Buy or roast beans. With coffee, freshness is key. Buy beans that were recently roasted, within a few days if possible, and only grind to brew.
Grind the beans. Experimentation is necessary to find out what you like. Right now I'm sticking to 8 grams of coffee per 4 ounces of water. The Bodum scoop measures out 8 ounces of ground coffee.
To make the process a little quicker, pour boiling or near boiling water into the bowl. It will take a while to get water hot in the bowl because the flame needs be low as the bowl has a narrow bottom. A high flame would just melt the handle. The flame in the picture is at medium low. First time I brewed with cold water it took almost 10 minutes for the whole process. Also note that with vacuum brewing, there will always be a little bit of water that does not make it to the upper bowl. Because of this, it is recommended to always make a full pot so more water is exposed to the grounds. A half bowl will result in a slightly thinner cup as the leftover water will dilute the brew.
Original plastic filter and Cory rod. I am now using only the Cory rod as there were stalling issues with the original plastic filter. Carefully pour the ground coffee into the funnel (upper bowl) without moving the Cory rod. Some wait until the water has made it north before adding the ground coffee. I'll just add the coffee first for now though.
Place the funnel onto the bowl and as it is preheated water, the water should instantly start going north to brew the coffee. Using preheated water also ensures that only optimum brewing temperature water is going north to saturate the grinds. Depending on how much agitation there is in the upper bowl after most of the water has reached the top, it might be necessary to mix the grounds to make sure all of the grounds are saturated. I am using chopsticks. Make sure you use something plastic so you don't break the glass and be careful not to move the rod. Update: Just read up on a thread where it is recommended that you stir going in straight lines not circular as it affects how the grinds settle near the rod and circular stirring increases the chances of stalling.
After all the water has gone to the upper bowl, I keep it on the flame for an additional 30 seconds then take it off the flame and place it on a cooling surface. Ensure the surface is not wet as this might crack the bowl. Brew time will be determined with experimentation. I am planning on adding time to see what the cup will taste like. Update: I am now leeting the coffee brew for a minute, not 30 seconds.
Once the lower bowl has cooled off enough, the coffee will start to make its way back down. Shouldn't be more than 30 or so seconds. Any longer and it might be stalling.
After the coffee is done going south, remove the funnel. There will still be some suction, so be careful when removing the funnel. Pictured is the rubber seal moving down a little as the suction was a little strong when I removed the funnel.
Enjoy a freshly vacuumed cup of coffee.
Time for clean up. Only a little bit of coffee grind made its way down. Vacuum brewing results in a cup similar to french press, but less sediment and slightly less body.
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