If you love your morning cup of coffee and are looking for a quick and easy brewing method, a cafetière is a great option.
In this guide, we are going to show you how to use a cafetière – it’s a simple and easy coffee brewing method that has been around for many years.
The perfect brew can be achieved with just one pour of hot water, so it’s something you can do without any fuss or mess.
If you want your café experience at home but don’t want to spend lots of money on other types of coffee makers, this is a great option!
What Is A Cafetiere?
A cafetière is a French press coffee maker or a “coffee plunger”. It can brew one cup of coffee at a time manually but can usually make up to three cups, depending on the size you buy.
Cafetieres are typically made from either glass or metal, with glass being more popular.
A cafetière is a pot that brews coffee by leaving the ground coffee to be steeped in hot water. The filter enclosed in the lid is then pushed down (plunged) to the bottom.
The plunging separates the coffee grounds, leaving you with freshly brewed coffee to pour out into your coffee mug.
The brewing process involves the coffee grounds being submerged in hot water for the whole duration, making it a full immersion brew.
Coffee lovers who enjoy making their own coffees will love the cafetière because it doesn’t require electricity, so you can take it anywhere with you and make your favourite drink wherever there is hot water.
How To Make Coffee In A Cafetiere
Making coffee in a cafetière is simple.
What You Need:
- Cafetière
- Ground coffee (either buy it already ground, or you can grind it yourself from fresh coffee beans)
- Water
- Kettle
Steps:
- Boil the water in the kettle and leave it to rest for 1 to 2 minutes while preparing the coffee grounds. Don’t pour freshly boiled water over ground coffee or you risk burning it.
- Allow 1 tbsp of ground coffee per cup of coffee, or, if you prefer stronger coffee, you can increase this amount. Add the ground coffee to the cafetiere.
- Pour the boiled water over the ground coffee, allow about 125ml of hot water for each cup of coffee. Use a spoon to make sure all the coffee grounds are submerged and stirred in.
- Place the cafetière lid on top without plunging it down.
- Leave for at least 3 minutes before slowly pressing it down, longer if you prefer a more robust coffee, but try not to leave it for longer than 4 minutes.
- Pour the coffee out into mugs, add milk and/or sugar if required, or leave the milk out for a black coffee.
- Remove the used coffee grounds from the bottom of the press by scooping them out. They can be added to the compost bin or in the garden as a fertiliser.
You can also leave the coffee in the cafetière to cool if you are making an iced coffee.
Related: Types of Coffee Drinks
What Is The Coffee To Water Ratio?
This will largely depend on how strong you like your coffee, but the general rule is 1 tbsp (7g) of ground coffee for each cup of coffee (approx. 125ml).
What Coffee Can You Use In A Cafetiere?
The best coffee for a cafetière is a medium-coarse ground blend. You can use any flavour of coffee, check on the package that it is suitable for cafetières or is a medium ground.
If you are grinding your own coffee beans, don’t blend them too fine, or they will be able to get through the filter, but also, don’t leave them too coarse, or you won’t be able to plunge the coffee grounds. Somewhere in the middle, the grounds should be similar to those with no large chunks left in.
Related: Best Coffee Grinders
Cafetiere Pros
- Cheap to buy.
- Quick to make.
- Easy to use.
- Cleaning is quick and easy.
- Portable – they can be taken to the office, on holiday, and especially useful for camping trips.
Cafetiere Cons
- Some sediment can get into the coffee.
- A cafetière is not as durable as other coffee machines.