Too Much Coffee

I've been drinking a reasonable ammount of caffetiere coffee recently, as I've been working late, so no access to an espresso machine. I quite like coffee this way, but it can be a littele muddy, so I've been thinking about a vac pot. They are a little costly, so wondering if I should or not.
I know the Cona is the best, but I'm wondering if I should start with something cheaper in case I'm not keen on this method. I have seen Hario Technica ones on ebay going cheap, but I'm not sure what they are like.

Oh, forgot to say, can I use a vac pot on a halogen hob cooker?

Can't see a problem there Simon as long as you turn it on gently, blasting it with No 6 on to cold glass may invoke the explosive side of physics.

If you're using the stovetop version, the price difference between a new Cona and a new Bodum Santos (both available new from UK sources) is not that great. Both are much cheaper than the notoriously expensive table-top Conas.

I like the Santos and it does a good job. The Cona is trickier in my experience, but it does a better job. Also the Cona is sturdier - the Santos is made of much thinner, more fragile glass (as I found out to my cost when a small circle of glass just dropped out of the top globe one day!)

Stove-top Conas don't come up on eBay as much as table top ones. I just decided to buy a new one. The other thing with Conas is that you can replace every part - spares are available. You break anything on the Santos, you buy a new one.

Don't let me discourage you from buying a Santos though - they're good, and a lot less fiddly than Conas.

Cona Junior stove top off e-bay if you can snag one. I've got a couple by that route and it's just about the right size for one person, there's a lot more of the Standard size stove top Model going about but that is a pretty big pot of coffee. I find vac pot a bit more demanding on the grinder than cafetiere and you can end up with an overextracted brew in no time flat, I am still getting away with my ageing Solis 166 for press pot but makes a bit much dust now for the Cona.

(forgot to say if you have a Bodum outlet store somewhere near (there's a couple in Scotland) they were doing the Santos for £39.99, and the Mini E Santos electric one for £59 I think?)

HTH
Cheers
Matt

I was using the Rocky for the caffetiere, but having re-taped the threads as it was no longer staying between steps it is now to hard to change settings by much so I've been using the old Isomac (the one with the same burrs as your old Iberital), which seems to work fine for the coarser grind, so I'm hoping that will be OK for a vac pot.

Simon

You are more than welcome to borrow my santos for a week or so if you like to test drive it (please PM me). You can (or certainly could) get one for £35 which is still quite a bit cheaper than the stove top cona.

Steve

Thanks, I might give that a go

Hi there,

I'd recommend the "bijou" Cona Stove top (the 1 person one) I'd also recommend a heat diffuser (flat, layered piece of metal that goes straight on top of the heat source)

I like the Cona a lot because it's all high quality dense glass - very little plastic (and none which touches the coffee itself)

given all we spend on espresso kit I don't think it's pushing the boat out too much to get the best Vac Pot you can, it's still relatively cheap ...

best,

Paul.

given all we spend on espresso kit I don't think it's pushing the boat out too much to get the best Vac Pot you can, it's still relatively cheap ...

Yeah, I know what you mean. I do drink only a small ammount brewed coffee though, so I wan't to make sure I'll get the use out of it.

but it's a bit of a Catch-22 isn't it? - you don't drink that much brewed coffee because you don't have a Vac Pot - get one and you will ...

apart from "variety is the spice of life", I find drinking brewed coffee increases your appreciation of espresso (by way of contrast)

best,

Paul.

I don't use my vac pot that much but when you get a nice bean in it's great to roast some up and do a pot, I like Yemen and other fruity African stuff. A good weekend morning activity, cappuccino and full fry up not good partners

Cheers
Matt
'the full Glasgwegian please'

One statement

"VAC POTS RULE"

I've used a cafetiere in the past and disliked the powdery result and the seeming inability to filter properly, the overly strong result etc.

So, and a genuine question, what exactly is a vac pot and why are they so well respected? Presumably I can read all about them somewhere?

A vac pot is a vacuum brewer, typified (in the UK anyway) by the Cona. Basically two glass balls one on top of the other. Some sort of filter in the middle. Coffee in the top, water in the bottom. Water heats, goes up, soaks the grounds. The pot is then allowed to cool and the brewed coffee goes down.

As I understand it, this brewing method is popular because

1. The filtration is much better (Conas use a glass rod for a filter, the Bodum Santos uses a plastic disk) - so the flavour is much clearer and cleaner

2. I've heard it said that there are some temperature benefits too.

All told, the taste of the brew is much cleaner and clearer than with press pots.

In the UK, you have a choice of Bodum Santos and Cona (three different sizes). Conas are a little bit pricier but most people think they produce better results.

Footnote - it's just possible that Hario brewers may show up in the UK soon too.

Also consider balance brewers. I fancy trying one of Patrick's brewers - the Royal or the Cafetino - but they're serious money.

HTH