Customer Reviews

Vacu Vin Coffee Saver Starter Set

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This well constructed polycarbonate container maintains a strong vacuum. Coffee's greatest enemies are heat, light and air. The container protects from light. The vacuum mechanism, while simple to use, maintains an airless environment for coffee storage. Also these containers can be used for other food storage. Really, a well made product.

I've owned this product for about two months now. I was initially disappointed to find that it did not keep it's seal over the course of the day most of the time. What made it work as advertised is to periodically (once every couple of weeks or so) rub a small amount mineral oil on all of the gaskets with my finger (both the canister gaskets and the air remover gaskets.) I've done this for the last month now and have yet to find the seal diminished when I open it up in the morning.

The previous poster has it right. This device has made all the difference in my coffee enjoyment and I thought I'd post my experience with it.
I used to only grind enough beans for the pot I was brewing. This made drinking coffee a production! But, since I've been using the Vacu Vin coffee saver (for about 2 years now), I can grind about a weeks' worth of beans at one time, and the last pot is as good as the first.
Also, the initial expense is more than made up for in the constant freshness of my fresh-ground coffee.

Before using the Vacu Vin I thought the entire secret to great coffee was the type of coffee used. I used to purchase "better" coffee, hoping to duplicate a great "coffeehouse" experience. I have discovered that keeping coffee fresh is really key, and now I am experiencing consistently good coffee from a much wider selection of coffees.

This was my first Vacu Vin purchase, but after using it for a while, it wasn't my last. I've been using two of these for ground coffee since January, and I've been very happy with how fresh they keep the coffee. I've had coffee in one for over a month now, and it's still fresh. The plastic is very high quality and has a great feel to it. The vacuum pump is easy to use - it does take some effort to pump it enough to form a solid seal, but it doesn't take long to get use to doing it.

As a potential hint, I no longer store the coffee loosely in the containers like shown in the product description. I typically buy the 12-ounce bags of coffee (such as Starbucks), and those fit inside of this size container just fine. The advantage to keeping it in the bag, IMO, is that it keeps the container cleaner and there isn't the risk of loose coffee coating the rubber seal on the lid.

I think this product works great and is the best thing I've found for keeping my coffee fresh. I saw some of the reviews here reporting trouble making or keeping the vacuum. The product is great, but it does take a little care to get the seal right. Follow these tips, and you'll be happy. First, you have to keep the gasket and the rim of the cannister clean. After even a day or two of use, grounds accumulate on the gasket and the rim and can interfere with making or keeping a good seal. (This wouldnt apply if you're storing whole beans, but you'd still want to make sure the gasket is clean.) Before re-sealing I routinely look at the gasket and the rim and brush off excessive grounds - it just takes a few seconds. When I run through all the coffee in the cannister, I wash/dry the gasket before re-filling (it comes off easy). Doing this I have very few problems with the seal. Second, you have to pay attention to the pumping process. Its not enough to just pump it a dozen times. If you don't feel increasing resistance to the pumping action, you're not forming a vacuum. In this case, either you don't have a good seal between the pump and the valve or your gasket has paricles on it (see above). I generally use the product daily, but I've had the vacuum hold just fine when I've been away for several days. Third, to the commenter who said they can't get the cannister open once the vacuum is established, just press on the center of the valve (the little nub). This releases the vacuum (you'll hear the whoosh) and the top comes right off. The only negative comment I have about the product is the pump that came with it sometimes just doesn't seal right and I can't get the vacuum going. When it doesn't work, I can't really see why. I dont feel the resistance increasing and I know there's no vacuum. Maybe mine is slightly defective, but 9 days out of 10 i dont have any problems. I have an older version of the pump from this company (i use it for wine) and it works flawlessly.

This was exactly what I was looking for to store my ground coffee, since I grind a week's worth and wanted to keep it fresh. Some of the very fine grinds occasionally stick to the rubber gasket -- so I have to wipe them off in order to ensure a good seal. And the pump to valve seal takes a bit of practice to perfect -- but, overall, I think it's a very good product.

If you like simple machines, this is a cool device. The intent of the Vacu Vin coffee saver is to preserve the freshness of food items by storing them in a vacuum. Remove the oxygen, and the normal breakdown of organic material slows down. This has worked well for me, both with whole coffee beans and fresh ground coffee. I would say the Vacu Vin lengthens the life of ground coffee considerably. Certainly better than storing in the freezer, and way better than leaving on the shelf at room temperature. Seems to extend the useful life of whole coffee beans too.

The Vacu Vin container consists of a clear plastic bowl, and a lid with a hefty rubber seal and a vacuum valve in the center. A vacuum is created by placing the pump on the seal and pumping the handle up and down vigorously. How much you have to pump depends on how much stuff you have stored in the container (more air requires more pumping). I have found when the container is half full of coffee beans, I have to pump the thing at least 20 times before I think a good vacuum has been formed. Once sealed, my container has held a vacuum for two or three days without leaking - I have not tried longer than that.

There are a couple of limitations or design improvements the Vacu Vin could stand. First, placing the pump in the rubber vacuum valve is inexact at best. There is no real positive feedback that you have engaged the pump properly, and you have to apply a fair amount of downward force with the steadying hand to keep the pump sealed to the valve. Secondly, you don't really know when you should quit pumping. I mean, you can't ever really remove 100% of the air from a container, but it would be nice if there were some kind of indicator that showed roughly how much vacuum existed. Lastly, this is not a device to buy if you have arthritic shoulders or wrists. Evacuating a container with a piston this size requires an upward pull that will eventually reach 5 or 10 pounds. And as I mentioned above, it takes me 20-ish pumps before I think full vacuum is reached, so it is kind of a work out.

I really like this container, despite its quirks. The main thing is that the Vacu Vin does not have the deafening growl of our electric vacuum sealer, nor the tubes and wires. And vacuum storage raises some puzzling new conundrums. For example: coffee beans stored in a vacuum seem to seep out their oils more rapidly than at normal atmospheric pressure. Is this a bad thing? Or does it matter?

I purchase whole coffee beans one pound at a time, grinding what I need just before I brew. But keeping the remaining beans fresh is a challenge, even with less than a pound on hand.

The Vacu Vin canister does exactly what I need: keep its contents fresh with minimal effort. The lid fits tightly--and, as noted by another reviewer, is not square, necessitating a little attention to ensure that one replaces it correctly. I cannot remove the lid without releasing the seal, which is exactly what I want.

Even though I already own a Vacu Vin pump, I purchased the Coffee Saver Starter Set so that I would have a spare pump--and I'm glad I did. The new pump is significantly larger than the old one, allowing me to quickly evacuate the canister. The handle of the pump rotates freely, making placement of the pump atop the seal simple.

Update (28 July 2010): I continue to be thoroughly pleased with this canister. The beans on the bottom remain as fresh as when I liberate them from their FlavorLock bag. The seal easily maintained the vacuum during an eight-day vacation.

My only complaint is that the canister just barely holds a pound of whole beans. (I suspect that Vacu Vin designed it to hold a pound of ground coffee, which occupies slightly less space.) So I always completely empty it before adding a new pound of beans--which, admittedly, does help ensure that I use the entire previous pound while it's fresh.

Impressed by the Vacu Vin wine saver, I thought I would try their coffee saver system as well.

Mine works like a charm, holding a vacuum indefinitely.

I should note that I am using the coffee saver to keep whole beans; I wonder if other customers having problems with the vacuum seal are keeping ground coffee, with the grounds getting into the rubber outer seal and preventing a tight and lasting vacuum.

Beyond that explanation, I'm not sure why some other customers have had problems with these coffee savers, but I suspect that Vacu Vin's obtuse pictographic European-style directions might have played a part.

First it appears that the lid doesn't have four identical corners; one opposing pair appears slightly rounded and the other appears slightly more pointed.

So the first important instruction should be to make sure that you have the lid properly oriented on the container. Then you press the pump to the rubber valve in the center of the lid (after making sure that the valve is seated properly) and pump out the air; the fewer beans in the container, the more air you have to remove.

When it feels as if there's no more air to pump, you're done. The way to check the seal is simply to try to remove the lid at one of the corners; if it won't budge, your seal is good.

Then -- for folks who were having trouble opening the lid when you want to use the beans -- you press down on the little nipple in the middle of the gray rubber valve and pull the valve off of the lid. You will hear the air rush in with a loud hiss -- this is a much stronger vacuum than you get when you open a fresh container of coffee beans.

Finally simply pry up the lid at one of the corners to open the container.

I have only had my coffee saver a few weeks so I can't talk about durability yet, but the container, lid, and pump all appear to be made of very high-grade plastic.

As I say, my container has held coffee beans in a tight vacuum for at least a week or ten days, and with proper instructions (like those I have just conveyed!), I imagine yours should too.

Recommended for coffee lovers.