Vacpots, Q's and A's

[BoldJava]

Hate to throw a ringer in the discussion but I have a Maestro and have no problems with stalls...

Not a ringer at all.  Maestro just taught me a lesson. Adds to the collective knowledge.  The grinder often is the guilty culprit, depending upon how many miles are on the burrs.  Easiest to start there.  Earlier technique looked good, to me.  Leaving the heat up throws a whole new solution into the mix.

Where are my algorithms?


B|Java, madly adjusting

[Steve7]

My vacpot is my new staple brew method!
The Technivorm is used less, and only when I need a lot, quickly.

The coffee I get is clean, fresh tasting, and sharp.

As for stalls... none. And I can even stir like crazy! And I hit the rod...

(Rocky grinder, 40g, water added just off the boil. Lid on as it starts to edge to boiling. Add coffee when the rod stops bouncing and the heat is on lowest gas burner setting. About 3 mins on, then a 30 sec smooth pull down (guesstimate) every time.)

[Tristan]

Great results with the Kenyan this morning!  Left the heat at 5/10 while adding the coffee slowly.  Kenyan was roasted on Friday afternoon to Full City.  Wow, I've never seen this much foaming and mound up on the vac pot.  Should have taken a picture of it.  I'm just going to call this the "g-mound" or G|Mound if I feel hip.  I had to wait 20-30 seconds to add the last TBSP of coffee because I thought it was going to spill over!

I let the gentle bubbling action mix the coffee slowly.   I even gave a bold circular stir towards the end to taunt the vac pot, ha ha ha.  I felt like Moby Dick screaming at the whale, but not really.  Took the pot off the stove.  Drew down perfectly in about 2 or so minutes!  This coffee is unreal!  It's like I've never tasted Kenyan before.  So delicate, sweet, creamy fruity with a caramel chocolate and balanced acidity on the finish.  I thought for a long time that the french press was the ultimate; guess that just proves how little I know about this hobby of ours!

Thanks again you guys for being so helpful.  Another reason why I love this place!

[BoldJava]

...

I let the gentle bubbling action mix the coffee slowly.   I even gave a bold circular stir towards the end to taunt the vac pot, ha ha ha.  I felt like Moby Dick screaming at the whale, but not really...

You have me shuddering...

and then chuckling out loud.

Score.

B|Java

[peter]

I thought for a long time that the french press was the ultimate; guess that just proves how little I know about this hobby of ours!

Never let yourself think there is an ultimate brewing method.   

[Tigeranteater]

Dave,
I just want you to know I think my vac pot is incredible. I have it down to a science now and point to it one second before the draw down. It amazes my wife and friends. The Cory is the only way to go. I really appreciate everything everyone does here in the club. Thanks.

[Tex]

I thought for a long time that the french press was the ultimate; guess that just proves how little I know about this hobby of ours!

Never let yourself think there is an ultimate brewing method.   

Other than espresso!

[mp]

Hmm ... I would like to suggest that you need to suit the bean to a brewing method.  I have found that if a bean doesn't work well with espresso it will work good with a vacuum pot or pour over or even a french press.  That is not to say that if it pulls well as espresso it won't be good for one of the other brewing methods. 

I find the most flavorful extraction, albeit it takes a while, is from cold brewing method.  Little to no caffeine and the true flavors stand out like no other.

My 2 cents.

 

[BoldJava]

Dave,
I just want you to know I think my vac pot is incredible. I have it down to a science now and point to it one second before the draw down. It amazes my wife and friends. The Cory is the only way to go. I really appreciate everything everyone does here in the club. Thanks.

Ah, yes, another vac-convert.  Welcome to the fold.

B|Java

[BoldJava]

Snagged a Canadian Cory Porcelain Fast-Flo off Canadian eBay (Toronto made).  It is 2.25" wide (left) where the US Cory -- right -- (Chicago) is 2".  Had never seen a Canadian one and it called to me, all the way from Boondoques, Quebec.

B|Java

[BoldJava]

A club member who bought a rod is struggling with stalls and asked about the Ceramic Dutch Vaculator.  I own one (off eBay) but haven't used it since my hands (XL glove) are too large to comfortably use to secure within the insides of a 5- and 8-cup Yama.  As well, while the filter goes into the 8-cup, it does not stay lodged but rather pops back out.

This morning, for a test run, I gave it a try in the 5-cup (pics below).  Using my standard technique of post-migration rise before adding coffee, the filter achieved water at a nice 196 and held it there.  Differences?

1)  The turbulence up top was much greater than with a Cory using the same heat settings.  
2)  The ounce of water in the base (typical with the design of the 5-cup) became light, light coffee so there is water slippage back into the base which in turn is steamed back up north.
3)  There are some grinds that migrate south after the pot is pulled from the heat.  About 1/2 teaspoon for this unit.
4)  The down-draft is rapid -- 18 seconds, and whooosh, it is done.

Cup?  Much lighter (an underdeveloped cup) than my standard cup with a Cory rod which will draft down in 50-80 seconds on the 5-cup.  Were I to use this recurringly, I would hold on the heat longer (at lower temp) to compensate for the rate movement downward that clearly interfered with steep time needed.

Cleanup?  Well, have to fish through the grounds to get my mitt around the top of the vaculator.  Messy.  I bet 10-1 the messiness led to its lack of traction in the face of the daunting Cory rod which prevailed over all other apps, bar none.  Only the cursed percolator was able to dislodge the vacpot/glass rod.  Harriett Nelson, June Cleaver, Sapphire Stevens, and Alice Kramden all succumbed to the ease of the newest gadget in the 50's.

B|Java

[peter]

Nice write-up, Young Dave.

I'd guess that maybe the Ceramic doohickey was used w/ a top globe that didn't have a straight down-tube that doesn't let the springy legs hold it in place, but rather something that swelled out.  ?   Also, I'm convinced that the rough texture molded into the Cory bulge is the reason it works so well, and the smooth Ceramic is why there was some sludge in the cup.

[BoldJava]

Nice Good write-up, Young Dave.

I'd guess that maybe the Ceramic doohickey was used w/ a top globe that didn't have a straight down-tube that doesn't let the springy legs hold it in place, but rather something that swelled out.  ?   Also, I'm convinced that the rough texture molded into the Cory bulge is the reason it works so well, and the smooth Ceramic is why there was some sludge in the cup.

You are correct. It was primarily designed for the Hill Shaw line of Vaculator pots, though the ads said, "Fits most glass coffee makers..."

B|Java

[BoldJava]

In solidarity with the putzes of the world who have broken their Yamas, I crunched both the 5- and 8-cuppers this week.  Two years, not a ding.  One week and they are both in the trash heat of the pots that go to heaven.

The 8-cupper died when I was multi-tasking.  The heated water got away from me so I pulled it off the burner.  Did a couple of other things, came back, slammed on the globe and Cory, and put it back on the heat.  Turned around to do some food prep and I heard the "tink" and I knew immediately what had happened.  The girl had rolled over the top, down the side, and seeped between the burner and the pot.  Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

The 5-cupper?  I put all the blame on Czarina, though it was my own clumsiness.  She had it airdrying in front of the clean, drying dish drainer.  Once again, I was cooking and grabbed a skillet from the dish drain and immediately could see the descending Yama 5-cupper, in slow motion (right off Seinfeld) making its way to a greeting kitchen floor.  I let a burst of expletives out at it, at the word in general, and sighed relief.

Thanks Amazon, for replacing me as Yama distributor.  Order was on the front porch yesterday.

B|Java

[peter]

I feel your pain.  In the words of Thomas Merton, it's better to have brewed and broke than to never have brewed at all.