Perfect 1 - 2 cup brewer.

[Tex]

I picked up a 5-cup Yama Tabletop vac pot the other day, and I've decided that it's now my non-espresso coffee maker of choice. First; understand that what Yama calls 5-cups is really two typical American coffee mugs.

First I preheat the water before I pour it into the lower pot using a funnel. Then I light the can of Sterno (preferred over the alky burner) and as soon as the water returns to a boil I put the top pot in place.

After all of the water has risen to the top I dump in my coffee, give it quick stir, and start the count down timer at three minutes. When the timer goes off I push the Sterno can out from under the pot and slip the top on it.

After the coffee settles back into the lower bowl I pull the top unit off & set it into the holder/top. I then decant the perfect cup of drip coffee; which to be blunt about it is nowhere as good as espresso/Americano.

The Yama Tabletop vac pot will be added to my emergency storm equipment and the Silex returned to display status. This is a good thing because all of my vintage Silex's are worth many times more than the Yama.

If your looking for a one or two cup coffee maker then I recommend the 5-cup Yama Tabletop. They can be found at very reasonable prices by searching.

[bobvilax2000]

Have you had much luck getting a good single cup out of it? It's definitely the best cup if I use it at full capacity, but lower quantities suffer presumably because of the water left in the lower chamber. Maybe the rounded butane globes leave less water behind making smaller quantities better.

- -Barrett

[Tex]

I fill to the 3-cup level for single cups (primarily all I've used). It makes an excellent single cup of coffee - better than a Melitta single cup & almost as good as the Americano I make using my HX espresso machine.

[peter]

I have the Yama 5-cup stovetop (from B|Java) and found as Barrett did, that for a single cup too much water is left in the bottom and the coffee is somewhat diluted.

But for a full pot (like Tex says, about 2 full mugs) it's a fantastic brewer.

Why monkey around with a Sterno and preheating water tho?  Other than wanting to be ready for power outages, a stovetop is far more practical.

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

Yep... vacpot is the best... especially if you can get a Cory Rod filter in the mix (IMHO)

I look forward to my 5 cup stove top yama from B|vacpot so I can make just 2 mugs instead of using my Cory gasketless

did you see this thread..

[John F]

I have the Yama 5-cup stovetop (from B|Java) and found as Barrett did, that for a single cup too much water is left in the bottom and the coffee is somewhat diluted.

But for a full pot (like Tex says, about 2 full mugs) it's a fantastic brewer.

[Tex]

I have the Yama 5-cup stovetop (from B|Java) and found as Barrett did, that for a single cup too much water is left in the bottom and the coffee is somewhat diluted.

But for a full pot (like Tex says, about 2 full mugs) it's a fantastic brewer.

Why monkey around with a Sterno and preheating water tho?  Other than wanting to be ready for power outages, a stovetop is far more practical.

I've got stove top vac pots & vac pots with hot plates. But since I've always got the electric kettle on @200°F, I figure using preheated water speeds up the process. Almost as fast as instant coffee!

The curvature of the bottom pot leaves just enough water in the bottom pot to keep the heat from damaging it - much less than the flat-bottom stove top models.

The Tabletop model is cooler looking too - and once I figure out how to rig it up to use a small hot plate I won't be using Sterno except for power outages.

[peter]

What kind of electric kettle do you use that keeps water at 200F?

[Tex]

What kind of electric kettle do you use that keeps water at 200F?

One I PID'd a couple of years ago. Simple mod really & perfect for tea.


BTW - If you want to do this you'll need a cordless kettle - the PID was built into a base for the heating unit.

[John F]

better than a Melitta single cup & almost as good as the Americano I make using my HX espresso machine.

I don't look at it that way...

I take all the brewers separately for what they bring to the cup and sometimes I just want vac pot or other times I might want French Press or pour over.... espresso... Aeropress iced...Vietnamese iced. They are all different cups.

[Tex]

better than a Melitta single cup & almost as good as the Americano I make using my HX espresso machine.

I don't look at it that way...

I take all the brewers separately for what they bring to the cup and sometimes I just want vac pot or other times I might want French Press or pour over.... espresso... Aeropress iced...Vietnamese iced. They are all different cups.

True, but not everyone has room nor the inclination to keep eighteen different coffee makers. If I could only keep two, it'd be a vac pot & an espresso machine.

But that's my personal choice - you may prefer two different coffee makers.

[John F]

True, but not everyone has room nor the inclination to keep eighteen different coffee makers.

1) I would laugh right at those people. 

2) I would advise them to throw away their couch on the next heavy trash day to make room.

If I could only have 2 brewers I would cry a lot for starters but I'd have to choose pour over cone and espresso machine. The vac pot for me is best when the right coffee comes along and the vac pot makes it sing the way only a vac pot can do. 

[Tex]

Of course if I only kept two coffee makers my wife would want to know who I am and where's her husband? Right now, I have three HX's, four Gaggia's, a dozen of so vac pots, one Aeropress, three press pots, three drip machines, and a few cone pour overs. Then there's a collection of moka pots (stove top & electric) and a few lever machines, plus I'm sure there are more somewhere hidden away.

So the reference to only having two machines was a hypothetical situation, not one I'd advocate in real life. I use different brewing methods for different drinks; for instance, for NO's style cafe au lait I use a Bialetti Venus. But day in & day out, I'll stick by my two favorites - vac pot & espresso machine.

[peter]

 But day in & day out, I'll stick by my two favorites - vac pot & espresso machine.

Yeah, I guess if I didn't know how to use a french press, those would be my choices too.   

[Tex]

 But day in & day out, I'll stick by my two favorites - vac pot & espresso machine.

Yeah, I guess if I didn't know how to use a french press, those would be my choices too.   

The thought of using a french anything - ugggh!   
:icon_puke_r: :icon_puke_l: