This has ruined coffee for me, in that I can no longer have coffee that's not syphon brewed. I had my doubts about making coffee any other way than drip, since those are the more common ones on the market. My gods, I have wasted my taste buds drinking colored water.
The only reason I decided to get this was because I was looking for the more steam-punkish looking Belgian Syphon Coffee Makers, but I didn't want to spend as much as some manufacturers were asking for. This Hario jumped out at me since it had 5 stars, something quite rare in product reviews. I still thought it was a bit expensive for a coffee maker, but I took the risk. I'm glad I did.
The quality of the glass is really good, you can feel it's solid. I don't feel like it might crack if I I don't put on kiddy gloves made from the finest cotton and rubbed by virgins from some exotic land. The top part hit my ceramic counter top while I was cleaning it once and it just rung like a tuning fork. No cracks or chips.
It comes with a plastic measuring cup/stirrer, so there's no need to get a measuring spoon or a bamboo stirrer.
Some folks go on about the burner, but I use the included burner with no problems at all. If you're the type that roasts your own coffee, uses distilled water freshly channeled through a natural spring and use a thermometer to test your coffee brewing temperature, then yeah, get a butane burner, otherwise the burner included is perfectly fine.
Do yourself a favor. Get this or any other syphon coffee maker.
Bought it as a replacement of my TCA-5 that I broke a while ago. The design is very nice on this one, very robust coffee-maker, it comes with both metal and cloth-based filter. I personally recommend to stick to the cloth-based filter since it's the only one that will filter off very small particles of ground coffee. Also when using the metal filter I found that some coffee was going down in the lower glass while heating if the fire wasn't strong enough.
One recommendation that will change your experience: spend the extra bucks to buy a gas burner (like the Osaka Butane Burner). That will reduce drastically the time that you need to prepare your coffee, without ever getting soot on your glass. Torch it to get the water to the top quickly and then reduce the intensity of the fire to keep the bubbling happening in the upper glass while the coffee brews.
Other (logical) recommendation after reading some comments, you need add boiling water to the bottom part and then heat it, otherwise it just takes too much time.
I bought this for my dad for father's day. He'd been drooling over it from the proper website but amazon actually got me a deal on it and prime, of course, on the shipping. Knockout combo.
This coffee machine is pretty awesome, actually, in the closest definition of that word. A show piece to watch it boil, ascend, and with the change of pressure, descend into very hot coffee. Seriously, not sure if it's the glass, but it comes out scorching. You have to wait. But it's a nice science lesson with a smooth and full bodied finish.
You need to buy alcohol fuel for it, not butane. Go to home depot (etc) or something but only ask the seasoned pro where it's at. The part timer will just say they don't sell it (and then you find it).
Makes about 3 cups. Their 5 cup measure is the small barista espresso cup sizes. Our american cup/mug makes it a 3 serving.
Great show piece for the coffee obsessed. Not an everyday gift. It needs to be handled with love, all that glass, while sturdy, has fragile parts. Seriously, one reckless/thoughtless/loveless move and it will bust.
Love it...Suggest you purchase the additional Butane burner instead of the alcohol burner that comes with it...Alcohol talks twice as long to boil water and leaves black soot on the glass where the butane does not...
I'm already sold on the siphon brew method, but I broke the upper chamber of my Chinese knock off of the old style Hario, and the price of the Next has gone down a lot in the last couple years, so I bought one. Much, much better. The tapered upper chamber is easier to clean using the sink sprayer or brush. Basically, the diameter at the top is about an inch wider, so access is better. The handle is rubber which combined with the new shape feels more comfortable. The glass seems a bit thicker than the one I broke, but that might be because it was a cheap knock off. Overall the look of the Next is more modern, not like something you picked up in a flea market. The metal filter ($15 if you buy one separately) is an excellent value. It does allow a tiny amount of solids to pass into the lower chamber if you use a fine grind, so consider buying a Diguo filter if that bothers you. Bottom line, I should have broken the old one sooner.
Feature Product
- Upper bowl, lower bowl and burner are made of the best heat resistant borosilicate glass from Hario
- Stand, burner cover, and filter are made of stainless steel; stand handle has silicone cover
- Item dimmensions are: 15"H x 7"W x 4.5"L; 5-cup capacity
- Fasteners are made of brass; windbreak is made of aluminum
- Imported from Japan
Description
From Hario - the leader in beautiful glass coffee and tea makers and accessories. In Japanese, Hario means "King of Glass".
I've used vacuum brewing methods for many years now, a legacy of living in Japan where that was the standard coffee house method.
This Hario seems to be an update of style more than changes in the method, but that's a good thing. The reuseable filter is also easy to use and rinse off for the next use.
Wanted to give siphon brewing a try. Very clean and distinct coffee with no acidity and low tannins. Allows you to taste the coffee beans more. It's hard dialing in the filter whether it's the cloth or metal one. When the coffee is cooling down and vacuuming back down, grounds sneak into the mix. Not many. I suspect I have to dial in the grind and temp while boiling still. Overall-Happy. Opens up a different perspective to experiencing fine coffee.
I only recieved the brewer yesterday but I've managed to use it twice. It's very exciting to use compared to my usual pour-over (which is more meditative), the only thing that's "missing" when brewing is a white lab-coat and safety goggles. Every coffee fanatic should have a syphon in their arsenal and this one seems to beste a very good choice. The 5-cup size which I have is a good size since it's not too big, but it can still makes coffee for guests quite quickly. Highly recommended.
This may be a little pricier than other siphon coffee maker, but nothing beats Hario quality. The best thing about the NEXT is that the glass vessel is not round, so when you try to wash it in the sink, it will not roll around.
I am not using the alcohol burner, I purchased a butane burner and it works great!
I love the way this thing brews coffee. The yielded product is so crisp and bright. I obtain the coffee to water ratio from my roaster.
I have not used the burner that comes with it as I followed most peoples' advice and bought the Yama butane burner.
Also, I wish I got a 3-cup size cause this 5-cup size is way too big for only one or two people.
