In the nearly year and a half we've been doing coffee-related writing here on SFist, we've taken a number of pictures that we've heretofore been unable to shoehorn into one of our "Trimethyldioxypurist" episodes. So, hey, it's time for a few leftovers.

New Toy
Our place of residence is currently undergoing significant construction -- it's a lot of stress, and we weren't able to make coffee at home for several weeks. While we love going to cafes and having other people make amazing beverages for us, our favorite coffee is still that which we make for ourselves. As we alluded to when we reviewed some of Taylor Maid Farms' offerings, there's a real "I can't believe can do that" wow factor. Like the first time you tie your shoes by yourself (ahh, fond memories of April 2004).

In any case, the implement pictured above is what's known as a vacuum brewer, and it's our new favorite coffee toy (pic taken during our winter holiday in Massachusetts -- thus the Dunkin' Donuts coffee -- and check out that awesome hand-crank grinder! We seriously love that thing.)

Water starts in the bottom chamber, creeps into the upper chamber through a tube, where it encounters the ground coffee you've left there. It bubbles a little, steeps for a few minutes, then releases the coffee back into the lower chamber in a highly theatrical manner. It's very cool.

Only problem? The brew wasn't very good. And it wasn't the beans; when our precious Blue Bottle went into it and we still had sub-par coffee, we knew it must be the brewer. After a bit of 'net research (mostly on CoffeeGeek.com), we decided to try cutting the internal tube with a hacksaw to be about a quarter inch shorter. Voila -- shorter tube led to hotter water in the upper chamber, which led to richer coffee. Don't ask us why. Also, as our enthusiasm often outpaces our skill, we may not have made the cut very, er, straight or something, as the brew cycle is not to dramatic to watch as it was before. Nonetheless, we're much happier with the quality of the coffee.

Yes, taking a hacksaw to our brewer -- we now truly feel like a coffee geek. And we are proud.

Nightmarish Choice

This next one came during our coverage of the San Diego Comic-Con for SFist last July:

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