The Siphon Bar Pours a US$20,000 Cup of Coffee

No, it’s not a steampunk chemistry set. That picture is of the United States’ only halogen-powered siphon bar. Imported from Japan after years of negotiations, the US$20,000+ machine is housed at San Francisco’s Blue Bottle Café. Each “pot” consists of two globes. Water vapour evaporates from the bottom globe into the higher globe to meet the grounds. The coffee is then stirred with a bamboo paddle, removed from the heat and siphoned back to the lower globe (minus grounds). It sounds delicious…and totally worth whatever it costs per cup. Hit the NYT for the full mad scientist process in photos. [nyt via bornrich]