Siphon balance brewer: how to use a Belgian coffee maker
The balance brewer, or Belgian coffee maker, is known as one of the first automatic coffee machines. This is thanks to the right use of vacuum and vapor pressure. Based on the principle of expansion and contraction of gases, the Belgian coffee maker can prepare a great beverage in a traditional way. Not a physics genius? Don't worry, I will explain everything to you.
As a coffee lover, I like to know as many coffee machines as I can. Balance brewer, also known as Belgian coffee maker, was created in the nineteenth century and is still in use by some people because of its interesting functioning.
In this article, you will learn:
How to use a Belgian coffee maker
Belgian coffee balance brewer recipe
Pros & cons
Prices. Is it affordable?
So, is the Belgian coffee balance brewer worth it?
How to use a Belgian coffee maker
A balance brewer is a physics masterpiece. Based on two chambers and the combination of vapor pressure and vacuum we can create a very high quality coffee beverage.
This brewer consists of two chambers, one is a kettle for the process of heating water and the other one is a glass jar for the extraction of the coffee. These two pieces are connected by a siphon tube that allows steam to move from one to the other.
When the water inside the kettle gets hot enough, the steam evacuates and it gets lighter until a counterweight attached to the kettle overcomes its weight and lifts it up. In that moment, a cap that was being held by the bottom of the chamber collapses over the cloth wick burner turning the flame off. This weight and counterweight process allows the balance brewer to be considered an automatic coffee machine.
During this process the extraction of the grounded coffee beans is occurring in the glass jar. The steam, because of condensation, it was converted to water again.
In the kettle, there is also a condensation process with the rest of the steam that is getting cold because of the lack of fire. When it is converted to water, it creates a vacuum inside the kettle that lets the siphon suck the already brewed coffee from the glass jar back to the kettle.
Now we have nothing in our glass jar but the kettle is full of just brewed coffee, ready to be drink and enjoyed.
Those are the physics behind the balance brewer coffee maker. But let's jump to a recipe to use in this kind of machine.
Belgian coffee balance brewer recipe
For this recipe we are going to use 7 g of coffee per 100 g of water. The amount of cups of beverage you can get will depend on the size of your machine. One that is very popular can hold 700 g of water, so in that case you will need 49 g of coffee.
As always, when we make coffee the grind size of the bean is important to prevent over or under extracting. For this method we will need a medium grind.
The first step is to weigh your ingredients and preheat your water. You don't want to boil your water to prevent losing some grams with the steam, just let it reach a quick simmer. You certainly can add your water cold to the kettle, but this will result in a much longer process of heating and probably wasting some unnecessary power of your burner.
Put the hot water in the kettle and the ground coffee in the glass jar. Be sure that the cloth wick burner cap is being held by the kettle.
Add the siphon to the machine, with the filter inside the glass jar and the plug over the kettle so steam can not escape.
Turn on the burner and now relax and enjoy the process.
Once the process is complete, and the brewed coffee is inside the kettle, you can open the bottom tap and get your coffee in a cup. If coffee is not coming out, you have to move the siphon plug a little so air can enter the kettle.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Probably the most entertaining coffee machine. The whole process it's a show.
- Very controlled environment. Water temperature and extraction of the coffee beans will always be the same.
- Aromatic and visual stimulating
Cons
- Storage is not easy, it's a big and fragile machine.
- Hard to clean up
- Unusual tools, such as cloth wick burner
Prices. Is it affordable?
We can find some Belgian coffee machines on Amazon under $150. Although this is not the cheapest coffee machine you can find, is a similar amount of money that you would pay if you want to buy a home espresso machine.
So, is the Belgian coffee balance brewer worth it?
Yes. In my opinion, if you are a coffee lover, you will love this machine. Probably you won't use your Belgian coffee maker everyday, but it's a nice gadget to use on some occasions and impress your guests.