It is a very interesting brewing method, no doubt, though it is a shame that it is the overinflated price-tag that has really generated the interest (there is no way that cost $20K).

It is an interesting brewing method from a technical point of view as it is very temperature stable in the upper chamber during infusion and the cloth filter is a great filtration method for the percolation as it seems to let through more than paper but still keeps the cup nice and clean.

I keep meaning to buy a decent syphon but using a Chemex for most of my home brews just makes me too lazy.

Unbleached filters? Do you not find the coffee tastes quite a lot like paper?

Whilst you get a very smooth cup when the water is cooler - it is much better if you brew around 200F, I suspect the water you had microwaved was a little cooler. (Why a microwave - what is wrong with a kettle?)

Good choice of coffee though - Intelligentsia are great.

I quite like using mine with higher dose of slightly coarser ground coffee to brew about 3 or 4oz of strong coffee and then adding a little fresh hot water (maybe another 3 or 4oz).

Doesn't beat a good French Press though!

It is pretty easy to do in the kitchen, though does require some patience as the whole process takes about three days.

I tried using it to make a , but I think it works best for making essences of foodstuffs that are clear and easy to work with - like the stuff the guys at Ideas in Food (link in McGee's article) are doing. In the past I've used a centrifuge to clear out the solid from a donut flavoured liquid but this seems like a much cheaper way to do it.

There aren't many clear recipes out there but I'd suggest starting out at 0.5% by weight, and no higher than 1%. Make sure the gelatin has had proper time to set before you freeze it or it won't work properly.