siphon filters

I have been using a yama siphon 5 cup brewer and like the results. The difficulty I am having is keeping the filter clean. Even after soaking in it in really hot water, I feel all of my extractions have the faintest hint of dirty coffee equipment. I learned the first lesson, espresso cleaning powder is not the answer (i prefer a hint of dinge to an obvious flavor of cafiza (or urnex or cafetto). Any experienced siphon brewers with sugeestions?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on July 14, 2009 at 8:03am
We just soak ours and replace the filter whenever it starts to get nasty. I think in your analysis of your process you are probably creating taste expectations in your mind that really aren't there in the cup.
Permalink Reply by Marcus Young on July 14, 2009 at 8:21am
After each batch I give it a good rinse in hot water and ring it out until the water runs clear. Then I keep the filter in water and in the refrigerator when not in use. This makes a huge difference.

Also, I have had good luck with a weekly deep cleaning using Cafiza. I put the filter along with a scoop of Cafiza in a pot and bring it to a boil for a few minutes. I then drain and clean the pot, rinse the filter, and boil it twice in clean water. Seems to remove all the residue from the cleanser.

With this method I find my filters last for about 20-30 days of regular use. Otherwise I agree with your assessment that you quickly pick up the taste of stale coffee oils.

Good luck.
Permalink Reply by Chris DeMarse on July 14, 2009 at 9:50am
Cafiza is disastrous to any cloth element because the smell never leaves like it will with metal. I would try boiling with oxyclean. I usually boil it for 10 minutes and then rinse it with plain water. They come out as bright as day.
Permalink Reply by Phil Proteau on July 14, 2009 at 10:15am
Have you considered using one of the old fashion Cory glass filters? You can get them on Ebay almost any day of the week. Make sure it is the kind with the spring clip.

Permalink Reply by Stephen Curtis on July 15, 2009 at 11:38am
I saw someone has been using a Hario Press Pot Filter - haven't tried it personally yet. His Flickr
Permalink Reply by Phil Proteau on July 15, 2009 at 1:19pm
You can get a Braun (or whatever brand you like) gold or gold "tone" wire mesh filter cone and cut out the screen and wrap it around the filter holder too. It is cheaper than sacrificing a whole press.
Permalink Reply by Demian Luper on July 15, 2009 at 2:38pm
I have a Yama 8 cup that I got from Sweet Maria's. I've found that soaking the cloth filter in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water solution for several hours works wonders. Just make sure to rinse the filter well after the soaking. I've contemplated getting a glass filter as it's difficult to order cloth filters (a lot of sites say they carry them but don't, or they're too cheap for the minimum order amount but you can only buy 1 pack at a time-ahem, sweet marias...)
Permalink Reply by Stephen Curtis on July 15, 2009 at 5:11pm
The premise for the Hario Press's filter is that it has a much finer screen than a normal press - probably more akin to cloth filtered. I would guess that gold-tone mesh would be similar to the Cory...? I have only used cloth as of yet, so cannot compare directly.

Phil Proteau said:
You can get a Braun (or whatever brand you like) gold or gold "tone" wire mesh filter cone and cut out the screen and wrap it around the filter holder too. It is cheaper than sacrificing a whole press.
Permalink Reply by John P on July 15, 2009 at 6:34pm
Rinse hot water immediately after brewing.
Oxyclean HOT to boiling water 5-10 minutes, rinse thoroughly, run a couple of blank siphons through.
Storing filters in cold water will eliminate most off flavors.

Filters are inexpensive. Replace as needed.
Permalink Reply by Greg Suekoff on July 22, 2009 at 6:04am
After many hours of expirement, here is the best I came up with. The filter from the Yama tea siphon with an astoria dispersion screen between the pieces. It fits with no fabrication or hassle. This has produced the cleanest most accurate extraction so far, the wet aeropress paper filter was a distant second... A few (I mean barely noticeable) grinds find their way into the bottom chamber. Give it a try... I have attached a picture of the three pieces, unassembled. I am not smart enough to have the picture come up automatically.
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Permalink Reply by Stephen Curtis on July 22, 2009 at 10:44am
Awesome Greg, I appreciate the info. Sounds like a great idea!

Greg Suekoff said:
After many hours of expirement, here is the best I came up with. The filter from the Yama tea siphon with an astoria dispersion screen between the pieces. It fits with no fabrication or hassle. This has produced the cleanest most accurate extraction so far, the wet aeropress paper filter was a distant second... A few (I mean barely noticeable) grinds find their way into the bottom chamber.
Permalink Reply by Greg Suekoff on July 23, 2009 at 5:40am
Here's another look at it assembled...
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