When I saw this item, it made me think of a cross between a percolator and an "automated" French press. That concept is fairly on point.

To break it down, you add 8 ounces of water into the pot, then unscrew the filter and add however much ground coffee you wish to use (for my tests, I used 1 1/2 scoops using the provided scoop,) and then screw the filter and stem back together. The filter assembly inserts into the coffee pot and twists to seal. You then place the pot on the base and touch the power button to determine whether you want a 1, 2 or 3-minute brew (I chose 3, as I like a strong coffee.) The display will show you the temperature of the water as it heats (in Centigrade, not Fahrenheit - and I've not found a way to change that.) When the temperature reaches 100 degrees C, the water pushes up through the stem and into the upper half of the pot to steep, and the timer begins. The heater maintains the temperature throughout the steeping period, and when that completes, the temperature drops and so does the coffee. The base will maintain the coffee at 80 - 85 degrees C for a period of 30 minutes before switching off. Removing the pot from the base switches the unit off.

First and foremost, the pot works as described by the manufacturer. It's a bit of work to brew one cup but the system gives you a great deal of flexibility in creating a brew with the exact strength you want. I do have a few issues:

- You have to remove the lid and filter assembly to pour coffee, and because of the seals in place, this is not easy to do without burning your fingers.
- The pot includes a brush to clean the pot, which because of its shape is a huge plus, but there's no brush provided to clean the filter.
- The LED display on the power base remains lit as long as the unit is plugged in.
- The body of the pot is not marked for the proper installation of the lid/filter. You have to press it down into the pot and turn it until it lines up properly to seal. If the lid is not sealed properly, I expect the pot could boil over.

Overall, I'm pleased with the device. It's probably not something I would have ordered outside of the Vine program, but it is something that I will likely use daily for that strong after dinner cup of coffee I enjoy. For a true coffee maven who uses a Bialetti or a French press, this may be a nice change of pace.

The media could not be loaded. As someone who pretty much has always used automatic drip coffee makers (at home and work) when I saw this Vacuum Siphon Pour Over Coffee Maker from Better Chef, I decided I had to change things up and give it a try. And man am I glad I did as this is some of the best tasting coffee, I have had with my regular ground coffee! I really like this vacuum siphon system and how well it is made. The carafe is thick, solid glass and the other parts seem to be made quite well and durable. I like how easy this is to use. You add your cold water (I used the filtered cold water from my sink - we have a 3-filtration system connect to the cold line) add your favorite ground coffee to the basket in the middle - just 2 scoops - and set it on the heating base. Turn the base on, set the timer to 1, 2 or 3 minutes (I went 3 for strong coffee) and wait a few minutes. Bam you got some great tasting coffee. I mean this is the best flavor I have ever gotten from my regular ground coffee. I can't wait to use some of fresh ground coffee beans from my grinder in it next! Only thing I don't like is it barely makes enough for one cup. But I definitely love the coffee this does make and can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try out vacuum siphon pour over coffee and be wowed like I was. 5 out of 5 stars.

The media could not be loaded. This coffee maker is nice and compact, so it doesn't take up a ton of cabinet or counter space. It's great for someone who likes to make single servings of traditional brew style coffee as opposed to the k-cup style makers that take up a lot more room and seem to inevitably have water scale or pump issues over time.

It automatically and pretty quickly heats up to 100 degrees Celcius, which is visible on the base, and once there it counts down for the number of minutes (1, 2, or 3) that you selected.

This coffee maker does have some nooks and crannies to clean but it comes with a brush to reach them. My wife expects still that some of those crannies will build up a bit over time since a brush can only do so much, but not in a big deal kind of way.

Also, I live with my mother-in-law and she's at the age where we can't trust her to use the regular stove etc all the time on her own. This coffee maker offers a safer option since you don't need to use the stove like with a mocha pot etc.

The only real negative we have with this is that when the siphoning stops and the coffee drains back down to the bottom, a decent amount doesn't drip back through the holes and gets caught in the upper half above the gasket outside of the coffee grind section. This means you do have to be careful when you break the seal to pull the inner part out as the gasket is in slightly snug and you don't want to toss that coffee above it out of the device onto yourself. To that same point, it might be nice if the knob at the top was slightly bigger/easier to grab since you have to careful pull on that to disengage the gasket and release that liquid. (See video) But, once you break the seal it drains to the bottom and all is well.

One thing we noticed, but I think we've reasoned is okay, is that during the brewing it won't siphon every last bit of water out of the bottom. But we think that's totally okay, and slightly preferred or even necessary. If you took all of the water off the bottom but continued to have it heat up you could crack the glass. And in the end all of the coffee at the top falls to the bottom so you end up with the amount of water per coffee grinds that you expected to have anyway, based on how you filled it at the beginning. coffee is a solution not a mix so it'll quickly mix the coffee water from the top with the regular bit of it at the bottom when they meet up at the end.

Very easy to use. I love using this in the morning for my coffee

The media could not be loaded. This siphon coffee maker arrived well-packaged. A quick cleaning, and it was ready to go. The setup is simple: plug in the base, put the pot on the base, fill the pot to the fill line with water, put two scoops of your favorite ground coffee in the metal filter, screw the filter cap on, put the cap and coffee into the pot, hit the power button, select your soak time (1 to 3 minutes), and wait up to 5 minutes (depending on your soak time choice) for the coffee to drop into the bottom of the pot--and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee. The base heats the water very quickly, a brush is provided and cleaning is easy. My only real criticism is that it can be hard to see the fill line on the pot, depending on the color of the background. It really should be more prominent.

This product works well, as advertised, and cleans up quickly. I'm quite happy with it.