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Say what you will about the mythology of questionable coffee brewing practices, the Atomic Coffee maker is one of the most debated.
After dealing with all the e-mail I get about nutrition, manuals, spare parts and general confusion about best practices, the Atomic coffee series generates the most contentious discussions.
It seems that everyone is convinced that these things are sacred. Apparently they do not just deliver coffee, but a nectar, delivered from the bosum of Venus.
Far be it from me to undermine anyones opinion on what, I believe, is just another coffee maker (go ahead, send mail!) Enough from me. We go to the source and the source is Frederick Nakos of Montreal Canada. He has more Atomic coffee makers than anyone else I know. --Colin Newell
Additional Chapters: | Atomic 101 | Atomic 201 | Atomic User Manual | Atomic New Zealand |
 Rule Number one: Never leave the main knob screwed on, except when you are brewing. Got that? Never, ever never!
Rule Number two: Never tamp the coffee grinds beyond 5 ounces of pressure.
Do not tamp at all! Grind fine or go home!
What is important is the quality, the uniformity, the same grind (yeah I know), of your coffee.
Clean your beautiful Atomic: If it's an experienced machine, take off the two screws under the head. Scrub what you see and straighten that filter plate with the back of a soup spoon ( you do have one of those). All cleaning in that region can be made with a Brillo pad, S.O.S. In Canada, it's sort of a steel mesh wad impregnated with soap. It is wonderful stuff when you need it.
If your machine has been standing for any length of time, fill halfway with cold water and shake the heck out of it. Next: Empty contents. Repeat until no more flakes come out.
If you are lucky, nothing more will come out.
Fill the body with fresh water.
Tighten the knob in place. Did you change the black rubber seal?
You should if it's not resilient any more.
Now for the coffee: I use French Roast. It's nice, dark and shiny, something along the line of a sugar like grain consistency. Do not use espresso grind! Be warned!
Consistency is the operative word here. You have two baskets, a shallow one, and a deep one.
The truth is it doesn't make one bit of difference which one you use. I'm continually comparing both of them and the only difference I notice (as with many other tasters along the years) is that the deeper basket uses more coffee!
Why use the small one? This is one factor that makes the ATOMIC coffee maker so fascinating: economy in use!
Fill the smaller basket to 3/4, evenly. I call it layering, nice and flat. Twist that holder into place. Fire it up, making sure that the steamer knob is shut. Not all of these units have them so if there is a steam knob, shut it.
Place the jug under the Atomic spout.
If the phone rings at that precise moment, ignore it. There you go. Within a minute or two the spluttering starts. This is the signal that all of yesterday's worries will soon disappear.
The coffee is almost done. Prepare two cups. You have poured in each one 1/ 4 full, 2% cold milk, with the hot plate or gas still on. Place each individual cup underneath the frothing wand and raise the mug to the tip and crack open that red ball knob. Do the frothing bit for each mug. Close steam knob between mugs. You can do three mugs. That tip must be cleaned between uses and never let the dried milk stagnate there.
Sprinkle cinnamon or chocolate dust on top. You may try a little Canadian maple syrup to sweeten.
When the body is cool, unscrew the main knob and empty what water is there. You may have none.
 Not all Atomics perform the same. Some have thicker bodies and take more time to heat up. Others take less time. I own an early model with the frothing attachment fixed on top of the head. It brews too fast and the full coffee flavor is not developed.
Solution? Lower the heat , more time is needed and that's all. Final thoughts: Experiment! Finer grind will give you more pressure (never tamp). Lower heat will give you more flavor.
One thing that I almost forgot, if you have the coffee holder with the hole through it at the bottom and you have that brass shaft, well you don't need it one bit! the grinds keep that pressure up just fine, long enough to impress your friends with your frothing savoir-faire.
Now if I were you I'd make a copy of all this and have it laminated for reference. It could look good facing the mirror in your entrance.
Additional Chapters: | Atomic 101 | Atomic 201 | Atomic User Manual | Atomic New Zealand |
Frederick Nakos, lives and works in St. Ours Quebec, Canada near Montreal. He is an engineer by training and fancies himself as something of an raconteur, bon vivant and man-about-town. He knowledge of Atomic coffee makers is beyond compare. he has tackled the project of making Atomic coffee jugs by hand. Additional info on the Atomic can be found here.
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