Vacuum-Coffee

[beige_alert]

I always wanted one of those vacuum coffee pots. The local Alterra coffee shop had the Bodum Santos on hand, the first time I've seen one in a store. So...couldn't resist.



Water goes in the bottom, coffee grounds in the top:


Apply heat and the water is forced up the tube into the top:


Once that process is done, you take it off the heat and vacuum pulls the coffee back down:


It's always described as being fun to watch but fiddly and time-consuming. I've only used it twice, but it actually seems pretty practical, not really something that deserves a reputation for being too fiddly for normal use. Now, this unit is all glass, and the top chamber has a glass tube that extends down into the lower chamber, and it seems very breakable when cleaning it, but with care it should be manageable. There is a plastic stand to hold it when you remove it from the lower chamber, so you don't have a fragile, awkward glass object rolling around looking for the floor. It does make nice coffee, and no grounds make it past the plastic strainer/valve, though having a painfully expensive grinder that doesn't produce a lot of powder also helps.

Comments

[jaelle-n-gilla.livejournal.com]

The physical idea behind it is nifty. I can see how you'd crave that :-) I don't drink filter coffee any more lately, but it sounds like a nice way to make coffee without the paper filters inbetween. I think I'd break the glass tubes in no time, though.

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

Looks great, and I would love one - but I break less fragile looking things, so wouldn't want to try washing this.

[lisande.livejournal.com]

My mother got one of these years back - I don't think she still uses it, but as an adolescent I loved to watch the water being pulled up and then the coffee dripping down. :)

[trektone.livejournal.com]

I've considered getting this on more than one occasion, but fear the breakage. Nice pics!

[beige-alert.livejournal.com]

I'm just hoping that it's *so* *obviously* *breakable* that I'll remember to be careful enough to not smash it. It's like how the guys who work on live high-voltage power lines from hovering helicopters actually hardly ever have accidents. They don't show up thinking "Safety Third!" They are *careful* people. Because, duh, need to be careful.