The vacuum coffee pot is a clever device invented by Robert Napier in 1840. It uses heat, cooling and vacuum and it looks like it came from a mad scientist’s lab and that makes it the coolest coffee thing ever!
Oh, it’s a complex and involved way of making coffee and it’s certainly not for everyday, but it has a lot of “wow” factor that can be trotted out and shared a parties and gatherings.
To brew coffee in a vacuum pot:
- Add the proper amount of filtered water to the bottom bulb
- Attach the filter to the upper bulb and fit the upper glass bulb tightly over the bottom glass bulb.
- Place the vacuum coffee pot on the stove, making sure that the bottom bulb is completely dry on the outside.
- Use a medium grind and add the grounds when the water begins to fill the upper chamber.
- Leave the pot on the stove for 3.5 minutes and then place on a hot pad.
- This is the cool part! Within 30 seconds the lower pot will cool enough to form a vacuum to pull the brewing coffee into the lower chamber, thereby separating it from the grounds.
Experiment with the heating and cooling cycles until the total extraction time is between 4-5 minutes. A great and somewhat inexpensive vacuum coffee pot available is the Bodum Pebo.
The upside is a cup of coffee with exceptional aroma. It’s also a great alternative for those who don’t like the taste of coffee brewed through paper or the “silty” nature of press pot coffee.
The downside? I think I mentioned that it’s complex and involved. It’s difficult to clean, has many small parts that can get easily misplaced, is extremely fragile and takes up a lot of space and storage.