. As a substitute, they use vapor stress from boiling water to pressure liquid upward by the espresso mattress. However that stress has at all times been a black field—unmeasured, unmonitored, and unpredictable.
The MokaBot solves this by inferring stress from temperature. As a result of water boils at greater temperatures when below stress, the system makes use of boiling-point calibration and the Clausius–Clapeyron equation to estimate what’s occurring contained in the chamber in real-time.
“It’s not actual stress. It’s an estimation,” Javier says, “but it surely’s correct sufficient to offer you management.”
Additionally, security stays central. MokaBot is designed particularly for low-pressure brewing, with firmware safeguards and thermal cutoffs in-built.
A Totally different Moka, however a Moka Nonetheless
Regardless of its tech-heavy internals, MokaBot isn’t chasing espresso. It’s not about crema or stress stats; it’s about readability, construction, and management.
By letting customers handle warmth curves and stress logic, it reclaims the moka pot from its fame for inconsistency and offers it a brand new place within the dwelling brewing panorama.
“The moka has this romantic, homey picture,” Javier says, “however nobody talks about how inconsistent it’s. I needed to repair that, with out killing what folks love about it.”
The system additionally helps brew profile storage, permitting customers to repeat profitable recipe classes after session—one thing by no means earlier than potential with a stovetop moka.
Subsequent Steps
A patent has already been filed for MokaBot’s system structure. However Javier additionally intends to open-source the firmware and management logic below a Inventive Commons license, inviting others to construct, iterate, or adapt the design.
“I don’t need this to be a black field,” he says. “If somebody needs to construct one, they need to be capable of.”
Furthermore, what began as a late-night YouTube binge has now come full circle. One of many newest MokaBot prototypes has been despatched on to James Hoffmann—the very one that impressed the mission within the first place. “Full circle,” says Javier, smiling.
In October 2025, Javier introduced the MokaBot prototype with him to HostMilano (Held biennially in Milan, HostMilano is the world’s largest hospitality commerce present, with over 2,000 exhibitors and 180,000 attendees)—not for an official launch or demo, however to quietly begin conversations. The prototype wasn’t a part of a proper presentation. It sat in his bag, often pulled out throughout spontaneous conferences with gear makers, baristas, and influencers.
Nonetheless, the curiosity got here shortly.
4 manufacturers expressed curiosity, requesting a customized model of the prototype that would combine with their Moka designs, and commenced monitoring the mission.
“They requested to see it working with considered one of their designs,” he says, “so, I’m constructing a second model particularly for that function.”
James Hoffmann hasn’t shared his suggestions but—not out of disinterest, however by design. “He instructed me he needs to movie the entire expertise,” Javier says. “Unboxing to brew. Body by body.”
The MokaBot, like its code, stays open. And so does its story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isabelle Mani (she/her) is a author, journalist, and communicator specializing within the worldwide espresso business. Since 2017, she has targeted on writing articles and options for varied worldwide espresso information retailers. Isabelle has traveled to coffee-producing international locations resembling Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, China, and Brazil to review and analysis espresso. She holds coaching certifications from the Specialty Espresso Affiliation (SCA) and the Espresso High quality Institute (Arabica Q Grading).
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