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Yama 8 Cup Vac-Pot - Vacuum Pot Siphon Coffee Brewer | 
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| Category: Kitchen
Buy New: $44.99
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 28451
ASIN: B000NBK22W
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Best coffee I've been able to make at home! November 3, 2008
RCP (Texas)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
OK, I have been trying to brew a great cup of coffee for a few years now. I got a Yama a few days ago and it does the best job so far. br / br /THE GOOD POINTS: br / br /The Yama's resulting coffee tastes great, is not bitter, is crystal clear, not muddy, and has *no* grit in the cup -- the filtering works great. br / br /I think one of the secrets to this system might be that the fine particles are completely filtered out so when the brewing stops it REALLY stops. There are no fine coffee grounds continuing to over-extract in the pot and cup after the "official" brewing is over. Another factor is probably the maintenance of a proper brewing temperature. br / br /Coffee prepared in the Yama even retains its good taste as it cools in the cup. br / br /THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED TO GET USED TO: br / br /Be prepared to have a more hands-on approach to coffee making and cleanup than with an automatic drip or even with a French Press. See TIPS below. Also, you don't want to leave water boiling unattended in a glass pot. br / br /You will want, if not absolutely require, a decent burr grinder so you can fine tune and get a consistent grind that does not clog the filter. br / br /QUALITY: br / br /Overall, quality is quite high but I have already had to make two minor repairs/adjustments. Hardly worth mentioning, but here they are: br / br /1. The chain used to hook the filter to the siphon tube came off. This is because I wasn't careful when setting the siphon in the stand that the upside down lid provides. I had to reattach the chain to the hook and squeeze the hook a little with pliers to firm up the connection. See TIP 3, below. br / br /2. The handle is held onto the pot by a metal collar that is attached to the handle with a screw. I had to tighten the screw. br / br /COMPARED TO OTHERS: br / br /This is my first siphon (aka vacuum pot) coffee maker so I can't give a first-hand comparison of its performance to others of its kind but it is reasonably priced, well made, and it works. It even looks as good as or better than most. Maybe the Cona looks a little nicer but the Cona costs four times as much and I bet its filter system doesn't work as well! br / br /Up until now I have been using a Technivorm Moccamaster KBT-741 (auto drip) but found that the best way to use it required quite a bit of hand-tending anyway. Stirring and messing with the drip control on the filter basket were needed to keep the grounds properly exposed to the water. I use a "gold" filter instead of paper since that gives better flavor but it does leave mud and grit in the cup, although not as much as French Press. The Technivorm cost over $200. The Yama makes better coffee for less than one fourth the price. br / br /A French Press is about the same price as the Yama and almost as fussy to work with but, in my opinion, doesn't make coffee nearly as good. br / br /TIPS: br / br /(I ended up writing quite a bit here, but don't let all these details scare you off. They -- or your personal equivalents -- will become second nature after just a few brewing cycles. After all, this was the way many people made coffee 50+ years ago. We have traded away good coffee for a very small bit of convenience. These tips might make more sense after using your Yama once or twice.) br / br /1. Bring the water to a near boil in the bottom section *before* attaching the top part (the siphon and filter assembly). This prevents water from seeping up into the top before it is at a good brewing temperature. "Near boil" may be obvious to most, but to be precise we want a temperature of about 200F (95C). You could use a cooking thermometer once to be sure you can recognize what the water looks like at that temperature. It will show obvious signs of boiling but not be at a full "rolling boil". br / br /2. You can tend to other things while the water is coming up to temperature. I grind the coffee, assemble the top section and fill it with the ground coffee. I also preheat the carafe I will transfer the brewed coffee to (using hot water from the tap) and preheat the cups (microwave). br / br /3. When attaching the filter with the spring-loaded hook, be sure that the CHAIN HANGS STRAIGHT DOWN and does not jut off to the side. This is how I knocked off the chain while setting the siphon in the stand as mentioned in QUALITY item number 1, above. br / br /4. Once the water is up to temperature, turn the heat way down and insert the top section WITH LID IN PLACE. Water will rise to the top (in just a few seconds -- it's a little dramatic!). Now give it a quick stir to get a good water/grounds mixture. br / br /5. Leave the heat on low while waiting the prescribed time for extraction to take place. This keeps a simmer in the small amount of water that, by design, is left in the bottom section. The simmer maintains the pressure that keeps the water up in the top section. It also keeps the mixture at the proper temperature and causes a little agitation to keep things well mixed. br / br /I give it about 30 seconds. This combined with the time it takes the water to rise, the time used stirring, and the draw-down time (next step) are what add up to the total brewing time. In my case this adds up to somewhere between two and three minutes, shorter than the generally recommended four minutes brew time but it seems right for my taste. br / br /6. Remove the pot from the heat. I set it on a cutting board. In a few moments the coffee will start to descend from the top to the bottom. What happens is that as the pot cools the water vapor in it reverts to a liquid form causing a partial vacuum that sucks the brewed coffee from the top to the bottom. It should take one or two minutes for the coffee to completely draw down. Nearly all liquid will be drawn from the top and eventually the coffee in the bottom pot will be almost to the level where it was originally filled. When this point is reached it will start "sucking air" resulting in foaming and bubbling in the pot with associated noises. br / br /7. You can now remove the siphon assembly. Use a pot holder to rock it back and forth and break the vacuum seal, being careful NOT TO BANG THE SIPHON TUBE. If you do this before the "sucking air" mentioned above the vacuum may make it a little more difficult to remove the siphon assembly. br / br /This is one of the TRICKIEST PARTS. You are handling an oddly shaped piece of hot glass. A good time and place to be extra careful. I have found that, once loosened, I can dispense with the pot holder and lift off the top part using two hands. It's hot but not *too* hot and this seems safer than using a pot holder. br / br /8. The first adjustment you may need to make to your routine is the degree of grind you use. Too fine and it can clog the filter causing the draw-down to take too long. Too coarse and you don't get good extraction. br / br /This is the other TRICKY PART. You want to use as fine a grind as you can while still having the draw-down complete in about one or two minutes. I use what I use for automatic drip which is near the coarse end of the scale. The point here is that you want to achieve a consistent brewing time and a shorter, consistent, draw-down time gives you more control (in step 5). br / br /9. Once you have the previous paragraph worked out you can adjust the strength of your brew by the amount of coffee you grind and the time you let it simmer before removing it from the heat. br / br /10. Be sure to keep the cloth filter clean and change it regularly, perhaps every week or so. I am not sure what the best way to clean it is. I put it in the dishwasher. I have seen recommendations for bleach and OxyClean. The pot does come with two filter cloths (one installed and an extra) but you should probably order the Yama Vacpot Replacement Cloth Vacuum Pot Filters (5) when you order the Yama pot. br / br /BONUS TIPS! br / br /1. The spent grounds make good compost, especially for plants that like acidic soils. This includes roses. br / br /2. When cleaning out the siphon assembly in the sink be careful not to let water and grounds shoot out the siphon tube at the bottom and get all over you and the floor! br / br /MY BACKGROUND: br / br /I grind my own beans and order them fresh-roasted from several sources but I don't go to the trouble to roast my own. I use chlorinated, softened, filtered, reverse-osmosis water -- not because I actively chose to do so but because that's what I have available and it seems good enough. Filtering and RO are supposed to make it OK to use chlorinated and softened water. I think the water tastes great by itself. br / br /
Siphon brewers are simple to use. October 18, 2008
dmf (Georgia USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The 8 cup Yama works great with the cloth filter (if you don't mind washing it); it also works great with the Bodum Santos filter after you stretch the wire a bit. I tried a glass rod filter, but it let the coffee in the top leak down to the bottom during the brewing process. br / br /Vacuum coffee is definitely a step up from drip; plus this pot works on a gas stove, great for a power outage.
A great product December 5, 2007
Dick Kruse (Houston, TX)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I have used a Yama 8 cup vac-Pot for some two years now and am totally delighted with it. It is not only visually attractive, I still love to watch the vacuum siphon the brewed coffee into the pot below. I'm still amazed at how dry the spent coffee is after the siphon has drawn the coffee down through the grounds and into the pot. I've found that the ideal brewing time for the best tasting coffee is four (4) minutes, just like brew time for a French Press. The coffee is consistently delicious to the last drop. br /My only wish is that it would make more coffee as it only makes about two and a half standard cups of coffee. br /I couldn't recommend it higher. I'm going to buy an extra one to have on the shelf just in case I drop and break the one I use daily. br /Dick - Houston
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