TheBigDripper Senior Member Joined: 5 Jun 2012 Posts: 42 Location: Texas Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Bialetti 6-cup moka pot Grinder: Vintage Zassenhaus Drip: Too many too list
Posted Sat Jul 7, 2012, 4:47pm Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
Thanks for *all* replies, guys. I'm leaning toward the grind as the culprit. As my mill is probably several centuries old, I may have to resort to grinding my stuff at the store. (Oh, the top stays off, as I use it as the stand it's meant to be. After reading about one of these things popping, I'm trying to avoid making a mess in the kitchen...and my face!)
Posted Sat Jul 7, 2012, 4:57pm Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
keep in mind that if you're grinding coffee at the store and taking it home to use, it will be stale.
actually, it will likely be stale even if you dont grind it there. the stuff at most supermarkets have been sitting on the shelves for a lot longer than is optimal.
TheBigDripper Senior Member Joined: 5 Jun 2012 Posts: 42 Location: Texas Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Bialetti 6-cup moka pot Grinder: Vintage Zassenhaus Drip: Too many too list
Posted Sat Jul 7, 2012, 5:22pm Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
Even if the store is four blocks away? The whole bean, according to the Coffee Guy that stocks it, is from a local roaster & changed out every two weeks. So *he* says.
Posted Sat Jul 7, 2012, 6:12pm Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
I"ve been very interested in this thread, being a new Vac pot user, too. Have the Cona "C" and a Hario Nouveau 3 cup on the way.
Keep It Simple: How long do you keep it brewing "up North?" AMA Writer commented on his time. At what grind?
I'm still experimenting with different grinds and up North times. I finally had one stall on the Cona....Not sure what happened. Next pot, I made a coarser grind and it was perfect.
But several have commented on trying a "finer" grind than drip. Going to experiment that.
I see the Yama pot doesn't stall! Great! I'm thinking the Hario Nouveau with the included filter won't ever have a problem, either. I ordered a stainless mesh filter for it to swap back and forth.
Heard lots of good things about the old Silex!!
By the way, I like the tip of putting the heat on again if there is a stall to drive the fines out! I just let mine slooooooowly drip, also.
alanfrew Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 596 Location: Melbourne Expertise: Professional
Posted Sun Jul 8, 2012, 1:02am Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
IMAWriter Said:
Alan, your post must have showed up whilst I was slowly typing mine!!
Dave, Alan is a MOST respected coffee professional, and I would certainly view any materials he has on the subject. I might interject that all these beastie brewers have their little quirks, and the additional of multiple filter options increases that quirkiness.
That said, I think you might want to consider the most dependable vac pot I've ever used, the Yama stove top. Absolutely FOOLPROOF. Terrific gasket design. They come in 5 cup and 8 cup (40oz, Texas size! LOL) Just Google Yama vacuum brewer, etc.
In over 100 uses, with 4 different grinders, I've NEVER had a stuck pot, not even CLOSE. As Alan said, it's looking like your grinder, or the grind itself could be the issue.
Dunno about "most respected" but certainly approaching "most ancient". I just did a quick bit of arithmetic and realised I've brewed over 200,000 vac pots so far, mostly in model "A" Conas. The important brewing parameters are the same as for drip or plunger coffee, i.e. coffee to water ratio, brew temperature, steep time and grind size.
~ 2 minutes + draw down time which is probably about 30 seconds or so. Provided you don't go a lot longer than that it doesn't seem to affect the brew very much. (2 minutes is convenient as well 'cos that's how long my toaster takes to do 4 slices at breakfast, so it's useful to let that give me the signal ;o)
Grind - don't have any of the kit necessary to do the kind of precise analysis some folk do, but I use the same grind as for drip, although I think that is slightly on the finer side of what most people use.
Posted Sun Jul 8, 2012, 1:22am Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
alanfrew Said:
Dunno about "most respected" but certainly approaching "most ancient". I just did a quick bit of arithmetic and realised I've brewed over 200,000 vac pots so far, mostly in model "A" Conas. .....
Model "A" ! - have coveted one of those for years, but they're all but unobtainable over here ;o( Would be ideal for my breakfast cuppa if I'm on my own.
Wish Cona would put them back in production (the Model"B" as well, although I have got hold of a couple of those).
Posted Sun Jul 8, 2012, 1:33am Subject: Re: Vacuum pot..drip...drip...
TheBigDripper Said:
Thanks for *all* replies, guys. I'm leaning toward the grind as the culprit. As my mill is probably several centuries old, I may have to resort to grinding my stuff at the store. (Oh, the top stays off, as I use it as the stand it's meant to be. After reading about one of these things popping, I'm trying to avoid making a mess in the kitchen...and my face!)
You wouldn't need to spend a great deal on a grinder that is up to the job. For anything other than espresso, I use a fairly low-end Dualit grinder (which is a badged version of the Solis 166, aka Starbucks Barista) and that works fine. In the US I think there are several options in the same sort of price range sold by Baratza or similar.
The Grinder reviews on here will help you. Bear in mind you don't have to get a grinder that's up to doing espresso anyway.
Don't worry about putting the top on, BTW - a lot of brewers don't come with one anyway.
~ 2 minutes + draw down time which is probably about 30 seconds or so. Provided you don't go a lot longer than that it doesn't seem to affect the brew very much. (2 minutes is convenient as well 'cos that's how long my toaster takes to do 4 slices at breakfast, so it's useful to let that give me the signal ;o)
Grind - don't have any of the kit necessary to do the kind of precise analysis some folk do, but I use the same grind as for drip, although I think that is slightly on the finer side of what most people use.
Thanks for the tip! I ground to the coarsest medium setting and steeped for 1minute, 20 seconds with a 30 second drawdown. So, about 2 minutes, as you suggested.
Coffee was PERFECT!! Came right down in a few seconds and no hint of a stall!
I think there's as much "black art" as science about using these sorts of pots, but once you've got a base process that works for you pretty well locked down, a bit of experimentation with the grind/timing variables etc. and trying the result is easy to do.
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