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Vac Pot Brewing with the Starbucks Utopiaby Lura Lee When the coffee has settled in the carafe, place one hand on the carafe handle and use the other to pull back and peel off the coffee filter basket and lid. The base has a special feature: a stand for the coffee filter basket's funnel. Place the coffee filter basket in the stand, flip the top of the carafe into position and remove the carafe from the base. You can now pour yourself an excellent cup of coffee.
Keep WarmThe Utopia has two features that clearly distinguish it from the rest of the vacuum pot family and make it akin to popular drip coffee machines: a "keep warm" feature and a programming feature. The base will keep the coffee in the carafe warm for a total of 2 hours and the heat sensors will shut off the power base entirely if the carafe has not been returned to the base within 8 minutes. Starbucks claims that their keep warm feature does not continue to "cook" the coffee, but they don't indicate in any of the associated literature exactly how their power base adjusts the temperature depending on the amount of coffee in the carafe, or how the heat is delivered to the system without cooking the coffee. Starbucks suggests that if you have removed the carafe for more than 8 minutes and the power base is turned off, you should pour the remaining coffee into a thermal carafe. You must never turn the Utopia on in an effort to keep previously-brewed coffee warm, because this will trigger another brewing cycle. My advice: if you removed the carafe for over eight minutes and didn't drink the coffee, pour it in your cup or pour it down the drain. (I'm not a big fan of thermal carafes.) ProgrammingProgramming the Utopia is very simple, it's just like programming a digital alarm clock. Press and hold the "Auto On" button for about 5 seconds. Then set the clock using the hour and minute buttons. Press the "Auto On" button again and a yellow light will come on, indicating that you've successfully programmed the machine. Just don't forget to load up the machine with water and coffee before you go to bed. SummaryVacuum pot brewed coffee is wonderful, and every serious coffee drinker should experience it. If you are ready to move past drip coffee makers, but you aren't ready to commit to other, traditional-style vacuum pot systems, you might consider the Utopia. It combines much of the ease of drip coffee maker with the richness of the french press. Simply put: the Starbucks Barista Utopia is the easiest vac-pot system on the market. |
