Some years ago, I wandered into the coffee forum at e-gullet and asked for help making the best possible coffee at home without an espresso machine. The answer: get a vacuum coffee pot (otherwise known as a “siphon pot“). This method of making coffee was created by a French woman in the 1840’s for the same reason I’d gone looking: she wanted to make a great cup of coffee for her husband. The pot itself looks like something out of a science lab, as it is basically all glass, even one version of the filter. No plastic to taint your coffee, no paper to filter out any of the flavorful oils. Coffee is infused, not boiled, at just the right temperature. And it’s just a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
The moderator for that coffee forum was Owen O’Neill, and as it turned out, he was living right here in Syracuse! Of course we’ve become friends since that first online conversation, and when I discovered that Origins Cafe in Homer, NY, was actually making siphon coffee, I had to invite him and hubby Dave to go try it out. The only other cafe serving siphon coffee in the northeast, that I’m aware of, is Ray’s Cafe and Tea House in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. We had checked it out last winter and it was everything we’d hoped for. But to find it being made this close to home? Bonanza! (photos on next page)
So a bit over a month ago we went to Homer, a tiny historic town just north of Cortland, and had one of the finest coffee experiences to be found anywhere in the northeast.
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- Origins interior
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- Origins pastries
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- Origins cold drinks
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- Upper chamber with cloth-covered porcelain filter in place, lit burner, ground coffee
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- Two chambers separate
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- Michelle pours very hot water into lower chamber
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- Turning up the heat
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- Michelle sets the upper chamber into the lower. The gasket on the spout makes a tight seal.
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- Craig watches as the near-boiling water “goes north” into the upper chamber
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- Michelle adjusts the heat seconds before pouring freshly ground coffee into upper chamber
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- Michelle uses a wooden paddle to stir the grounds into the water
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- A lovely crema immediately develops on top of the coffee infusion
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- Air bubbles from the bottom chamber keep coffee moving while brewing in the upper chamber
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- Owen (left) and Dave patiently wait for their coffee
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- You can buy a vacuum (siphon) coffee pot at Origins
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- Lots of fun coffee toys to buy!
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- Of course you’ll grind your own fresh beans with a home grinder
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- After a couple minutes, coffee is removed from heat, lower chamber starts to cool
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- A cool cloth on the lower chamber helps create the vacuum that pulls the filtered coffee “south” from the upper chamber
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- Coffee “going south” through cloth filter, leaving grounds in upper chamber
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- A “dome” of coffee remains behind inside the upper chamber
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- Michelle gently breaks the seal and removes the upper chamber
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- Coffee is now ready to serve. Be careful! It is very hot.
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- Your coffee is ready. Start by sipping it from the spoon.
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- Ethiopian Sidamo Korate Natural. Amazing coffee!
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- Trompe l’oeil coffee cup
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- Don’t forget to pay for your coffee!
Origins Cafe, one of the Coffee Mania group of coffee emporiums, is located at 95 Clinton Street in Homer, NY. Open every day, you can see their hours here.
Vacuum coffee pots can be bought new or used. I have found all of mine on eBay throughout the years for under $25. Each one behaves a bit differently, and there are differences in the results depending on what type of filter you use. In any case, you will not be cluttering up the waste stream with paper filters nor your body with plastic molecules. If you can maintain a Zen-like calm while handling these all-glass pots (they will break if knocked hard enough), they will reward you with the most sensuous, entertaining and delicious coffee experience.
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