Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting

Yama Vacuum Brewing Pictorial
(Cona and Bodum Santos Too)

Here is a step by step pictorial to brewing in the Yama vacuum brewer. Here I am using the 5 cup model with the Cona glass filter rod. This is a great day-to-day, low cost vacuum brewing setup. Undoubtedly, if you brew this way you will find your own method to brew, but here is the way I get great results...

yama_vacuum_brewing1
okay, here we are ready to go. on a gas stove, you do not need the wire grind between the yama bottom bowl and the burner. the top bowl sits in the stand
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it is so much easier to use hot water. preheat good spring water or filtered tap water. fill to the desired line. i feel that making full pots (ie 5 cups in the 5 cup model) is best.
yama_vacuum_brewing3
once the water is in, seat the top bowl on with a slight twist. if the seal between top and bottom is not good, no syphon or vacuum action is possible.
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make sure the filter is in place and add the coffee to the top. in this demo, i am not using the yama filter cloth-disk assembly, but instead the glass filter rod. both work well.
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okay, we are ready to brew, just turn on the heat...
yama_vacuum_brewing6
okay, the heat is put on the lowest setting, or nearly the lowest. if you want to brew starting with cold water, you will need a bit more flame, but never on high! again, i think it is far better to start with hot water, which means the syphoning to the upper bowl is immediate.
yama_vacuum_brewing7
to stir or not to stir? You simply don't want dry grounds to form "islands" that fail to infuse with the hot water, but frankly a yama will tend to syphon so vigorously that it will roil all the grounds into the brew.
yama_vacuum_brewing8
stirring does help to break up the crust on the top ... you simply want the grounds to mix throughly with the water. don't stir too much ... like 5 times. if you use the cona rod, don't knock it as you stir.
yama_vacuum_brewing9
the water has syphoned upward. in this demo it took under 1 minute. there is always a bit of water that remains below, this is normal. you may see the "boiling" action in the top funnel, but this is pressure action, not actual boiling; vacuum brewing never boils coffee, it's just not possible to exceed 212 f.
yama_vacuum_brewing10
steep time? keep the flame on the lowest setting. while you want a total of about 4 minutes steep time with brew methods, i get best results with leaving the yama (or bodum or cona) to steep for only about 1 minute. why? well, it has already steeped 1 minute as the water syphons up, and it will be another minute before it is all vacuumed down.
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when you are ready to start the vacuum, turn off the flame. usually, i move the brewer off the burner i heated it on, because residual heat slows the vacuum process
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we are about half way in this picture. ideally i like it to vacuum down in 1-2 minutes.
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at the end of the vacuum
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remove the top funnel, and place it in the stand. do not try to heat the coffee at this point, trying to keep it warm. that ruins it.
yama_vacuum_brewing15
enjoy the results!

Also see our Cona Brewing Tip Sheet, the Bodum Santos/Yama (or for the old Hario)


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