Notwithstanding comments about my "turning to the dark side" when my commercial espresso machine was eventually fixed, I've always loved brewed coffee and feel that many of the exciting taste adventures in this world of gourmet coffee are lost to anyone who does not tread this path. However, I've almost always used a press pot.
Background: I've been "into" gourmet coffee since I was around 19 or 20 (and those that know me well will realise that that is a very long time ago now ). I was given a Cona as a wedding present but didn't use it much as it seemed a bit complicated. My oldest press pot is about 15 - 20 years old. I've almost always used that or one of the newer ones I've bought since when I wanted brewed coffee.
I've dabbled with Swissgold one-cup filters, which I bought with the intention of using them for cupping and office coffee, but since then I've been taught "proper cupping" at Mercanta and I've realised that office coffee brewing is not an option at BP (memo to self - get a new contract with a more enlightened company!). As a result I don't use these much - in fact hardly ever.
I bought an eSantos vac pot a while back, with the intention of trying to achieve the convenience of an electric brewer at the same time as getting the improved quality of vac pot brewing. I always drink some home-roast before setting off to catch my train to work in London, and I hoped the eSantos would do the job for me and give me better, clearer brews than I get with my press pots. Regrettably it didn't work well for me and the coffee often tasted "boiled". I gave up on it.
However I continued to hanker after the supposed quality inprovements to be had with a vac pot. I didn't want to risk my precious Cona though until I got some practice with this brewing method. I want to brew on the stove top, rather than mess around with little spirit burners - and I have a gas hob. I figured that I could easily destroy my Cona with an ill judged stove top experiment.
So what to do? The only vac pots readily available in the UK are the Cona (very expensive, and anyway I have one) and the good old Bodum Santos. So I "flashed the plash" at a well known coffee and equipment site (you know the one - run by one of our friends) and got myself a Santos. Dearer than a press pot by quite a margin, but still not too bad at around GBP 47 plus a token amount for carriage. I also searched around on the web and found some heat diffusers from a kitchen supply shop. Bingo! Everything came together.
So I've just tried my first pot of Santos-brewed vac pot coffee. I've been a tad busy, so the Nicaraguan (Coop de 22 Septembre) I used was a bit past its best. Never mind. I heated up the water, put it into the pot, put the funnel on with the right amount of coffee and off we jolly well went.
So far, so good. The brew was not as crystal clear as I had hoped, but certainly a lot clearer than you get with a press pot. I understand that the Bodum isn't as good in terms of brew clarity as say a Cona - you pays your money and you takes your choice! The taste was cleaner and lighter than I've been used to with this bean brewed with french press, and lacked the "boiled taste" I got with this pot's electric brother.
So off I go, experimenting with my new toy. Wey hey!
A few questions for more experienced vac-potters:
- Do you grind finer for vac pot than you do for french press, or around the same?
- When do you start counting for timing the extraction? I started when all of the water had gone "north", although I noticed that the grounds were wet a while before this.
- How long do you brew for? I use 4 minutes with a press pot. Today I used 3 minutes with the Santos, but also ground a little finer (30 on the Rocky instead of 35)
Anyway, basically I'm very pleased and just about to get out the Hottop to roast some more light coffees. Hmmm - I think a Kenyan (but which one?) and maybe some Kona - it's been a while since I had any Kona. Yes, I think so (drool...). Oh - and it's high time I roasted that JBM two very good friends gave me. Oh yes! (rubs hands in childish glee...).