Plunge slowly and steadily, holding the handle with one hand, and the plunger with the other. Don’t plunge too fast or some of the grounds can escape the strainer, or the coffee can spurt out of the spout. However, if you find cleaning that filter a bit of a fiddly chore, then the One Brew definitely does have one up on the french press as it’s very easy to clean. As the name suggests, you can only make one cup at a time, but if this isn’t an issue, you’ll be pleased with its neat, minimalist design. Clean the cafetière before use – you need to clean it before or after every time you use it. Reusing a cafetière without cleaning will make your coffee taste a little old or muddy.

Add the coffee to the base of the heatproof jug – 1 tbsp per cup you want to make. This is about 7g, so for an 8 cup cafetière you need 50-60g (depending on how strong you like it). You can weigh this out on digital scales or using a measuring spoon. If you’re not filling the whole cafetière (making 8 cups), use 125ml water per 1 tbsp coffee ground for every cup you want to make. Great-tasting coffee needs a good-looking pot – like our elegant Double-Walled 3-Cup Cafetière. Featuring stylish curves, beautifully clear glass and a smart stainless steel filter, it’s just the right size for you and a loved one to enjoy your morning coffee. The glass can break, but replacements are widely available. The plastic or metal handle and plunger are reusable.

The best cafetières you can buy in 2023

Boil the kettle and leave it to rest for 1 minute while you weigh the coffee. You need the water to cool down slightly, as you don’t want to ‘burn’ the coffee grounds when you pour the water over. Most cafetières have two main parts: a cylinder or beaker and a filter that fits tightly inside the cylinder, which is attached to the lid by a pole running through, with a plunger at the top. Push down when the coffee is ready to drink, and the filter pushes down on the coffee grounds, leaving you with grounds-free, tasty coffee. The filter is usually stainless-steel wire or nylon mesh, although more traditional ones can be made of cheesecloth (though this is rare these days). What features should I look for? It doesn’t take up too much space, in fact, it takes up no space on your worktop, you can simply store it in the cupboard until needed, unlike larger electronic coffee machines. Cafetières come in different sizes and they can be measured in litre size or by cup size. The 350ml version makes one large mug, two smaller mugs or three cups. You can also buy ones that make six cups, which are usually 650ml in size. The one-litre versions are a good family size or for entertaining as it makes about eight cups. Nowadays you can get everything in between, too, from four cups right up to 12 cups. We’d always suggest going for slightly bigger than you’ll need as most of us are used to big coffees, and you might be surprised at just how small one cup is in the cafetiére world. With this in mind, and to be precise, we’ve specified the sizes of the cafetières in our roundup below in mililitres and litres. What kind of coffee should I use and how much? While it’s not a french press at all, strictly speaking, Barista & Co’s One Brew deserves a spot in our roundup. The brewing process is actually very similar. Rather, the main difference is the omission of the cafetière’s all-important plunger. Instead, the One Brew’s silicone seal and stainless steel filter ensure that no grounds escape into your cup.

Half fill the cafetière with the hot water, pouring it over the grounds, and stir with a spoon, so all the grounds are wet, and submerged in the water. Top up with the rest of the water. And if you like your coffee paraphernalia to be coordinated, there’s also a larger cafetière and matching mugs available too. As for how much you use, it will depend on the strength of coffee and the strength you personally like your drink. As a rough guide, use 6g (about three tablespoons) of coffee per 100ml. If you’re a real coffee lover, be prepared to try different coffees, grinds and brew times to work out your favourite blend.

Simply place your coffee grounds inside the interior pot, add your hot water, then replace the lid and allow to brew, then depress the stainless steel filter plunger and serve.