Silex Vacuum Coffee pots

 

Silex vac pots were produced in Hartford, Connecticut, from the early part of the 20th Century until the 1950's. Their popularity peaked in the 30's when percolators began to take over due to the simplicity of their operation.

With the passing of the vac pots prominent place in the American kitchen, coffee drinkers were left with over extracted, over cooked, or just plain nasty coffee coming from the popular aluminum percolators. Read on and see what they gave up and what you've been missing.

A vacuum coffee maker consists of five main elements:

1) Lower bowl
2) Upper bowl
3) Tube attached to the upper bowl
4) Seal between the lower & upper bowls
5) A filtering device

As water in the lower bowl heats & begins boiling, air-pressure in the lower bowl rises, forcing hot water up the tube into the upper bowl. As long as the pressure in the lower bowl is maintained the coffee will remain in the upper bowl. When the heat source is removed the contents of the lower bowl begins cooling, lowering the air pressure which will begin to pull the coffee from the top bowl past the filter, and into the lower bowl.

A vacuum coffee maker has many advantages over any other method of brewing coffee. Here are some examples:

• The maximum flavor & minimum bitterness is extracted because the heat is easily controlled & the length of extraction can be varied to suit the user's tastes.

• Because of the filtering method employed by vac pots, the coffee produced is remarkably clear & free of sediment.

• When used with a Silex electric stove, the Silex vac pot makes an the attractive combo that lends itself to after dinner brewing at the table.

Comments are welcomed; complaints get very special attention.