Cona Size C / D, David Charles

Posted: October 29, 2013, 10:04pm
A modern take on a steam age brewing systemHigh design: the design of the Cona Table model vacuum coffee makers descends from the Cona Rex, which was designed by Abram Gomes in 1947 and manufactured throughout the 1950s. Ease of use: the carafe is removable from the stand for pouring and the stand doubles as a funnel holder and includes a drip catcher. Clean cup: brewer and filter rod are made exclusively out of glass, which imparts no off tastes to the coffee.

Stock setup uses a spirit lamp (alcohol burner), which does not allow for precise temperature control. Temperature control with the spirit lamp is binary, either on or off, which is crude by contemporary siphon brewing standards. [See workaround below.]

While I have several siphon brewers, aesthetically none of the others can match the aesthetics and ergonomics of the Cona tabletop vacuum coffee maker. There simply is no finer brewing system for a special brunch or an after dinner pot of coffee. You can brew a pot at the table with your guests, while curating the cup that you are about to serve. Your guests will be amazed by the presentation as well as the coffee.

The Cona glass is high quality. It compares favorably other siphon brewers. Only the hand-blown glass used in products like the Kono siphon brewers is thicker. The chrome plating on the stand is also top-quality. My Cona Model C brewer is a couple decades old and shows no signs of aging.

While temperature control with the stock set up is problematic, there are a couple workarounds that allow for the use of an adjustable butane burner. One, you can cut a 3.5" diameter hole in a cutting board, which will allow you to recess a butane burner within the hole in the base of the stand. Two, you can get a purpose built siphon brew board for Cona vacuum coffee makers. (Search for "siphon brew board" on Etsy.) This brew board not only accepts a butane burner, but also allows you to display and transport your Cona vacuum brewer in style.

These are not inexpensive brewers: The Model C and Model D brewers are available new from Sweet Maria's for roughly $220. These brewers only occasionally show up used on eBay in the US and do not sell at much of a discount when they do. The best alternative to buying new is to shop eBay in the UK, France or Germany. The smaller Model A and Model B tabletop brewers from Cona are only available used.

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