HOW TO USE A SIPHON COFFEE MAKER: OUR EXPERT BREW GUIDE

I’ve been siphon brewing for years, and I’ve distilled down exactly what you need to know!

I know how intimidating a siphon coffee maker can look, especially those towering and elaborate glass models. But don’t let fear of the unknown stand between you and an incredible cup of coffee. 

This step-by-step guide lets you quickly and confidently master this exceptional brewer. I’ve even thrown in a few expert tips I’ve gleaned from years of experimentation with this device. Prepare to be the talk of your local brunch scene!

How To Use A Siphon Coffee Maker

Brewing coffee with a siphon coffee maker, also known as a vacuum coffee maker or vacuum pot, isn’t always the most practical choice, I admit. But it is definitely a brew method worth having in your repertoire. Home Brews Coffee’ own Steven Holms explains why in this video:

Siphon coffee making has been around for nearly 200 years (1). It’s a full immersion method that produces a delicious cup, pairing the flavor intensity of a French Press with the clean cup of a pour-over. It’s also equal parts art piece, science experiment, and performance (2). If that doesn’t entice you to try this brewing method, I don’t know what will!

What is a siphon coffee maker?

In the most basic design, a siphon coffee brewer consists of two chambers with a filter between them. The upper chamber has a siphon tube at its base, which extends into the lower chamber. A heat source sits below the bottom chamber. A silicone gasket, or something similar, is usually added to create an airtight seal between the chambers.

Step-By-Step Siphon Coffee Recipe

Now that you have your equipment and some background, we’re ready to get started. Let’s learn how what looks like lab equipment in some mad scientist’s lair can produce an incredible cup of specialty coffee.

Step 1: Insert the filter

A siphon coffee maker works with special filters, which are typically small and round. Rinse the filter thoroughly with hot water to remove any pre-existing flavors or aromas. 

Slide the filter into the upper glass portion of your siphon brewer, which is often called the hopper, ensuring it is flat and snug against the bottom of the chamber. Often, a siphon filter has a chain coming out of the bottom side, which you need to secure at the base of the siphon.

Step 2: Add water to the bottom chamber

Add 300 grams of filtered water to the bottom chamber with the heat source underneath. Weighing the water and coffee is the best way to ensure an accurate coffee-to-water ratio, but if you don’t have a scale, measure 11 ounces of water.

Turn the heat source to high. Watch carefully, and as the water approaches a boil, place the upper chamber with the filter on top. There should be a good seal between the two glass chambers.

Step 3: Add the coffee

Weigh out between 20 and 25 grams of coffee beans – depending on the preferred strength of your brew. Grind the beans to medium-coarse using a burr grinder. For reference, I use setting 17 on my Wilfa Uniform.

Once the water in the bottom chamber begins to boil, you will see it rise to the top chamber. At this point, lower the temperature of your heat source. 

Ideally, you want the brewing water to be around 200 ℉, but it may take some trial and error to get it just right. Temperature management is one of the trickiest aspects of brewing with a vacuum pot. If you have an infrared thermometer, it’s one of the best ways to track water temperature in the upper chamber.

Once most of the water is in the upper chamber, add the ground coffee. Stir the coffee with a wooden spoon or bamboo paddle, and start a timer.

Step 4: Brew the coffee

Keep the heat on and the coffee brewing for 1 minute and 30 seconds, giving it another quick stir with the wooden spoon at 45 seconds.

Turn off the heat source once the minute and a half has elapsed. This starts the draw-down, sucking the coffee from the brewing chamber through the filter to fill the vacuum you created in the bottom chamber. 

It takes about a minute to complete the draw-down, yielding a total brew time of around 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The used coffee grounds will form a dome atop the filter.

Step 5: Serve the coffee

Let the coffee sit for a minute or two before serving. Allowing the finished coffee to cool slightly brings out more complexity of flavor. Plus, letting the glass components cool makes them safer to handle.

Remove the upper chamber, and pour the freshly brewed coffee from the lower chamber into your favorite mug. Most people prefer to drink siphon-brewed coffee black, but no rule says you can’t add cream or sugar. 

Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your science experiment. 

Step 6: Clean up

The relatively inconvenient clean-up is one reason people don’t like to brew with siphon coffee makers regularly. The process isn’t difficult, but there are a lot of parts, and you need to treat the glass ones with care. 

First, separate the two chambers. Remove and discard the coffee grounds from the upper chamber, ideally into your compost. Remove the coffee filter. If it’s a paper filter, add it to the compost as well. If it’s a cloth filter, give it a thorough rinse. 

Wash both the glass chambers with warm soapy water, rinse them well, especially around the gasket, and set them to dry.

Final Thoughts

Brewing siphon coffee might not be as simple as pressing “Start” on your automatic drip coffee machine. But I bet it’s not nearly as hard as you thought, right? It might look like a science experiment, but you definitely don’t need a PhD, or even serious barista training, to make great coffee. 

I highly recommend adding a siphon brewer to your arsenal of coffee tools. Then use this guide to really wow the next person you invite for a morning brew.