Merry Christmas to me, a Vac Pot and ...

[BaconFat]

a Cory filter rod.  I read through all the pages on the Vac Pot Q&A thread and thought I give one a try.  Scored a Cory rod off eBay for $4 and a Yama 8 cup from my favorite jungle source.  Both showed up on Monday and I did a test run with only water so I could see what goes on.  I put everything away afterwards thinking I'd wait until Xmas morning to use it, but I figured this morning was close enough.

Wasn't sure how much ground coffee to use so I went with 64 grams, ground slightly finer than drip.  This is the same grind setting I use for FP.  I added the grounds after all the water had moved north and was bubbling away.  I was a little concerned that after adding the coffee the top was going to overflow.  For some reason at my current grind setting I've noticed that I get a pretty thick head when the grounds are added to my FP.  Kind of like the head you get from pouring a Guinness from a tap.  Anyway using my bamboo stirring paddle I pushed the grounds down into the water rather than stirring.  I lowered the heat, waited one minute while it continued to gently bubble and then pulled it off the burner.  I ended up with a total extraction of 3:30 minutes from the time I added the grounds until the top was sucked dry. 

I have to say that my first pot of siphon brewed coffee turned out really nice.  Beginner's luck?  Maybe.  I'm a firm believer in that as I have experienced it a lot.  I will say though that I glad I decided to give this method a try.  It's a bit more involved and it does take longer, but I have nothing but time on my hands.

[ptrmorton]

I love my vac pot, but it is overload first thing in the morning so it is often used for a mid morning treat.  I'm glad you had success right out of the gate.  I think the Cory rod makes the difference and certainly making cleaning up easier.  Congrats and Merry Christmas.

[jspain]

I bre with a vac pot EVERY MORNING!! It is my favorite brew method as I find the results the best of all the methods I've used. Your described process is right on track! I'd let the brew go for two minutes after the push down. I let the "head" sit for 30 seconds before push down.

The "head" you're getting is caused by FRESH roasted coffee! That's WONDERFUL! Don't be alarmed by that, it is expected. As the coffee rest longer the "head" will lessen ass the roast matures....

Have fun! One day you'll get the dreaded "STALL!" Don't be alarmed, it happens to all of us! Merry Christmas!  Jim

[Gene]

Love my Yama too! I just got the stainless steel screen from Amazon and it works really well. I've noticed with vac pots that they are much more forgiving. I get a great brew no matter what coffee I use.

[BaconFat]

.... Have fun! One day you'll get the dreaded "STALL!" Don't be alarmed, it happens to all of us! Merry Christmas!  Jim

Speaking of the "STALL", when that happens what's the best way to address this?  I've thought about pulling or tilting the cory rod and then just pour the coffee through a paper Hario filter into my thermos.

[ptrmorton]

Speaking of the "STALL", when that happens what's the best way to address this?

I pour it through my gold filter into the Bonavita thermal carafe (preheated).  Paper will work, but you will lose some oils and if you are not careful, the coffee will be a bit cool.

[peter]

.... Have fun! One day you'll get the dreaded "STALL!" Don't be alarmed, it happens to all of us! Merry Christmas!  Jim

Speaking of the "STALL", when that happens what's the best way to address this?  I've thought about pulling or tilting the cory rod and then just pour the coffee through a paper Hario filter into my thermos.

If it's a bonafide stall and not just a super slow draw-down, your best bet is to set it aside and let it come to room temperature.  Whatever you do, don't be like the guy who decided to help the cool-down by putting a cold, damp washcloth on it...  KABLOOEY! coffee grounds and glass shards, as far as the eye could see, assuming no shards hit your eyes and you can still see.

I've never had a stall, and if you already nailed it on your first try, I doubt you'll ever have one either.

[Joe]

I used to stall my old Cory widemouth Vacpot because the seal had some small cracks in it. I haven't stalled the Yama yet knock on wood.

On the amount of Grinds I suggest that you grind and measure however you do for a normal 8-cup drip brewer (I have a freiling gold filter for the bonovita that has an 8-cup line that i use. Then you pour the grinds and see how the mound measures and looks compared to the marks on the cory rod. Then you can guess close if you have to. Otherwise use the 8-cup measuring that you did before.