Coffee Brewing - Cafetiere

The cafetiere, french press or plunge pot. It seems like every home has one and is often the first purchase for someone looking to improve their coffee drinking experience. It's easy to use, quick to clean and means you can try a selection of the many different coffees on offer.

It is a type of immersion brewing where the coffee is put into the pot and the water then poured directly on top and brewed all together for 3-4 mins. The metal filter is then pushed down to separate the grounds from the brewed coffee and served. This method is best for coffee drinkers who love a rich, full bodied experience in their cup. You will notice a slightly murky colour to the coffee and a sediment of ground coffee at the bottom. This is due to the metal mesh filter, with relatively large holes, letting the oils and some coffee solids into the drink. This is what contributes to the full mouth feel of a cafetiere coffee but can risk leaving a muddy or earthy taste if you use too fine a grind. Small particles of coffee immersed in boiled water for too long will extract bitter flavours and make the strength unpleasant.

Unfortunately, pre-ground coffee bought from stores is often too fine for cafetiere and more suitable for filter or mokka pot. A better option would be purchase a burr grinder and grind whole beans. A burr grinder used for making cafetiere coffee doesn't have to be expensive as the courser grind means less precision is needed than the micro adjustments needed for espresso.

A really easy improvement to your cafetiere brewing at home is to the let boiled water in the kettle cool down for a few minutes before pouring over the coffee. For even better results try stirring the grounds in the pot until the bloom is an even colour then push the filter down so all the coffee is submerged just under the water surface.