A very nice novelty, not an everyday piece of equipment.
Positive Product Points
Hypnotic. Fun. Beautiful. Nice brewer. Easy to clean.
Negative Product Points
Grinds must be dead-on. Does not like oily-beans at all. Coffee gets cold fast.
Detailed Commentary
I really like to show off this devise around friends & family. Everyone seems to get a kick out of it. I see it as a novelty, not an everyday piece of equipment.
It is easy enough to use & makes a good cup of coffee, but it does not lend itself to my style of coffee drinking on a daily basis.
It does require a very specific grind. Too fine, and the vacuum created in the lower chamber is in sufficient to draw to water from the top chamber back down through the grinds back into the lower chamber. If the grind is too coarse, well then you just get brown, funny-tasting hot water. Similarly, oily-beans will tend to clog-up the valve between the upper & lower chambers, so be careful.
Remember, since we're talking about an un-insulated glass devise, it does not lend itself to retaining heat well, so drink fast or transfer to a thermos. Also, make sure the top chamber is pushed all the way down into to lower chamber in order to ensure the proper seal is created, but be careful, glass breaks & cuts very easily.
The size of the Santos also is a bit quirky. it's a bit too small for my largest burner at full-blast (the flames mostly ride up the sides), and my smallest burner is a bit too weak to get the job done right, so I set my largest burner at about 3/4 on to get the job done.
Buying Experience
amazon.com has always been a pleasure to deal with in my experience.
Three Month Followup
Rarely used.
One Year Followup
I now rarely use this pot (as I expected). I break it out once & a while to mesmerize someone, but it's just not practical for everyday use, plus it just doesn't keep the coffee hot at all.
