A cafetiere usually consists of a thermal glass, plunger, filter and stylish chrome or plastic design and are much easier to use than would expect. They allow you to brew a coffee in a few simple steps by immersing coffee grounds in boiling hot water. As the plunger is pressed downwards, the filter separates the grounds from the liquid. This gives you the desirable rich taste that’s perfect for kick starting your day.
As you can imagine, there is a huge selection of cafetieres on the market. They come in a range of sizes that include 3, 6, 8 or 12 cup cafeteires as well as luxurious designs to compliment your kitchen. Some of the best rated cafetieres are built to the highest of standards and often include stainless steel or aluminium components instead of polycarbonate.
If you are worried about the difficulty of using a cafetiere, we walk you through everything you need to know and how to use a cafetiere with ease.
Table of Contents
What Coffee Do You Use In A Cafetiere?
In order to get the most out of a cafetiere, you will want to a use ground coffee of your choice. However, if you want to experience the freshest brewed coffee, you can use a coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans yourself. Personally, we like to use ground coffee in our cafetiere and have experienced hundreds of different blends over the years.
How Much Coffee Do You Use?
The amount of coffee to use in a cafetiere is determined by how finely ground the coffee is and the strength to which you enjoy coffee. Many brands state that approximately 75g of coffee per litre of water is the perfect amount, which also equates to one scoop per cup you’d like to brew. However, we would recommend reading the instructions on the packaging for confirmation.
How To Use A Cafetiere
1. Preheat The Cafetiere
Although optional, preheating the cafetiere beforehand with hot water from the kettle can improve the taste of the coffee. It also allows the cafetiere to maintain its temperature whilst brewing.
2. Add Ground Coffee
Empty the hot water from preheating and then place the required amount of ground coffee into the cafetirere. Alternatively, you can use your own coffee beans, which you can grind whilst the cafetiere is heating up (from step 1).
3. Fill Halfway And Stir
Allow the kettle to sit for a few minutes once boiled and fill the cafetiere halfway with water. Once you have reached the halfway point, stir the hot water and ground coffee 5 to 6 times. Depending upon the coffee you use, some coffee brands may not specify that you need to stir the coffee whilst using a cafetiere.
4. Add More Water And Put The Lid On
Once you have finished stirring, add more water to the cafetiere until it reaches the max level. You want to avoid filling it too high because it may spill whilst placing the plunger into the cafetiere or whilst pouring. Once you have filled up the cafetiere, place the plunger lid on correctly as this allows for easy pouring.
5. Allow To Brew For 4 Minutes
With the lid on and the plunger still up, allow the coffee to brew for 4 minutes. Depending upon the coffee that you are using, it may state that it requires more or less time to brew. However, from our experience, 4 minutes is enough brewing time.
6. Slowly Plunge
Slowly push down on the plunger (we demonstrate this in the video below). Once you’ve reached the bottom, don’t push down too hard because this can release a bitter taste to the coffee.
7. Pour The Coffee And Enjoy
Pour the brewed coffee into your mug and enjoy. For peace of mind, you may wish to hold the plunger lid as you pour to avoid any spillages (as shown in the photo).
Watch Us Plunge & Pour Our Cafetiere
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How To Clean A Cafetiere
After you’ve enjoyed your coffee, its time to clean it. Below is how we clean our cafetiere on a daily basis:
- Use a large spoon, spatula or your hands to remove the compressed coffee
- Place the coffee in the bin to avoid clogging up the sink
- Fill the cafetiere halfway with water and pour it down the sink
- Add some washing up liquid and warm water into the cafetiere
- Use the plunger to pump the mixture inside of the cafetiere
- Dispose of the mixture and rinse clear with fresh water
- Dry out the inside of the cafetiere with a clean cloth or paper towel
If you wish to give your cafetiere a deep clean, many cafetieres may be able to go through the dishwasher. In order to do this, you may need to dismantle it but if you wish to give it a thorough clean, it’s worth doing.
Conclusion
Hopefully the above guide on how to use a cafetiere along with our other tips show you how easy they really are to use. If you are yet to buy one, we would recommend avoiding the cheap polycarbonate examples if possible. The luxury stainless steel/aluminium cafetieres look and feel high quality and also look great on display in your kitchen.
