How Does the Siphon Coffee Brewing Method Work?
Never has a coffee brewing device divided opinion quite like the coffee siphon.
On one side, you have those who are head over heels in love with it. They’ll confidently tell you that it is the best brewing method ever invented and produces superior results, every time.
On the other, you have those who say it’s all form and no function. At least, in the sense that it is excessively complicated and unnecessarily expensive.
Truth is, there’s right on both sides of the argument. Yes, the siphon coffee brewing system is something of a mad scientist’s dream come true. It’s fairly complicated and elaborate in the extreme, embracing the theatrics of brewing coffee in a big way.
But at the same time, you cannot deny that the resulting brew is absolutely exquisite. Smooth, silky and sumptuous in the extreme, you simply have to taste a good cup of siphon coffee to appreciate it.
Boiled Down to the Basics
As is often the case, siphon coffee isn’t nearly as intimidating once you get to grips with the basics. It’s a coffee brewing method rooted in science, but so are all coffee brewing methods.
With siphon coffee, the process works on the principle of the expansion and contraction of gases. It’s a system designed to ensure optimum extraction and pinpoint precise infusion, resulting in the cleanest possible cup with no burning or bitterness.
The four primary components all siphon coffee makers consist of are as follows:
- The top container where the brewing takes place
- The bottom container (or globe) that contains the water
- The rubber gasket to ensure the required vacuum is created
- The filter to separate the coffee grounds from the liquid
A siphon coffee maker is also reliant on a heat source, which may be built into the device or provided by way of a standard stovetop.
In terms of how it all works, water is added to the globe at the bottom of the device in a carefully measured quantity. As the water is heated, it begins to generate steam which forces the near-boiling (but never fully boiling) water up the central internal siphon.
This production of steam keeps the coffee brewing environment within the chamber and the perfect temperature. As the steam cools and turns back into water, it is drawn back into the lower chamber through the coffee grounds. These changes in water temperature affect the pressure within the device, creating a vacuum effect and assisting with the extraction process.
When the required amount of time has passed, the finished coffee collects in the globe at the bottom, before being theatrically decanted into suitably elaborate drinking vessels.
It sounds complex in writing, but is actually quite straightforward when you see the process in motion. If in doubt, there’s no shortage of YouTube videos demonstrating the principle in a more visual capacity.
Though it has to be said that the best way to understand and appreciate siphon coffee is to pick up a device and give it a try yourself!
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