KitchenAid KCM0812 Siphon Coffee Brewer

The Most Amusing Coffee Maker I've Ever Used – I decided to give Siphon coffee a go, and bought the KitchenAid Siphon Coffee Brewer after reading reviews of Siphon/Vacuum brewers on-line with comments like this, "It produces the best flavor, vibrant tasting coffee that cannot be imitated by a drip brewer. Also, you will get an extremely clean and bright cup, no trace of the coffee grounds left in the bottom of the cup after you finished it. ... Siphon brewing method enhances the coffee aroma than any other brewing method.".

I find using the unit unaccountably amusing. Flicking the power switch on heats the water in the bottom jug, it goes up into the top ball-shaped brew unit chamber where it bubbles and gurgles and swirls around the ground coffee, the power then goes off, and then the newly brewed coffee gets sucked back down into the bottom jug. My wife and I find it fascinating to watch. See attached video.

The unit makes two to eight cups of coffee, where they define a cup as being 148 millilitres, and they give recommendations of number of scoops of ground coffee to use for the number cups to be made.

Optional Cloth Filters. I haven't used the optional cloth filters because their function is to act like the paper filters in Aeropress machines. These produce the most lifeless coffee I've ever drunk, as the filters removes the oils from the coffee. I had to buy metal mesh filters for my Aeropress unit to get decent tasting coffee, which is akin to that which I get from using the metal mesh filter in the KitchenAid unit. But plenty of people seem to love the lifeless coffee from using such paper/cloth filters, so it's good that the KitchenAid unit provides it for them.

Coffee Grind Size. The manual says to use medium-coarse grain size as a baseline, and to grind coarser or finer to taste. Which means to get your best personal results from the KitchenAid unit, one really needs a coffee grinder. I'm still experimenting with grain size, but to date, the coffee I've gotten from the KitchenAid unit has been as good and smooth as what I get from the best coffee from my Breville Drip machine and from my Aeropress unit. Which is very good, but not superlative like in the description I quoted above. But then again, I'm no expert. Even if I get the grain size exactly right, I don't know that my nose and taste buds are good enough to pick up the fine intricacies attributed to a Siphon coffee machine. Still, I'm going to have fun adjusting the grains sizes using my Breville grinder, and checking out the results.

If one doesn't have a coffee grinder, one can still use store-bought packet ground coffee in the KitchenAid unit to make decent cups of coffee. However, I wouldn't recommend buying a packet of ground coffee that has "Espresso" or "Made for Home Espresso" written on it, as that has the finest grain size. The sides of coffee packets often have what the coffee is suitable for, and it is best to go for the ones with a coarser grain meant for Moka Pots (e.g. Caffe Aurora) which have a picture of the Moka pot, but not the Espresso machine. If nothing is written on the packet about what to use it for, and the packet comes from Italy, it will most likely be ground for Moka pots, as that is what they mostly use over there.

When using store-bought packets of coffee, definitely put less scoops of ground coffee into the unit than recommended in the manual, or the coffee will come out way too strong.

Number of Cups -Effect on Flavour. Keep in mind that if one brews two or three cups of coffee versus seven or eight cups, the resultant coffee flavour has to be somewhat different, even when using the exact same grain size. This is because the water brews longer in brew unit chamber when making many cups compared to making a lesser number of cups.

Cup Size vs Cup Volume The markings on the unit are for cup sizes if 148ml. But most cups we use are for 200ml of coffee, and mugs are for 250ml. I know that cups are made for 150mls of coffee, but suspect they would be in a minority. To my mind, this sort of mild coffee is ideal for bigger cups. So, like on our Drip machine, we make three cups of coffee (as marked on the side of the units) in order to fill two of our bigger cups. For coffee in our sized cups which we use for ourselves and for guests, we would only get six real cups of coffee from this unit.

Pros. a. For those who like the milder style of coffee akin to using a drip machine, a French Press/plunger or Aeropress unit, the KitchenAid Siphon Coffee machine offers an interesting flavour alternative.

b. The KitchenAid unit is ideal for making lots of cups of coffee - especially when one has guests over. Not only does it provide decent coffee, but it will likely be a source of amusement to most guests who probably have never seen one in action before.

c. The unit makes coffee much faster than when making the same number of cups in a Drip machine.

d. The unit is designed with German-made glass, which I think gives more peace of mind than buying some inexpensive Chinese made unit.

e. The unit is electric, which is much more convenient than using some of the lighted wick flame units I've seen advertised.

f. Because the bottom jug is heated, the coffee always comes out hot when poured from this unit. This is in sharp contrast to some drip machines and plungers, where coffee can come out at near tepid temperature since the glass absorbs heat from the coffee (this is especially the case in winter, where I have to put hot water into the jug of my drip machine and in my plungers, to heat them up before making the coffee).

Cons. a. Cleaning up the unit after making the coffee takes more work than with a Drip machine or French Press/plunger. Getting the grounds out of the upper brew unit chamber is harder than the manual says - it takes more than a few taps on the outside. I have to put my hand inside and loosen the coffee grounds with my fingers to get them out. And a lot of water has to be used to wash the jug and brew unit. Furthermore, one needs to use a brush to make the bottom jug sparkling clean - thankfully a nice brush comes with the unit.

b. When drying out the unit after cleaning, the jug, brew unit, filter and top plug take up a lot of space next to the sink. This might prove awkward for people with small dish washing areas.

c. Always having to remember that three cups of coffee marked on the unit, corresponds to just over two cups of coffee in our bigger cups.

Conclusion. For us, this is a satisfying and very amusing coffee machine, with plenty of scope for experimentation.