title_body: Moka pot sputters and gurgles despite my best efforts
upvoted_answer: I make coffee with a moka every morning, and this is the procedure that works for me:
  
  
  Use cold water: it will take a bit longer to boil, but the amount of steam in the chamber will be higher, thus you'll have higher pressure later on.
  Water level must be at the safety valve, as others pointed out.
  Coffee must fill the funnel without tamping. It can be a little higher than the funnel edge (a few mm) so that it gets a bit tamped when you screw the upper part. This is valid for a small-medium moka (up to 6 cups). On larger ones the coffee must not fill the funnel over 2/3 of it.
  Low flame usually gives better result, but if I'm in a hurry I use a high flame...no significant difference.
  
  
  A trick that usually works when your moka starts sputtering is to cool down the lower chamber under the tap until you don't feel any boiling on; then put it again on the fire with a very low flame.
  
  If you're experiencing this problem regularly, try changing the gasket and the filter on the bottom of the upper part. This should be done at least every year.
  
  If your moka is still not working as expected, consider to change it. There is a chance that lower and upper part cannot be screwed tightly because of a weared-out or malformed thread.