It’s like a vacuum cleaner, but for making coffee. Sound strange?
Check it out:
The vacuum brew coffeemaker, also known as a siphon coffee brewer, is an alternative way to make your must-have morning coffee.
Far more fashionable and flashy than it may sound at first, vacuum brewing has withstood the test of time and taste, a notable win given the highly competitive coffee industry.
With a little finesse, impress guests or simply treat your own taste buds with this high-quality home-brew method.
Who’s to thank?
The first working vacuum brewers date back to the mid 1800s. While many believe that Marie fanny Amelne Massot of Lyons, France, is to thank for the original model, a similar device appeared in Scotland not much later.
Historians still debate who is to credit for the invention.
As for the first mass-market version, Gaggia took the prize back in the mid 1940s. Gaggia’s success would prove limiting.
During the 1950s and 60s, quick-and-easy became the fad.
No matter how delicious the coffee, siphon coffee brewers lost their appeal.
The systems practically disappeared in the shadow of the drip coffee machine, which could quickly brew entire pots of coffee with just the touch of a button.
But wait:
Today, specialty coffee is back on the market, and with it, the reemergence of homebrew systems that preserve the flavor and notes of each brew.
Siphon coffee brewing can now be seen and enjoyed at coffee shops and, increasingly, homes and apartments.
Vacuum Brewing 101
There are four basic parts to a contemporary vacuum brewer, also called a vacuum pot or syphon/siphon:
- Bottom container
- Top container
- Syphon tube
- Filter
The bottom and top containers connect to one another via the syphon tube. The filter does double duty, allowing liquid and gas to pass through while keeping coffee grounds out of your cup.
You’ll also need:
A Method True to its Name
Unsurprisingly, vacuum brew coffee relies on suction to make coffee.
Here’s how this full-immersion method works:
Water is added to the bottom container. The bottom container is heated, and the heated water creates vapor.
With nowhere to go but up, the vapor makes its way through the filter to the top container. Here, coffee grounds are added to the water.
After the heat is removed, the water-coffee mixture that is now on the top container falls back through the bottom container. In the process, it passes through the filter.
The filter purifies the coffee, keeping the grinds out of your coffee mug.
Ready to start brewing?
Step by Step Instructions to Make Your Own Vacuum-Brewed Coffee
To get started, assemble your syphon and then follow these six basic steps:
Step 1: Add water to the bottom container and put the heater underneath. Turn heat on high.
Step 2: After the water boils, insert the funnel that is attached to the top container.
Step 3: Vapour will begin to rise out of the bottom container, through the funnel, into the top. Use your handy thermometer to watch for 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When it reaches this temperature, add your ground coffee.
Step 5: After a minute or just under, remove the heat.
Step 6: Cool and enjoy!
Did you see it happen?
After your remove the heat in step number five, the magic suctioning occurs.
Without heat, the bottom container sucks back all the water, which is now coffee. The filter, nestled between the two containers, keeps grounds from travelling along for the ride.
Here is a video tutorial in case you love videos 🙂
Vacuum-brewed coffee can be ready in just six steps, in only about six minutes.
Too good to be true?
It is, and it isn’t.
