Saturday, July 17, 2004


vac pot amusement

eager to repeat yesterday's heavenly experience with sidamo, i got out the trusty bodum santos vac pot, ground up the fresh batdorf coffee, measured 55g. of coffee into the top globe, filled the bottom globe with one liter of water and waited for the boil.

ah! but as the water was about to boil, i got called away. i returned to find water boiling furiously. i turned the heat down a bit, popped on the top globe (with lid in place), and watched a freak thing happen.

the water was still boiling intensely, and i heard a little "ping!" as the hook that holds the filter in place at the bottom of the tube (see step 4) -- it must have been a bit loose and then jostled free by the hard boil -- unhooked itself and recoiled on its spring up the tube with such force it sent the filter flying up to slam into the lid.

with the filter came a huge spurt of water, which hit the fresh coffee, which bloomed like a fiend! the lid was knocked slightly ajar, and the bloom foamed at the very top, threatening to explode and bring a volcano of boiling water, coffee grounds and filter right to the ceiling and all over yours truly.

i quickly slapped the lid back into place -- luckily this gesture didn't knock over the top-heavy pot -- and turned off the heat. the water and coffee grounds instantly fell into the bottom globe.

note to self: always double-check to insure filter is properly and firmly in place when using vac pot. always use lid when vac pot brewing! never leave vac pot unattended on stove top. never let water in vac pot come to full roiling boil!

the second pot brewed uneventfully. ah -- delicious sidamo!

but perhaps time for me to consider vac pot brewing in a slightly different and more stable configuration. royal coffee palladium balance syphon brewer, anyone?

posted by fortune | 11:59 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments