How Does a Cafetiere Work?

How To Use a Cafetiere

Follow these simple steps to brew up a batch of java that any barista would be proud of:

1. Remove the cafetiere lid and plunger and preheat the cafetiere jug by filling with boiling water.
2. Whilst the jug warms, grind your beans to a medium coarse consistency. You can use pre-ground coffee, but for a cup that burst with freshness you'll want to grind the beans yourself.
3. Empty the hot water from the jug and place the required amount of coffee in the base - 70 grams per litre or one heaped teaspoon per cup (note: a cup is roughly 240ml).
4. Top with hot, but not boiling, water. Water that's too hot can burn your coffee grounds, adding a nasty bitter taste to your brew.
5. Replace the lid with the plunger pulled all the way up.
6. Allow your coffee to infuse for 4 minutes.
7. Once infused, push the plunger down. This will separate the grounds from your brew. Take care not to compact the grounds at the bottom of the jug as this can release a bitter taste.
8. Pour into your favourite mugs and serve. Add milk if desired.

TIP: Some roasters recommend adding a small dash of hot water to your ground coffee, stirring and allowing it to sit for 30 seconds before adding the rest of the water. If you choose to do this, take this 30 seconds from the overall brewing time.

How Much Coffee Should I Put in My Cafetiere?

The quantity of coffee you need depends on three main things:

• The strength of the coffee
• How finely ground your coffee is
• The mineral composition of your water

As a general rule, use approximately 70 to 75g of coffee per litre of water. This equates to roughly one scoop or heaped teaspoon per person (or cup). Remember, this is a general rule, and you may need to use less for richer coffee. The amount you use can also be tailored to your drinker's taste: more grounds for a stronger coffee, fewer for a weaker brew.

TIP: Cafetieres work best with a coarser grind of coffee. Rather than a fine powder, your beans should have a texture more like sand. Invest in one of our coffee grinders to ensure you get your beans just right.

A Brief History of Cafetieres

Humans have been drinking coffee since the 15th century, but cafetieres as we know them only emerged in the mid-19th century. Dozens of coffee makers were patented in France throughout the 1840's and 1850's, but most of these focused on ways of boiling water and coffee grounds together or passing the water through the grounds, rather than letting them brew.

Despite these primitive designs, the English language use of the word cafetiere originated in this period of invention and it is simply the French for 'coffee maker'. This was also the time when coffee drinking rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe and emerged in America.

We took a step closer to modern cafetieres in 1852 when Henri-Otto Mayer and Jacques-Victor Delforge patented their 'Pressure Coffee Maker With Instantaneous Filtration', which was the first coffee pot to use a piston to exclude grounds from water during the pouring process. Unfortunately, limitations in technology made making a watertight seal difficult at the time and many sources claim the resultant invention didn't really work.

DID YOU KNOW: Despite it being a French word, many French people use the word cafetière to refer to filter coffee machines and 'cafetière à piston' (or 'piston coffee maker') to refer to a conventional plunger operated device.

This problem was solved in 1929 when Italian inventor Attilio Callimani patented a revised coffee plunger with a mesh skirt and fine grill. The modern cafetiere was born!

His design was refined further in 1957 By Faliero Bondanini who patented a system using flexible fins in conjunction with a spring in order to give the perfect seal. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's the humble coffee plunger became a must-have part of domestic life, aided by several large distributors and the popular Bodum French presses.

Choosing a Cafetiere

Sizing

One of the main decisions when buying a cafetiere is trying to choose the correct size. Fortunately, they're usually labelled for the number of cups of coffee they provide. This generally allows for roughly a 4½oz or 125ml cup, which leaves space for milk in a modest 6oz cup.

If you are serving larger quantities of coffee, 3 cup cafetieres could easily be shared between two or be used for personal use. By comparison, our larger 6 cup, 8 cup, and 12 cup cafetieres are built for generous sharing.

Material

Cafetieres can be made from a range of materials, making choosing potentially difficult. Polycarbonate is an affordable option which is incredibly unlikely to break, but lacks the refinement or luxurious finish of glass. Glass is arguably the most common material for cafetiere beakers as it adds a premium touch while remaining clear enough to allow users to brew their coffee to the darkness they desire.

Finally, stainless steel and aluminium options combine the sturdiness of polycarbonate with a contemporary design and even boast unrivalled thermal insulation. The only downside is trying to keep an eye on the progress of your brew!

Design

Most cafetieres feature a main beaker which is either built into the frame, as with some plastic ones, or held and removed from a surrounding frame (as with glass ones). It can be useful to browse a full selection of coffee plungers in order to find the ideal one to suit the look and requirements of your business.

Can i use a cafetiere for tea?

Yes! In fact, Faliero Bondanini's 1929 patent described his coffee plunger as 'a device for the filtration of infusions such as tea or coffee'. As such, cafetieres are a good way of brewing loose leaf teas without the risk of drinking leaves. Teabags already provide the necessary separation, however, so using a cafetiere generally isn't worth it. If you choose to do so, however, as with coffee, it's important to remember not to press too hard and risk releasing bitter flavours.

Instead, why not go with the tried and tested teapot?