richedie Senior Member Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 683 Location: Pennsylvania Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Nov 2, 2006, 10:08am Subject: Re: Found this coffee maker online...and they ship to canada
If you want something similar tot he Eva at a cheaper price....just use a good french press or Tirra reverse press with a good thermal sleeve like the CoffeeCosy sleeve. However, Espresso, Moka and Brikka coffee is far and away my preferred over all other methods.
JimWright Senior Member Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Posts: 252 Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Espresso: LM GS/3, Estro Profi Grinder: Macap M7KR Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Other: Eva Solo, Press Pot
Posted Fri Dec 29, 2006, 8:34pm Subject: Re: Eva Solo Cafe Solo
Just for the record for anyone looking at this review pre-purchase, I've had one of these for less than a year and the glass carafe spontaneously cracked in the dishwasher (nothing else next to it/banging on it, no discernible cause whatsoever). These are supposed to be dishwasher-safe.
Now I have just a plastic stirring spoon and an otherwise-useless filter and knit carafe jacket (which also started falling apart after only a few months despite very gentle handling) for my $75... you can apparently buy replacement carafes but they're not cheap ($43 + shipping), and while I liked mine, I'll think twice before paying for another carafe when I could buy a 12-cup double walled Bodum press pot for less $ at the local Bed Bath & Beyond.
eweiss Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2007 Posts: 94 Location: North Texas Expertise: I like coffee
Grinder: Starbucks Barista Burr
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2007, 6:19pm Subject: Re: Eva Solo Cafe Solo
Wouldn't a double-walled Bodum French Press do the same thing?
(I saw a 32 oz. one for $50 retail at Starbucks - a Shin Bistro model, but with a glass handle - which is probably why I won't buy it, and why it's $10 cheaper than the regular Shin Bistro with a plastic handle held on with the metal ring, or $40 cheaper than the Chambord with the fancier top and a full metal holder w/plastic handle.)
I.e., the double wall keeps the brew hot during steeping. So if you pour it into a thermos after the 4 minutes instead of letting it stay in the pot, wouldn't it be as good as the Eva Solo coffee (though with perhaps a bit coarser sediment)?
Posted Tue Jan 22, 2008, 2:34am Subject: Re: Eva Solo Cafe Solo
I was intrigued by the Eva Solo coffee maker, but the price (particularly now that the US dollar has tanked) makes it too much of a risk. However, after looking at the design, I realized that a standard laboratory flask, the Erlenmeyer kind that is shaped like an inverted cone, might be able to stand in for the designer carafe. I picked up a 500ml flask from a local science/toy/hobby store for about US$7. I also bought a metal "Swissgold"-style drip coffee filter on sale at Starbucks for US$4. My original idea was to use the metal mesh from filter to create an in-flask filter like the one in the Eva Solo, but I realized that I could just pour the finished coffee through the filter into my cup.
Here's the procedure:
Grind enough beans for one large serving (maybe 10oz) of very strong coffee, using a slightly finer than a drip grind. I use an old Armin Trosser hand grinder for this.
Pour the ground coffee into the flask. A simple funnel made from a piece of paper makes this easier.
Wrap the flask in a wool sock, or some kitchen towels, or anything else that will insulate it.
Pour in about 10oz of water that has been boiled, then cooled for 30 seconds or so.
Stir the coffee 30 times with a chopstick, or any other utensil that won't chip the glass.
Cover the whole thing with another kitchen towel and wait four minutes.
Handling the flask carefully, so that any grounds that have settled stay at the bottom of the flask, slowly pour the coffee through the filter and into your cup.
The result is a really good cup of coffee. It's better than I've been able to make with a French press.
Some notes: - You might be able to brew two cups in a 500ml flask, but a 1000ml flask costs only a few dollars more. - Don't use any other type of carafe, unless, like the Eva Solo and the lab glassware, it is made from Pyrex or an equivalent heat-resistant glass. Regular glass containers will break from the heat of boiling water. - Even boiling water cools down to about 185 degrees F. in the flask within seconds. It might even be well under 200 degrees by the time it falls through the air and hits the ground coffee in the bottom of the flask. I'm seeing the best results if I let the boiling water cool a bit first, so that the coffee brews at around 175 degrees. This is well below the usually-recommended range of 195-200, but I notice that this matches the recommended brewing temperature for the Aerobie Aeropress. I'm beginning to think that the higher temperature range doesn't apply to non-immersion coffee-making techniques. - The filtering works best if you hold the filter at a slight angle, so that the side of the filter interrupts the stream of coffee at a 45 degree angle. This allows the liquid to go right through the mesh, while the grounds slide down into the bottom of the filter. I find that I can extract almost all the liquid this way. - The Erlenmeyer flask method of making coffee is functionally equivalent to that of the Eva Solo, though I have to admit I haven't tried a real Eva Solo to confirm this. The main difference is the presentation. The Eva Solo is a piece of functional art that makes you look sophisticated and urbane. The flask method makes you look like the sort of slob who still makes bookshelves out of pine boards and old bricks, even twenty years after leaving college. - The people who sell you the flask will assume that your buying it to furnish a meth lab. Explaining that you are going to make coffee in it will only confirm their suspicions.
Posted Wed Oct 14, 2009, 5:54pm Subject: Re: Eva Solo Cafe Solo
This thread is probably too old to get any attention, but ...
How do you get get the grinds out of the Eva Solo after you've poured out the brew? Are you adding some more water to the carafe and dumping them down the sink/disposal? I don't suppose there's any other way?
Posted Thu Oct 15, 2009, 3:16pm Subject: Re: Eva Solo Cafe Solo
Found the answer myself, by buying one ... of course. Curiosity got this cat. Here is what it says in the included manual:
Leave the last bit of coffee in the flask as it will contain more dregs than the rest. Do not tip the coffee dregs into the sink. First empty most of the grains into the waste bin. Then pour some clean water into the flask, swirl it around, replace the filter and place the flask upside down in the sink. After a few minutes the remaining dregs have collected around the filter and can easily be emptied into the waste bin.
For those of us who keep small cans for compost on the counter I suppose you could always put a small mesh strainer over the sink drain, pour the dregs into it and then knock that out into the compost can.
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