Bodum Pebo Vacuum Coffee Maker, 8 cup, 1.0 l, 34 oz., Black

There is a good reason you can find a SANTOS coffeemaker in nearly every Scandinavian home, this vacuum brewing system has been fascinating coffee lovers for over sixty years. In the fifties, Peter Bodum, the father of today's owner, Jorgen Bodum, imported an French vacuum coffee maker and sold it on the Danish Market. Although he found it both unsatisfactory and expensive, he was convinced that the vacuum brewing system was an excellent way to brew an exquisite cup of coffee. Thus, the first Bodum Santos vacuum coffee maker was born. In collaboration with Danish designer Kaas Klaeson, Peter Bodum developed what we know today as the SANTOS, establishing the credo: ‘good design doesn’t have to be expensive’. The magic of the Santos holds both adults and children spellbound as they watch the boiling water rush from the bottom glass jug to the upper one where it gets mixed with freshly ground coffee. After a few minutes off the stovetop, a vacuum forms in the base which pulls rich black coffee through a filter and back into the bottom jug. This captivating process combines the ideal water temperature with just the right brewing time and makes for superb results. Whatever your preferred coffee and roast, the Santos vacuum system brings out the very best aromas in your cup. As beautiful as sculpture, as fascinating as chemistry, and as entertaining as theater, this coffeemaker from Switzerland converts the ordinary process of brewing coffee into an artful performance. And it makes six 5-ounce cups of full-flavored coffee while it entrances. The coffeemaker fits together like this: water goes into the carafe, a filter fits into the mouth of a tube in the top globe, ground coffee goes into the globe (a scoop is included), the globe fits atop the carafe with the tube extending into the carafe, and the carafe goes onto the stovetop with a trivet or heat diffuser between it and electric or gas heat. (This is all much simpler and quicker than it sounds.)

Water boils up through the tube into the globe and brews the coffee. When brewing is complete and the carafe has been taken off the stovetop and set into its accompanying sculpted trivet, the coffee drains through the filter into the carafe. The globe can then be lifted off the carafe and set on its stand, and coffee can be poured from the carafe, which has a stay-cool handle. A stopper for the carafe keeps second cups warm while the first cups are sipped. Fully assembled, the coffee maker stands 11-1/2 inches high. It's made of heat-resistant glass and durable, gleaming nylon, and all parts are dishwasher-safe. --Fred Brack