Many products are touted for their uniqueness, or how they're revolutionizing this or that, but few live up the hype. Bodum's Santos coffeemaker is different, as it really is unlike other coffeemakers on the market. First off, it uses an electric vacuum brewing process, and secondly it lets you watch the whole thing. Fill the jug with cold filtered water, and place it on the power base. Then twist the funnel onto the jug. Next, add fresh coffee (a handy scoop is included) to the funnel and press the start button. As the water heats up to boiling, the vacuum created between the two parts moves water up the funnel, where the hot water and coffee mix together. Once the correct brewing time has elapsed, the heat turns off and the coffee drains back into the carafe through a nylon filter (nylon doesn't affect the taste of the coffee like paper filters).
In this system, coffee and hot water mingle for the optimum time, providing the best-tasting coffee possible. The process takes around 4 minutes for up to 5 cups of coffee. The jug and the funnel are both made of sturdy polycarbonate, and the funnel is dishwasher-safe. (Clean the jug by hand, as it's not submersible.) Neither the bottom of the jug nor the top of the power base gets hot during brewing, because the heating element is in the middle of the jug's base.
There are a couple of things to remember when using the electric Santos. Always use fresh coffee, ground medium, for best results (stay away from using coffee from a can or powdered coffee), and use one level scoop of ground coffee per cup. So, for a full 5-cup pot, you'll use 5 scoops. After testing, if the coffee is too strong, begin tapering off the number of scoops. Also, remember that there will always be a small amount of water left in the coffee pot during the brewing process. This is a normal safety feature.
When cleaning the Santos, don't scrub the nylon filter clean--it should be rinsed under warm water. The coffee grounds from the upper section can be scooped out into the garbage can or compost using a common kitchen spatula. Then, simply wash the top section with dish soap and warm water. Also rinse the coffee pot with warm water as soon as you are finished drinking coffee. After rinsing, leave the lid open and let the coffee pot air dry. Every so often, clean the pot with a basic de-liming agent.
The original 12-cup Santos won a prestigious gold Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in the consumer products division. Award-winners are selected by the Industrial Designers Society of America. There were 1,260 entries from around the world in the contest, and only 44 gold awards were given. --A.J. Rathbun
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