Equipment Guides

SIPHON

SIPHON
Siphon coffee maker  was invented around the 1840s and  it’s been refined many times, but a few principles hold true: It produces a delicate cup of coffee and it is one of the coolest brew methods available. It gives you a full bodied cup and all the feel of chemistry labs:)
 

HISTORY OF SIPHON COFFEE BREWER

While the earliest known patent for a vacuum coffee maker was filed by Loeff of Berlin in the 1830s, siphon coffee became popular by  a French woman, who designed the first commercially successful vacuum coffee brewer. Siphon coffee maker was invented more or less simultaneously by a French housewife and Scottish marine engineer.
 

HOW DOES A SIPHON COFFEE MAKER WORK?

So how does a siphon coffee maker work? Science! 
There are 4 main parts to a siphon brewer, here they are from top to bottom:
  • Container for grounds
  • Filter
  • Container for water (with a tube connecting the two containers)
  • Burner

 A siphon coffee pot has two chambers, a carafe on the bottom and a coffee brewer on top. Water goes into the bottom carafe, and ground coffee into the top brewer. When the bottom carafe is exposed to heat (usually by a burner or open flame), the water vapourizes, creating pressure inside the bottom container. The water vapour makes its way up to the top chamber where the coffee is, and brewing takes place.
 
Next, the heat is turned off and the opposite occurs :  the loss of vapour pressure causes water to drop back into the carafe, through a filter placed at the bottom of the upper chamber. This drop is due to gravity and a vacuum effect (which is why siphon coffee is also referred to as vacuum brewing). What’s left is a carafe of fresh coffee that’s bright, rich, and well-filtered.
That’s all there is to it! If you’re a coffee drinker and you’re more of a minimalist and enjoy the process of brewing coffee, a Siphon Brewer is a great way to add a unique piece to your brewing corner. It also adds a new way to brew your coffee compared to other brewing methods. All you need to start brewing is a siphon, patience to perfect the brewing technique and freshly ground coffee.
Otherwise, just order a siphon coffee next time you are at Corridor Seven Coffee Roasters, and compare how you think it tastes to your normal brew method. A bit of science and a bit of drama might just give you the most exciting cup you have had in a while.