Siphon coffee, also known as vacuum coffee, is a fairly recent idea, especially if you ask the younger generations. However, those who have been reading up on this method of preparing coffee will tell you that the idea has been around for two centuries, if not longer. A walk down the archives shows us that the very first vacuum coffee maker patent was put down by someone known only as Loeff, who appears to have been a resident of the city of Berlin in Germany. This took place in the 1830’s. Despite the efforts of this individual, the very first commercial siphon coffee maker was attributed to a French woman known as Marie
Fanny Amelne Massot.
What is siphon coffee?
Siphon coffee is a type of coffee that is obtained when the grounds are mixed with brewing water through siphonage from a flask with two separate chambers. In most cases, the coffee would be stirred twice to make sure that the final product has a good compositions of both coffee and water. In the first instance, stirring is done as soon as the water flows upwards into the area with ground coffee. This is carried out in order to provide a good environment for the ground coffee particles to soak up the right amount of water.
In the second instance of stirring, you are basically looking to make sure that the brew is completely degassed. It also seeks to filter the coffee, making sure that the final brew contains very fine particles
and intermix with the water in a balanced way. The mechanisms applied ensure that the siphonist gets rid of bad taste and flavor. Depth filtration and adsorption filtration are some of the means via which a perfect cup is obtained. This is why the professionals insist that the stirring must be really deft. If not stirred right, coffee will have turbidity, which no one likes.
The anatomy of the siphon brewer
The machine is composed of two chambers. In the lower chamber, a certain amount of water is input and then heated. The pressure bubble created causes the water to ascend in form of vapor, mixing with the coffee grounds at the upper chamber. In the cooling process, the mixture will now drop to the lower chamber, aided to a great extent by the force of gravity. Here, the brew passes through a filter, where the bigger grounds are isolated, giving you a good, fine mix.
Why siphon coffee?
Because of the controlled environment in which this coffee is made, you get at your disposal a cup that tastes way better than it would if prepared by other means. Apart from this kind of coffee tasting better, it also smells better and has an intense aroma that keeps your sensory areas psyched.
Siphon coffee has always been around, but advancements in technology have made the product obtained at the end far better than what people used to sample decade ago. The good news for you coffee nuts at home is that you can simply buy the setup and enjoy the drink from the comfort of your couches.