Coffee Syphon

Most people don't know about Coffee Syphons, or Vacuum Pot coffee makers, but it's one of the best ways to enjoy a great cup of coffee. I've never had naturally sweet coffee, but apparently coffee connoisseurs say that coffee is actually a SWEET beverage. You just need to use freshly roasted and ground beans apparently. O well... I see coffee syphons being used all the time on anime so I wanted to try one out. Who wouldn't want a kool glass coffee maker with crazy designs like some chemistry kit?? The first time I went to Beijing I came across a Japanese coffee syphon at a department store and knew I had to have it. I think it came out to be around $80 USD or so. Pretty pricey for a coffee maker, but it was something that I'd always wanted and I love kitchen gadgets.

Basically there are two globes made of heat resistant glass. This glass is made to take open flames without shattering, but the caveat is that the glass is quite brittle so care must be taken when used. The lower globe is filled with hot water (key is hot), while the top globe has a cylinder coming down that combines with a rubber stopper to create an air tight seal. A cloth or glass filter is used at the top and grounds are put in.


Using an alcohol lamp (denatured alcohol from Shermin Willians as fuel) The coffee syphon is heated to begin the brewing process. As the water heats it creates steam. Since the lower globe is air tight this creates greater air pressure and pushes down on the water, which then forces the water up into the top globe. This process could take 5-10 minutes or so, or even LONGER if the water isn't hot. You can see bubbles forming in the lower globe in the picture.


Once the water climbs all the way to the top you just mix the grounds and hot water for about a minute or so. Longer than that and it won't extract any additional flavor from the grinds.


Cap the alcohol lamp and let the water flow back down to the lower globe. As the bottom half cools, the steam condenses and becomes water, which reduces the pressure and creates a vacuum or a suction effect. The water is not flowing down only with gravity, it's actually being sucked down through the filter.


Once all the coffee is in the lower globe simply rock the top back and forth and slowly remove the upper half. What you're left with is coffee that tastes as good as it smells. Coffee syphons are known for delivering extremely aromatic coffee that tastes very pure. It's been a while since I've used mine due to the convenience of the drip coffee maker, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it tasted like my coffee had gone through a filter. It pretty much felt like I was drinking water. I wasn't left with any filmy taste in my mouth after drinking it, and it had a nice light robust flavor to it. Of course they say that if your beans are no good, then a coffee syphon is probably the worst thing to use. There'll be no masking of the flavor of the roast and you'll only be left with the poor tasting coffee due to poor beans. The two main reasons they say that this method produces superior coffee is because of the vacuum filtration and also the ideal coffee brewing temperature. You'll notice that the coffee doesn't brew in boiling water. The water temperature is actually just under boiling because the water vaporizes and pushes the water up before it get a chance to boil. It stays in an equilibrium at that temperature by the design pressure design. I just drank mine with some sweetened condensed milk.




P.S. That Grey Poupon bottle smelled like..well Grey Poupon. I used some vinegar and water to get rid of the smell (lemon works really well too) and then decided to not waste the vinegar I'd already poured. I ran the vinegar and water mixture twice through my drip coffee maker to clean it out and remove any nastiness it might have. This also works well on the hot water heaters most Asians have. I made some Lion's Head Meatballs on Sunday, I'll post the pics and do a write up maybe tomorrow after work.