La Cafetiere is a french press coffee maker. If you love the coffee you get served in little French coffee houses as much as I do they you will love this coffee maker.

This is such a nice way of making coffee but one I generally only do when we have company as I think it's a nice way of serving coffee and presenting it on your dinner table. A cafetiere consists of a glass beaker which sits in a stainless steel holder and has a stainless steel filter and plunger and a lid on the top.
The coffee is really easy to make. I like to buy a nice quality bean to make this coffee as it is something special. I like some of the Starbucks range which you can buy in bean form and then they will grind it for you in the shop or if you have a coffee grinder like me you can do it at home. I prefer to do this as then you only grind the amount you need at any one time and I think this keeps the beans fresher.

Once you have ground your coffee you place it in the cafetiere. Now, how much you put it kind of depends on how strong you like your coffee. I generally put in a teaspoon per person but obviously if you like it stronger you can add more or add less for a bit of a milder coffee. Then boil your water and pour it over the coffee beans. I fill mine up to the bottom of the stainless steel top as this gives you some room when press the plunger down. The glass beaker is heat resistant so you don't have to worry about pouring hot boiling water into it. It's best to leave the coffee to brew for a few minutes and then you push the plunger down to trap all the coffee dregs at the bottom of the jar. YOu are then ready to pour the coffee which does pour well out of this glass as there is a little spout which never drips for me which is nice.

The only problem I have with the cafetiere is that it doesn't keep the coffee hot for very long. This is find if you use it all straight away but if you leave some for a second cup it is not too warm. There are various sizes of cafetiere that you can buy, 3 Cup - 350ml / 12fl oz capacity, 4 Cup - 600ml / 21fl oz capacity, 8 Cup - 1000ml / 35fl oz capacity, 12 Cup - 1500ml / 53fl oz capacity so there is really something for everybody's taste, for dinner parties or just to have a nice cup for yourself.

I bought mine from John Lewis and it was in the £25 region.