The Cona vac. pot is positively a functional work of art.  It makes great Coffee.

It may break someday.

This brewer may be the coolest tool in my coffee quiver.  It truly is a work of art.  I treat it as I do our Riedel crystal; careful hand washing, distilled water rinse, and lint free cloth to finish.  The Cona is then displayed front and center in the lighted from above huch with our other crystal.  It looks awesome.  I feel that this and the showy process of the Cona are its strongest points.  The pot does make a damn fine pot of coffee, and is not really that much a hassle to prep or clean.  

In my original review of the Cona I wrote this:  

"Approximately every third pot I get a filter jam.   In this case the brewed coffee takes several minutes more time to return to the lower pot (it may be a grind issue, I use an old Zassenhaus hand mill, that works fine for a press pot) .  Because of the temperature of the brewing water this doesn't cause obviously over extracted coffee,  but it does throw an objective plan for ideal result out the window.  It is also a bummer when you want to show off your fancy toy, and; "Oh..., it some times gets a little slow."  "

At this point I want to emphasize what may be the #1 lesson to be learned from the coffee gurus on this site:  It's the grinder...  I've since started using my Macap M4 to grind for the Cona and all brew time and clog issues have ended.  

The cup quality is the equal of any other brewing process.  The fact that you are brewing with only glass makes for a cup that is a clean as it gets.  For day to day brewing I still use a press pot because  it's easier to clean.  The Cona is great for showing off  either on display or for brewing.  Before I got my espresso set up I lamented the fact that I spent so much money (well it was a gift), on a show piece that I use on weekends.  Now I have my espresso and am on to the next big thing (I need a drum roaster...), if only I had that $150...  

 As functional art there is no equal (in it's price and weight range).

This was a gift for my wedding.  It was shipped from espresso zone (free shipping, no tax). I suggested this gift be ordered from  Sweet Marias, but it was was out of stock.  When I mail order for myself I usually go for out of state vendors so as to save a few bucks on sales tax.  Luckily there is no tax on green coffee.