Did Ya See?

Ever heard of a Chatelaine? Well, they’ve been around in one form or another since Roman times up through the Victorian era.  They started out as toiletry kits (ear scoops, nail cleaners, and tweezers) but evolved into highly personalized, sometimes symbols of statuses, for specific hobbies, professions and stations.

Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a woman’s dress, bearing tiny useful accessories, from notebooks …
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I have a much simpler (and affordable) version of this rig, but I have to admit getting a little caffeinated jealousy over this lovely siphon coffee maker.

Recalling the coffee maker invented by Loeff of Berlin in the 1830s, this is the balancing siphon coffee brewer. An alcohol burner heats water inside the copper kettle to 212º F, causing it to pass through the pipette and into the lead crystal brewing chamber where it steeps the coffee grounds at the ideal temperature for making rich, complex coffee. 

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