My first vintage vacuum coffee maker!

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Nice Unit! Congrats

However IIRC there is a trivet one is supposed to use for vintage glass vac pots when using electric ranges. It goes between the burner and the pot.

Vintage small electric burners sold with or for glass vacuum coffeemakers were designed so the pot was "held" slightly above the electic coils rather than resting directly on them.

Have the same Silex unit though in red, and hardly ever use the thing. For one the colour is rare and then there is cleaning down that narrow opening for the lower pot.

You can use either Silex or Cory glass rods in these units, or Silex ceramic and cloth filters.
 
I wonder why they quit making these coffee pots?  Could safety have anything to do with it, because the water is boiling up into the upper pot?
 
"I wonder why they quit making these coffee pots? Could safety have anything to do with it, because the water is boiling up into the upper pot?"

Vacuum pots are still made, although, of course, some makers of years gone by have exited the business. Vacuum pots have just become very uncommon. This is only speculation--but I'd guess it wasn't safety, it was more a lack of interest in the market. And that loss of interest I suspect was quite likely due to "easier" coffee making systems. And I have to admit that this is a factor for me--I find other systems easier to deal with. I like vacuum pots, but it's not something I'd want to deal with every day. And I'd NEVER want to deal with a breakable glass vacuum pot first thing in the day
 
Once Automatic Perks and Later Drip Coffee Makers

Came on the scene post WWII, housewives and others abandoned vacuum coffee making. Some odd methods such as Chemex and or filter press pots hung about and had a certain "European" cachet that made one feel sophiscated when doing coffee for guests, but that was a niche market.

Sunbeam and Cory did try to compete with their automatic vacuum pots with various levels of sucess.

As for dealing with hot glass first thing in the morning, Pyrex and Corningware made perk pots that were used by hundreds of post WWII housewives. The only real worry about vac pots is having enough wits about one in dealing with the glass upper chamber after brewing is done.

Quite allot of persons *discovered* vacuum coffee pots fed up with the tepid water most if not all modern drip pots use to brew coffee (like clothes irons modern safety has lead the dumbing down), and would rather die than drink perked coffee.
 
"Quite allot of persons *discovered* vacuum coffee pots fed up with the tepid water most if not all modern drip pots use to brew coffee (like clothes irons modern safety has lead the dumbing down), and would rather die than drink perked coffee."

A little off vintage vacuum topic...but this makes me wonder about modern automatic drip makers. I don't know what changes have occurred--but as I think of it, something must have changed. I have not had any automatic drip coffee that I've particularly liked in YEARS. And yet, as I think of it, I don't recall such objections when I was younger--and, frankly, back then more of a connoisseur/snob. I didn't think automatic drip was the best, but for daily drinking, I had no objection. The last automatic drip maker I bought with the idea of using daily was a "good name" brand that I used maybe 5 times total before giving up. Thank goodness I didn't buy it new. So I'm now wondering...when did drip coffee makers get compromised quality? I'm guessing 1990s--but that's only a guess.
 
See Link Above

@CoffeeGeek's Site.

Last time one checked he had some information regarding drip coffee makers and when things started to go down hill.

Major change was that brewing temps were dropped well below what is required to make a good cup of coffee. For just as with tea there is a set temperature range where full flavor is released for coffee and it isn't "warm" water.

Reaching the proper temperture before going over the grounds is critical for a drip coffee maker. Unlike perked or even vacuum coffee the water only has one pass through those grounds, and if everything isn't right that's just too darn bad.

One can only assume being how persons sue anyone at the drop of a hat in the United States, someone found "hot" coffee too hot and made a federal case of things. Done enough times and or for large amounts of money appliance makers got the message.

Next to vacuum coffeemakers vintage drip machines from say the 1970's and 1980's do well on fleaPay, estate sales and elsewhere.
 
Vacuum pots were at one time restaurant standards, though the components tended to be stainless rather than glass. Remember Nomad from Star Trek? His head was the vacuum basket from a restaurant coffeemaker. A Cory IINM.

Only thing worse for coffee flavor than underheating is overheating, and that's what percolators do. They're quite entertaining, but coffee conniseurs (snobs?) have no greater disdain than for percolators.

Underheating is why a single cup made in a 12c dripolater tastes abominable. Not if you preheat the basket and grounds. Fill the basket with boiling water, lower the filter and grounds into it, wait 30-60 seconds for it to drain and smell like coffee, THEN install into Mr. Coffee. I just did it 10 hours ago, and will do it again 13 hours from now. Perfect.
 
Not Just Restaurants

Military past and IIRC today still use those huge SS "Nicro" vacuum coffee pots. They can be found at least in officer's mess/kitchens all over US bases.

What a fast way to make quite allot of great coffee.

Those Nicro SS vac pot sets go for *Big* money. Bigger still if NIB.

IIRC restaurant supply places still sell such units but not sure who makes them.
 

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