One of my favourite cartoons is one Gary Larson did in The Far Side of a bearded biker standing proudly in his kitchen with a "Java" tatoo and a t-shirt reading "Born to be Wired." The cartoon is titled, "Carl 'Javahead' Jones and his chopped espresso maker." Posting it here would violate copyright, but it's easy to find it so go have a peek. I'll wait...
I've always wanted to be that guy.
For decades I've been peering at dusty shelves in coffee shops ogling the occasional siphon/vacuum pot. I heard they were great, but really only hipster coffee obsessives would bother with them. But still, there was some allure and I've always wondered whether the coffee from one was, as many seem to think, all that and a packet of crisps.
Recent discussion here got me thinking about it again. OK...I can admire the vacuum pots that look like a lab experiment. I can totally get the level of nuance involved in the decision to use whichever of several styles of burners to heat the water. But dang, those vintage Sunbeam Coffeemasters would do what I want: a cup of coffee with just enough fiddling. Problem is, they need a gasket between the upper and lower pot that hasn't been made for the significant part of a century. In fact, Sunbeam Coffeemasters are so vintage that even the modern replacement gaskets made by a private entrepreneur are no longer made.
Working out how to get a gasket started looking like way more effort than I needed. So, as Hunter S. Thompson noted, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Time for some lateral thinking.
Our brother @StlEd was kind enough to share some pics of his disassembled Coffeemaster, and that was the key insight! Don't blame Ed for what I did with what I learned...bear with me:
So a vacuum pot has a lower and upper chamber. There is a "dip tube" that extends into the lower chamber almost to the bottom. This is so as the water heats up and creates steam above the water, the pressure will force water up the dip tube and into the upper chamber where it mixes with the coffee grounds. A bit of heat is kept on the bottom of the pot to keep generating just enough steam pressure to hold the water/coffee mix in the upper chamber once the brew cycle is going. Then the pot is set off the heat and the vacuum created in the cooling lower chamber sucks the coffee down through the grounds and filter and into the lower chamber from which it is served. Now let's look at another device for making coffee.
The "moka pot" or stovetop "espresso" maker (yes, I know it's not real espresso) has an upper and lower chamber, a dip tube going near the bottom of the lower chamber, and, above the area where the coffee is loaded it also has a "riser tube" that extends up into the upper chamber and prevents the coffee from going back down into the lower chamber. Raise your hand if you can already see where this is going!
I wanted a nice stainless steel vacuum pot. I determined to chop a moka pot to get it. Just like choppin' a motorcycle, man. Start the bike and start taking things off until the engine stops. Put that one thing back on and you've got a chopper. After obsessing about wanton destruction for a couple of weeks, today I pumped my courage up to the sticking point and headed out to the shop. The plan was to cut out the bottom of the upper chamber, leaving a sufficient rim to support the upper filter and to seal the gasket.
I can report that Bialetti New Venus moka pots are the absolute bomb. Thick stainless steel! But I have a power jigsaw. After a few minutes of whining motors, screaming steel and light smoke the deed was done. Cleaned it up a little, took it inside and washed it, and then made myself a cup of coffee. Now I see what the shoutin's about. Medium heat until the water begins to rise. Stir the coffee. Once the water is up and steam is bubbling through it, turn down the heat a little. Stir the coffee and let it steep a minute. Set the pot off the heat and sssslllluuuuurrrrpppp it pulls the coffee back down through the grounds. A little awkward to have to take the top part off and pour out of the lower chamber, but it works.
Love it when a plan comes together.
I used a 10 "cup" moka pot, which holds pretty near 500 ml. That's my usual "cup" of coffee. I used only the amount of coffee I use to make my usual cup. If I'd messed it up I'd think I wasted a fair bit of money (but learned something), however it isn't messed up so I got a nice vacuum pot that I can toss in the kit box and take camping or use at home -- for about a quarter to a third of what a "for really" vacuum pot would cost me.
And of course I love it because I made it.
Maybe I can find somebody to laser-engrave some flames on the side of it...
O.H.
I've always wanted to be that guy.
For decades I've been peering at dusty shelves in coffee shops ogling the occasional siphon/vacuum pot. I heard they were great, but really only hipster coffee obsessives would bother with them. But still, there was some allure and I've always wondered whether the coffee from one was, as many seem to think, all that and a packet of crisps.
Recent discussion here got me thinking about it again. OK...I can admire the vacuum pots that look like a lab experiment. I can totally get the level of nuance involved in the decision to use whichever of several styles of burners to heat the water. But dang, those vintage Sunbeam Coffeemasters would do what I want: a cup of coffee with just enough fiddling. Problem is, they need a gasket between the upper and lower pot that hasn't been made for the significant part of a century. In fact, Sunbeam Coffeemasters are so vintage that even the modern replacement gaskets made by a private entrepreneur are no longer made.
Working out how to get a gasket started looking like way more effort than I needed. So, as Hunter S. Thompson noted, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Time for some lateral thinking.
Our brother @StlEd was kind enough to share some pics of his disassembled Coffeemaster, and that was the key insight! Don't blame Ed for what I did with what I learned...bear with me:
So a vacuum pot has a lower and upper chamber. There is a "dip tube" that extends into the lower chamber almost to the bottom. This is so as the water heats up and creates steam above the water, the pressure will force water up the dip tube and into the upper chamber where it mixes with the coffee grounds. A bit of heat is kept on the bottom of the pot to keep generating just enough steam pressure to hold the water/coffee mix in the upper chamber once the brew cycle is going. Then the pot is set off the heat and the vacuum created in the cooling lower chamber sucks the coffee down through the grounds and filter and into the lower chamber from which it is served. Now let's look at another device for making coffee.
The "moka pot" or stovetop "espresso" maker (yes, I know it's not real espresso) has an upper and lower chamber, a dip tube going near the bottom of the lower chamber, and, above the area where the coffee is loaded it also has a "riser tube" that extends up into the upper chamber and prevents the coffee from going back down into the lower chamber. Raise your hand if you can already see where this is going!
I wanted a nice stainless steel vacuum pot. I determined to chop a moka pot to get it. Just like choppin' a motorcycle, man. Start the bike and start taking things off until the engine stops. Put that one thing back on and you've got a chopper. After obsessing about wanton destruction for a couple of weeks, today I pumped my courage up to the sticking point and headed out to the shop. The plan was to cut out the bottom of the upper chamber, leaving a sufficient rim to support the upper filter and to seal the gasket.
I can report that Bialetti New Venus moka pots are the absolute bomb. Thick stainless steel! But I have a power jigsaw. After a few minutes of whining motors, screaming steel and light smoke the deed was done. Cleaned it up a little, took it inside and washed it, and then made myself a cup of coffee. Now I see what the shoutin's about. Medium heat until the water begins to rise. Stir the coffee. Once the water is up and steam is bubbling through it, turn down the heat a little. Stir the coffee and let it steep a minute. Set the pot off the heat and sssslllluuuuurrrrpppp it pulls the coffee back down through the grounds. A little awkward to have to take the top part off and pour out of the lower chamber, but it works.
Love it when a plan comes together.
I used a 10 "cup" moka pot, which holds pretty near 500 ml. That's my usual "cup" of coffee. I used only the amount of coffee I use to make my usual cup. If I'd messed it up I'd think I wasted a fair bit of money (but learned something), however it isn't messed up so I got a nice vacuum pot that I can toss in the kit box and take camping or use at home -- for about a quarter to a third of what a "for really" vacuum pot would cost me.
And of course I love it because I made it.
Maybe I can find somebody to laser-engrave some flames on the side of it...
O.H.