KitchenAid Siphon Coffee Brewer Review

Siphon coffee is a majestic triumph of physics resulting in lip-smacking coffee the Italians would be proud of.

Some of the siphon systems you see are pretty intimidating, though. You often need a separate burner, and the whole process can be off-putting.

Today, though, we highlight a siphon coffee system that’s reasonably easy to use even if it’s a slight pain to clean up when you’re done. As well as reviewing this siphon, we’ll also assemble a list of the most frequently asked questions so you can buy with your eyes wide open.

I. Overview

If you’re shopping for a cheap coffee siphon maker, the KitchenAid KCM08120B is not for you. If, on the other hand, you want to make rich, full-bodied coffee at home the easy way and you have a fluid budget, read on…

Now, KitchenAid are most famous for their iconic food mixers. What’s the result of this appliance giant entering the coffee making vertical, then? Well, it’s an amazing home run on most fronts, so what do you get for your money?

The siphon brewing system is fully integrated. As well as the two chambers, you also get your heat source baked in.

II. Specs of KitchenAid KCMO812OB Siphon Coffee Brewer

Here are the core specs of this siphon system so you can see at a glance how much coffee it makes and whether it would make a neat fit in your kitchen.

III. Features of KitchenAid KCMO812OB Siphon Coffee Brewer

We know you’re impatient to find out how to use the KitchenAid siphon, and we’ll get there any moment.

Before that, though, we’ll break down this siphon across the following categories:

• Aesthetics
• Ease of Use
• Brewing
• Cleaning
• Overall Performance

Aesthetics

We fully understand that appearance plays a significant role in the art of siphon coffee.

While you can choose from a pretty wide range of designs, many of these machines simply don’t look great. The stripped-down simplicity of the KitchenAid gives you everything you need in a compact and self-contained unit with a burner onboard.

As we all know, form is useless without function. How does the KitchenAid shape up in use, then?

Ease of Use

We should underscore that user-friendliness is not one of the primary qualities of siphon coffee making. For anyone looking for near-instant results with push-button functionality, all siphon systems would disappoint.

If you’re content to grapple with the initial learning curve, and you have the patience to set aside 15 minutes for your coffee, how will you find the KitchenAid?

We’ll break down the whole 6 minute and 30-second brewing process in detail below, but it’s pretty straightforward.

Spent grounds do tend to stick to the sides of this siphon.

Considering the push-button functionality once you’ve topped up the water reservoir and slipped in your medium-coarse coffee grounds, we rate the KitchenAid highly for ease of use. The drawback is the amount of overall prep time involved meaning it’s not coffee in an instant by any means when you press the KitchenAid into commission.

Brewing

The super-silky and very rich brew you’ll get from this siphon system is certainly not for everyone. If you are not a fan of intense and full-bodied drinks, you could find the brew from this KitchenAid a little overpowering.

For anyone hunting for a real eye-opener in the mornings, you’ll get just that with the KitchenAid Siphon. All you’ll need in return is a little patience, a decent grinder, and 15 minutes.

Cleaning

Clean-up is the one area where this siphon system really falls down.

As mentioned, the grounds end up spattered everyone due to the force involved in the vacuum method.

Components are made from fragile glass. As such, they’re not dishwasher-friendly, and you’ll be forced to handwash both chambers. You can’t submerge these in water, either. This further complicates clean-up.

You should give serious consideration to this before committing to purchase. Be warned that it’s not easy to keep this siphon spotless.

Overall Performance

Given the quality of the coffee that ends up in your cup when you use the KitchenAid siphon set against the relative ease of use, we can’t recommend this model strongly enough for overall performance.

Aside from the couple of notable downsides we’ve highlighted, this powerful all-in-one siphon system is well worth popping on your shortlist.

IV. How To Use a KitchenAid KCMO812OB Siphon Coffee Brewer

So far, so good.

You should now have a clear idea of how this siphon system is made, how to use it, and whether or not it’s something you’d consider adding to yoru arsenal.

If so, how can you use this siphon? We’ll walk you through that right now.

Composed of a pair of glass chambers – the upper chamber is for brewing, the lower chamber for water – and a metal mesh filter, make no mistake at all, this is a weighty unit. If you struggle lifting bulky objects, you might want to rethink your decision.

Now, the process is a little more complex than using a drip coffee machine. If you follow these simple instructions, though, you’ll find the KitchenAid is fairly straightforward to use.

1. Place the chamber on the stand. The siphon tube will slide easily into an accommodating hole.
2. This siphon system calls for medium-coarse grinds. Blitz them up in your burr grinder. Ideally, use a coffee scale to weigh out what you need. If you’re going for a full 8 cups of joe, use 2.6oz of coffee. Scale down accordingly if you’re making fewer cups.
3. Insert and secure the filter. Twist it into place until you hear a locking sound.
4. Fill the other chamber with the amount of water you need. Use either bottled water or filtered water.
5. Remove the brewing chamber from the stand now. Pop it onto the other chamber.
6. Pop on the lid and hit the On/Off switch.
7. You’ll only need to wait for 3 minutes or so before the trademark hissing and bubbling kicks in. You’ll notice the water level in the carafe start dropping dramatically. At the same time, you’ll see the coffee grounds start to moisten as the vapor rises and interacts with them.
8. After 4 minutes, most of the water has shifted into the carafe. The brewed mixture remains just below boiling point for between 2 and 3 minutes.
9. The On/Off switch will automatically turn off at this point.
10. Once your brewed coffee is cool enough, it shoots back down with force.
11. Total brewing time is 6 minutes 30 seconds. That’s not long to wait for coffee that will have you kicking yourself for not trying a siphon system sooner.

To round out, here’s a curated list of the most frequently asked questions about the KitchenAid Siphon.

V. FAQs

1) Is the KitchenAid siphon brewer easy to use?

We feel this siphon system is much easier to use than many competing models, but there is a learning curve involved. Master this and you’ll soon be rattling out siphon coffee in 15 minutes or so. Since the machine is not programmable, you won’t be able to get any of the prep done in advance. If you have a spare quarter-hour, though, you won’t need to do much beyond grinding your beans and giving the brew a stir. Physics and KitchenAid design takes care of the rest.

2) Does siphon coffee taste good enough to justify the effort involved?

This is a tough question to answer. If you’re accustomed to on-demand coffee requiring very little user input, you’re likely to struggle with the involved nature of siphon brewing. If you don’t object to putting in a little TLC when you’re making a cup of java, you’ll be rewarded with an intensely flavorful brew. All the aroma will be locked in, too, giving you a coffee you wouldn’t expect to find outside a specialist coffee shop.

3) What’s the best tip for siphon brewing?

Start with fresh coffee beans ground directly before brewing and use top-quality water. With those factors taken care of, any siphon brewing system should then deliver first-class coffee with all the flavor and aroma locked in.

VI. Conclusion

We hope you can determine from today’s KitchenAid KCM08120B whether or not this compact and all-inclusive siphon coffee brewing system would make a smooth fit.

If you still need some more information about this brewing method, check out our siphon brewing guide.

Like the idea of this brewing method but unsure about the KitchenAid? We’ve got you. Check out our comprehensive guide to the best siphon coffee makers right here.

Let us know how you get on if you try the KitchenAid, and don’t forget to bookmark BestCoffee before you head off. We’ll see you soon!

The responses below are not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any financial entity or advertiser. It is not the advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.