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Varia VS3 for Siphon

The showpiece. A vacuum brewer that looks like lab glassware and brews like theatre — water climbs, coffee steeps, and the finished cup is pulled back down as it cools. Clean, aromatic and a genuine spectacle.

Varia VS3
Find your grinder… Varia VS3
1Zpresso J-Max 57–80 1Zpresso JE 96–120 1Zpresso JX 22–29 1Zpresso JX-Pro 128–176 1Zpresso K-Max 80–87 1Zpresso K-Plus 80–87 1Zpresso K-Pro 80–87 1Zpresso K-Ultra 40–56 1Zpresso Q2 (Heptagonal burrs) 54–96 1Zpresso Q2 (Pentagonal burrs) 54–96 1Zpresso Q2 S 54–96 1Zpresso X-Pro 23–32 Baratza Encore 13–18 Baratza Encore ESP 22–28 Baratza Sette 270 13–20 Baratza Vario+ 28–39 Baratza Virtuoso+ 13–18 Breville Smart Grinder Pro 35–50 Comandante C40 MK3 17–23 Comandante C40 MK4 21–27 Comandante C60 Baracuda 30–37 DF64 Gen 2 28–39 Eureka Mignon Specialita 50–70 Eureka Mignon Zero 45–64 Fellow Ode Gen 2 4–8 Fellow Opus 16–29 Flair Royal 28–39 Hario Mini-Slim Pro 10–14 Hario Skerton Pro 3–8 Kingrinder K0 80–112 Kingrinder K1 80–112 Kingrinder K2 80–112 Kingrinder K4 23–32 Kingrinder K6 83–106 Kingrinder P0 46–59 Kingrinder P1 46–59 Kingrinder P2 46–59 MHW-3Bomber R3 Pro 60–100 Mazzer Philos 50–70 Moccamaster KM5 2–5 Niche Zero 33–40 Normcore Manual V2 25–35 OXO Brew Conical 17–23 Option-O Lagom P64 26–46 Sage Smart Grinder Pro 35–50 Timemore C3 Max Pro 13–16 Timemore C3 Pro 13–16 Timemore Chestnut C2 17–23 Timemore Chestnut C3 17–23 Timemore Chestnut S3 52–71 Timemore Chestnut S3 ESP 33–47 Timemore Chestnut X 28–41 Timemore Nano 20–23 Turin DF54 30–45
Varia VS3 31–44
Weber Key 50–70 Wilfa Svart 24–49 Wilfa Uniform+ 15–25
Electric grinder · 48 mm conical burrs

Varia VS3's setting

Clicks
31–44
Grind size
500–700 µm
Grind descriptor
Medium

These settings are consensus values computed from 1 independent sources (manufacturer manuals, reference charts and our micron model), monitored daily for changes.

See the Varia VS3 grind chart

Overview

Ours 1:15·20 g·300 g·93 °C·Medium · 500–700 µm·4:20 Make it yours

Brew with us

Siphon

Grind Medium 500–700 µm
Ratio 1:
Dose g
Water g
Water temp °C
Total time 4:20

STEP 1 / 7 0:00 / 0:00

Notes

We stir as soon as the grounds go in — floating dry on top means uneven brewing. Cut the heat on time; coffee held on the burner past the draw keeps cooking and turns bitter.

Behind every step

  1. 1Heat water

    0:20

    Temperature sets how fast coffee dissolves: hotter pulls more, cooler pulls less. Off-boil is the usual sweet spot — water straight off a rolling boil scorches the grounds and adds a hard, bitter edge.

  2. 2Weigh beans

    0:05

    Weighing instead of scooping is the only way to repeat a brew — beans differ in density and roast, so a scoop of one is not a scoop of another. Fix the dose and every other variable finally means something.

  3. 3Grind

    0:15

    Full immersion near boiling, then a vacuum pulls everything down through the filter — so the grind has to keep that drawdown moving. Medium, a touch coarser than V60; too fine and it stalls, holding coffee on the heat until it turns bitter. Cloth filters tolerate finer, metal wants coarser.

  4. 4Rise

    1:00

    Vapour pressure in the lower chamber pushes water up to meet the coffee, so brewing starts hot and stays hot. Add the grounds once the water is fully up, and stir to sink them, or the top just floats unextracted.

  5. 5Add coffee & stir

    1:30

    Once the water is up, the coffee goes in and a gentle stir sinks the floating grounds so everything brews at once. Around ninety seconds is plenty — the brew is sitting on a heat source, so every extra second counts double.

  6. 6Draw down

    1:00

    Cutting the heat drops the pressure and the vacuum pulls the brew back down through the filter. Take it off in time — coffee left sitting on the burner keeps cooking and turns bitter before it ever draws down.

  7. 7Enjoy

    0:10

    Coffee keeps changing as it cools: aromatics fade, acidity sharpens and sweetness comes forward. Drink it soon after brewing, and taste it as it drops in temperature — that's how you learn what to adjust next time.

Fix it by taste

Timing and heat are the levers. Add coffee once the water is fully in the top chamber, stir to saturate, steep around 90 seconds, then remove the heat and let the vacuum pull it down. Too bitter? Less time or less heat. Too thin? A little more of both, or a finer grind.

  • Bitter, over-extracted
    Steeped too long or too hot
    Fix · Shorten the steep to ~1:30 and cut the heat sooner
  • Stalls, slow drawdown
    Grind too fine
    Fix · Coarsen a step (metal filters want coarser than cloth)
  • Thin and sour
    Under-extracted
    Fix · Grind finer or steep a little longer
  • Uneven steep
    Grounds not saturated
    Fix · Give it a gentle stir once the water rises

What you need

A siphon (stovetop, or with a beam/butane burner), a cloth or metal filter, and a medium grinder. It's fiddly — and worth it for guests.

Beans & roast

Light-to-medium single origins show off the clean, aromatic character. Fresh beans make the aromatics sing.

Variations to try

  • Cloth vs metal filter

    Cloth gives the cleanest cup; metal a bit more body and less fuss

  • Heat source

    A butane beam burner gives finer control than the stovetop

Siphon FAQ

Why is my siphon coffee bitter?

It steeped too long or too hot. Cut the steep to around 90 seconds and pull the heat sooner so it doesn't keep cooking on the burner.

Is a siphon hard to use?

It's fiddly more than hard — a few brews to learn the timing and the stir. The reward is one of the cleanest, most aromatic cups you can make.

Cloth or metal filter?

Cloth gives the cleanest cup but needs care and storage; metal is lower-maintenance with a touch more body. Grind coarser for metal.

Grinders dialed for this method

Full grind chart →
1Zpresso JE Manual grinder · 47 mm conical burrs 96–120
1Zpresso JX
1Zpresso JX Manual grinder · 48 mm conical burrs 22–29
1Zpresso JX-Pro
1Zpresso JX-Pro Manual grinder · 48 mm conical burrs 128–176
Moccamaster KM5 Electric grinder · 50 mm flat burrs 2–5
1Zpresso K-Max
1Zpresso K-Max Manual grinder · 48 mm conical burrs 80–87
1Zpresso K-Plus
1Zpresso K-Plus Manual grinder · 48 mm conical burrs 80–87
Ratio calculator Grind settings for 58 grinders Make your own version Alpha