Can you help me identify this coffee maker?

by John
(Battle Creek, MI)

QUESTION:

My mother has a coffee maker that looks very similar to the one in the attached photo. I would like to learn as much as I can about it. Can you start pointing me in the right direction? Thanks.

ANSWER:

I’m no expert when it comes to vintage coffee makers, I’m afraid. But from what I can see, it appears to be an old vacuum brewer.

Many people mistakenly believe that vacuum brewers are a relatively recent invention. Not so. They have been around for over a hundred and fifty years.

If I were you I would spend some time looking through this list of manufacturers compiled by Brian Harris at baharris.org.

If you don’t find something that comes close, try emailing Brian himself. His knowledge of vacuum brewers is second to none.

On this site we have a brief introduction to vacuum coffee makers here...

Comments for Can you help me identify this coffee maker?

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Dec 07, 2013

Manning Bowman 1904
by: Michael Pankratz

It is a Manning-Bowman "meteor" coffee maker. It burns denatured alcohol to heat the percolator.

Jan 03, 2009

Vacuum Brewer or Urn
by: Our Coffee Barn

I would say it is either an old vacuum brewer or just a coffee urn to keep coffee warm. I would need more detailed pictures to say for sure. If the item has a lower and a upper chamber then it is in fact a vintage vacuum brewer.

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