Hi all. I never really paid attention when people mentioned siphon/vac pots before until today, and it made me wonder if maybe I'm missing out.

As stated in the title, I already have several French presses, a moka pot, a Kalita Wave for pourover, and I am looking to move into the wonderful world of espresso next year. So I have a lot of different angles covered already. But does siphon provide something that these others do not?

Generally, I eschew methods that take *forever* to clean up. Moka falls into that category for me. By the time I disassemble the whole thing and make sure it's truly clean for next time, a long time has passed. Moka is good, but not *that* good where I reach for it more than every couple months. French press is usually a less-than-a-minute process of cleanup. The Kalita Wave is probably 15 seconds. So how is a siphon on cleanup? My SO claims I waste enough time on coffee as is.

Third, I've seen many different types available after looking things up: those Cona ones, Hario, oh and those old balance style ones. Any huge difference among types?

Fourth, any thoughts on optimal heating method? Those Hario infrared heaters look interesting, though I would assume they only match up to their brewers?

*If* I were to go down this road, I'd definitely want something I can be happy with for a long time, so I wouldn't say that money is no object, but I am willing to do my best to do it right, if that makes any sense.

Thanks!

I've used vacuum brewers for ages. I remember as a child in the 50's watching my mom make coffee in their Cory vacuum pot.

Currently I have and use a Cona Standard and a Bodum. I can tell no difference in taste between them. The only difference is the amount of coffee each will brew.

I use them on a gas stove.

I start by putting water in a measuring cup into the microwave to get it hot (not boiling but a good 180+ degrees). That way the vacuum pot spends less time over the big DCS burner before the brewing process starts.

I let the water slowly rise into the upper vessel. Once it starts to bubble I stir around with a wooden paddle to get good infusion. I go about 3-4 minutes of steep/infusion time, then turn the burner off and remove the pot to a cool burner where it will pull the coffee back down in the pot.

As with all brewed coffee I transfer the brew into a pre-heated thermal carafe or air pot where it will stay warm for the time it takes me and my wife to consume it.

As with all brew methods the taste of the coffee is going to be different in each brew method. The vacuum/siphon is an infusion method so you will get more oils and fines than filtered methods. The difference is comparable to the difference between french press and paper filtered.

My advice is GO FOR IT. Grab a siphon and start enjoying another way of brewing coffee.

I personally think it's the easiest way to get really controllable and consistent temperature and agitation variables that results in a superb cup. My favorite.

Generally, I eschew methods that take *forever* to clean up. Moka falls into that category for me.

I was going to encourage you to try a vacpot but then I re-read your post. If you feel a Moka takes too long to clean up, you don't want to play with a vacpot. It takes "forever" to prep/brew and takes as long to clean up as your Moka, if not longer. Stick with your current preps.

I want to thank everyone for the informative replies!

Boldjava, you may be correct. I will however say that I thought about what I said above, and I think I was slightly unfair to the moka. The trouble is that the moka pot is not something I use all the time, and so when I do use it and then clean it, I really go out of my way to get it absolutely perfectly clean, because I don't know when I'm going to use it again.

My French presses get rinsed with hot water, but that's usually as far as it goes. Same with my Kalita (although, that would probably thoroughly clean up in 20 seconds as opposed to 10).

What I may do, since you may still be right, is get a small inexpensive one and see how I feel about it. If it's a pain, I'll leave it at that or sell it, and if it isn't, I can try some of the more elaborate vessels and methods those of you who love it employ.

I switched to a vac pot a year ago and for me it makes the greatest brewed coffee I've ever had. My thoughts on the cleanup is that it's no big deal, if you have a good routine. I use a Cory rod which adds to the ease of cleanup. I have a small trash can that fits in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. I'll place it in the sink. Then holding the upper chamber over the trash can I'll pull out the Cory rod and knock out the coffee grounds into the trash. I'll then use a wooden spoon to clean out the remaining grounds and then wipe the bowl out with a paper towel to get what's left. This takes maybe a minute to do. Well worth the cleanup time for the quality of brewed coffee I drink everyday.

Now having said that, you also need to have a good routine on the front end so the brewing process doesn't take too long. I speed up the process by preheating the bulk of the water in an electric kettle. While that's coming up to a boil I'll stick 2 cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes. I use that to preheat the water chamber of the vac pot to avoid thermal shock to the glass and to start the water heating process. I honestly don't know if this is necessary, but it works for me. I then place the pot on a stove burner, on top of the wire trivet, turned on to High. When the water in the electric kettle has come to a boil I'll add the balance of the water to the pot. I use a Thermapen to monitor the water temperature and when the water comes up to temp I'll insert the upper chamber and let the brew magic begin.

Thanks Bacon. If nothing else, the curiosity is aroused in me. Either the glass rod or the Diguo filter TomC recommends seem like some manageable options. Cloth seems like a lot of work; sorry if that seems lazy, but I spend so much of my day not getting things done that I can't afford to compound that . Maybe I'll see what pops up for sale on here or on eBay so I'm not sinking too much into something I'm not yet positive about and give it a try.

Anyone try electric heated version of a siphon brewer either the Starbucks Barista Utopia or KitchenAid Siphon Coffee Brewer ?