The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee - Gizmodo Comments

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

swag — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:33:17 EST

It costs about $10 or $11 for a full pot, with some chocolates on the side. But that's not the issue.

The issue is why is Gizmodo fawning over 1830s technology:
[en.wikipedia.org]

What next? This new thing called "plastic"? Morse code? The telegraph? Let's wet ourselves over such amazing feats of science!

swag

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

jonnoj77 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:27:03 EST

it doesn't pour a 20,000 dollar cup. stop saying that, it's annoying. anyway, this 20,000 dollar machine is bullshit. aromatic flavors? it won't work any better than a french press. how much is a cup of this coffee cost, has anyone bought one?

jonnoj77

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Courtney_P — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:05:08 EST

This is unfortunate, because the best coffee that Blue Bottle brews comes out of a drip cone. It is seriously the best drip coffee I've ever had. They don't need any fancy equipment like this.

Courtney_P

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

whiteoak — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:20:47 EST

I remember seeing this type of coffee maker in Japan: I was fascinated to watch my coffee being brewed and horrified by the price.

whiteoak

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Aaron Martin-Colby — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:41:38 EST

Moreover, Clover better get on the ball. They've just been bested by $9,000. I vote for a version made out of composites and a beryllium alloy. And they of course have to have a high-strength magnesium and carbon fiber shell.

Aaron Martin-Colby

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Aaron Martin-Colby — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:26:43 EST

"'If you just want equipment you're not ready,' Mr. Egami said in an interview."

It's a coffee machine you arrogant twat. Sometimes, that weird search for a Zen-like connection with everything down to the toilet that is so apparent in Japanese culture just annoys me. You're a business IN the business of selling coffee machines.

If I had to ARGUE AND NEGOTIATE with someone to buy a coffee machine for my cafe, I'd tell him to go screw!

Aaron Martin-Colby

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

The Lab — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:00:57 EST

OK, so the halogen light heats the water in the sealed bottom bulb. Some of the water evaporates, increasing the pressure in the bulb and forcing the unevaporated water up the straw-like tube into the upper chamber. Turn off the light, the bulb cools, pressure decreases and water flows back into the bottom bulb.

As a chemist, I cannot think of one thing that makes this better than just pouring hot water over grounds and then sucking the liquid through a filter. Because that is what this is.

Furthermore, a halogen bulb doesn't appear to be an ideal heating source. It heats unevenly, is difficult to regulate and the light will break down compounds, possibly changing the flavor of the coffee.

Conclusion: dumb

The Lab

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

random_user — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:54:03 EST

Those are Yama "table top" model vacuum pots in the pic. They go for ~$50 a setup, and are designed to use alcohol burners for fuel.

I'm guessing the 20k cost was in having a nice designed & programmable halogen heatsource.

There's nothing 'special' here.... you'd get the same taste from a stovetop or tabletop yama @ home -- once the water is siphoned to the top, the heat goes off for brewing.

@KMPU-TAH - most vacpots use a globe. i think yama is the only one that uses a cylinder, so it just becomes a trade name for the piece.

random_user

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

kmpu-tah — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:43:08 EST

Since when is a cylinder a globe?

kmpu-tah

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

sansovino — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:52:33 EST

@Atrahasis: Ah yes, the technique is everything.

I believe that was perfected in Kyoto by Tomu Sawyero while he was whitewashing Aunt Pollysan's fence.

sansovino

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

hanswurst0815 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:50:43 EST

I like my electric vacuum coffee machine: [www.bodum.ch]

hanswurst0815

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

MagnoliaBoy — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:43:13 EST

Eh, have you ever seen on of those hand hamered brass Espresso machines from the '20s. 20,000 could be a good deal for one of those. Even a modern comercial Esspreso machine can go for 5K.

MagnoliaBoy

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

FaustoC — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:41:38 EST

Do you think commercial espresso machines can be had for much less? $6K-10K each, and you should have two machines like most coffee shops. I buy $20,000 cup coffee all the time by that strange headline math.

FaustoC

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Atrahasis — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:33:10 EST

What's really crazy about this machine is that if you just try to buy one, they won't sell it to you. You have to invest a lot of time to convince the seller that you are "ready". Part of this involves your bamboo-paddle stirring technique--being able to create a deep vortex in 4 strokes that leaves your grounds in a perfect mound.

Atrahasis

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

G-Lumps — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:24:31 EST

That's not coffee on the right -- that's BLOOD.

G-Lumps

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

balloondoggle — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:22:19 EST

Congrats, you have a fancy stove top percolator.

*DING* "You've been ripped!"

balloondoggle

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

SecretAsianMan — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:20:41 EST

Most people just stick the $25 glass globe coffee pot on the stove...

SecretAsianMan

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

deeddawg — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:14:22 EST

@sansovino: Your post pretty much sums it up. The only add-on is all the customers going getting fleeced over the Emperor's New Clothes believing they're getting some fantastic cup of coffee when a far less expensive bit of kit would do the same job cheaper.

deeddawg

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Jason — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:09:01 EST

@devianaut: I think you're thinking of Kopi Luwak. But it's not bat guano, it's civet cat "processed" beans. The civet cats eat the raw beans, they get magically tasty in it's gut, and then they're harvested from the cat's feces and roasted.

In Vancouver they're selling it for $20/cup.

Jason

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

cotj73 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:06:36 EST

I have a coffee maker that works off of the same concept. It cost me $60 and is by BODIN

cotj73

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

workingonyourinvoice — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:06:33 EST

definitely a cool looking machine. I always look for a unique cup of coffee. Everybody's got the same gear, and the ubiquity of Starbuck's has really ruined the potential of getting a unique cup.

@Red Right Hand: I concur. Saw something on a morning show about it.

workingonyourinvoice

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

knickers — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:53:02 EST

Unecessarily expensive. The best vacuum pot on the market is no doubt the Cona vacuum pot:
[www.espressozone.com]
We had two of these in the coffee shop that I managed while in college. They use denatured alcohol to heat the water to just the perfect temperature. They really do make a perfect cup of coffee. There are cheaper versions, such as the Bodum Santos, but nothing beats the Cona.
And the difference in cost of the fuel sources - the heat from a halogen bulb versus a bottle of denatured alcohol - is probably worth noting as well.

knickers

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Solidsky — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:50:11 EST

kopi luwak, civet coffee...

I had a chance to try it while I was in Taiwan, some rich foodie we sat down with offered us. I turned it down because I'm a complete coffee noob (I don't drink more than a drop a year). But the people that did drink it and knew their coffee were awe struck...

siphon brewing isn't that popular in the states i assume? most of the time you see some Bunn automated brewer with computer chips. But I do hear people rave about some small Japanese cafes that serve "siphon" coffee.

Solidsky

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

strider_mt2k — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:32:58 EST

@DP533: Quit hitting yourself.

strider_mt2k

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

gravrain — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:29:55 EST

This is basically the same thing as a Vacuum Pot. My wife got me one for Christmas, it cost around 60 bucks. From looking at the pic, it looks like exactly the same model/version/whatever. I am guessing the the rest of the $19940 goes into the heating. I am pretty sure that I can rig an on/off switch onto a Halogen heating lamp and sell these things for $10k.

gravrain

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

DP533 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:28:58 EST

@DP533: Opps.

DP533

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

DP533 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:28:32 EST

Gay

DP533

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

DP533 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:28:19 EST

Gay.

DP533

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

sansovino — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:27:20 EST

Proof - as if we needed any more - that with the right schpiel, a good sales story can get you a buttload of cash.

Vacuum siphon coffee pot on ebay: $30
Halogen lamp: $120

Taking a too-clever-by-half coffee shop in San Francisco for $20,000: Priceless

sansovino

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Red Right Hand — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:15:46 EST

@kelptocratic: correct.

Red Right Hand

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

kelptocratic — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:13:15 EST

A buddy of mine got me a pound of coffee from Blue Bottle for Christmas, and it was delicious. Then again, it should considering the stuff goes for like +$15 a pound.

Also, I think the stuff devianaut is referring to comes from civets, which if memory serves, are little rodent-like things in Southeast Asia, which eat the beans. They're collected after they're, uh, "processed" and sold for a HUGE amount per pound.

kelptocratic

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

MDT — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:06:30 EST

Water does not "evaporate" into the upper chamber. Heating the lower chamber causes gas expansion which forces the water up into the higher chamber where it mixes with the ground coffee. Remove the heat source, gasses contract, coffee drops back to the bottom chamber, leaving the grounds up-top. Time it right and you've got a fine, silt-free cup of java to rival any french press. And you've used SCIENCE to make it so!

MDT

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

Red Right Hand — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:04:40 EST

A $20,000 coffe maker...funny, I don't see the autosuck interface anywhere.

Red Right Hand

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

devianaut — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:03:33 EST

i haven't had coffee in nearly a year (used to work at starbux... got REAL tired of it (no matter how much i love coffee!).

this looks pretty rad. i'm sure it would be excellent.

anyone ever hear about the "amazing coffee" made out of guano? (bat poop). i'm not sure exactly what state they were selling it in, but i guess fertilizer extracted better flavor in the coffee bean. not sure if i'd try that one!

devianaut

The Siphon Bar Pours a $20,000 Cup of Coffee

SirDrinksalot — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:58:55 EST

Sounds like a less cool version of the $50 or so stove top vacuum coffee makers. I have an electric version that makes the best cup of coffee I can find anywhere.

The grounds go into a globe on the top, the water in the bottom. When the water boils it forces the water to the top which is the perfect temperature to make a good cup of coffee. Then thanks to the magic of physics it gets sucked back down to the bottom filtering the grounds after the ideal steeping period.

The steam generated during the process agitates the grinds so you don't need to stir it.

It sounds to me like someone got suckered into buying a manual version of a vacuum coffee maker. It's my goal in life to make sure everyone who likes coffee knows the majesty of the vacuum makers.

It sounds to me like they got suckered into paying $20,000.

SirDrinksalot