Vacuum pot

The vacuum pot was invented around 1840 by an engineer from Scotland, Robert Napier. Nowadays the vacuum pot is sometimes also being called Cona coffee maker, after the main manufacturer of the vacuum pot.

Preparing coffee with a vacuum pot is a pure attraction. This elegant device uses infusion instead of filtration.

How do you prepare coffee with a Cona coffee maker? First fill the lower bowl with hot water. Now place the other bowl on top of it, together with the dip tube and the plug that fits in. Turn on the vacuum pot (either equipped with a meths burner or working on electricity). Now put ground coffee in the upper bowl (about 10 tablespoons per liter of water). When the water begins to boil, it flows through the dip tube up to the upper bowl. When most of the water has flown up you can turn off the vacuum pot. Stir the coffee mixture for a second with a spoon and then let it all rest. The air in the lower bowl cools down and shrinks now (when air cools down it shrinks). This creates a vacuum, which sucks the liquid coffee back into the lower bowl while the coffee grounds remain in the upper bowl. Now you can disassemble the vacuum pot again and serve the coffee.

Preparing coffee with a vacuum pot is so fun and interesting, that it is ideal for preparing coffee at your diner table, to mark the end of a dinner. Disadvantage of the vacuum pot is that the bowls are very fragile and difficult to clean. Also, it takes rather long to prepare the coffee. But the real coffee lover surely does not mind …

Click on the link to read more about the espresso pot.