Coffee equipment guide

The brewers, briefly

• Kettle

  A vessel with a spout for boiling water quickly, either electric or heated on the hob.

  Limits: Only heats water; do not heat milk or other liquids in it.

• Saucepan

  A deep, straight-sided pan with a long handle and a lid for boiling, simmering and making sauces.

  Used for: Stovetop steep (saucepan)

  Limits: Too small for big batches of stock or pasta for a crowd; the narrow base is poor for browning.

• Sieve / strainer

  A fine wire-mesh bowl with a handle for straining liquids, sifting flour and pressing purées smooth.

  Used for: Cold brew, Stovetop steep (saucepan)

  Limits: Slow for large amounts of pasta or vegetables; fine mesh clogs with thick mixtures.

• Glass jar with lid

  A glass jar with a screw or clip lid for storing, pickling, preserving and shaking dressings.

  Used for: Cold brew

  Limits: Breakable and heavy; reused lids may not seal for long-term preserving.

• Whisk

  A balloon whisk: a handle with loops of wire forming a bulb, for beating air into eggs and cream and smoothing sauces.

  Limits: Slow and tiring for large volumes of meringue or stiff cream; the balloon shape misses the corners of flat pans.

• French press / cafetière

  A glass or steel jug with a mesh plunger that steeps coffee in hot water, then presses the grounds down.

  Used for: French press

  Limits: Some sediment; coffee left on the grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter.

• Moka pot

  A stovetop pot that forces hot water up through ground coffee using steam pressure, making strong coffee.

  Used for: Moka pot

  Limits: Easy to over-extract into bitter coffee; makes a fixed amount per size.

• Pour-over dripper (V60-style cone)

  A cone that holds a paper filter over a cup or carafe; you pour hot water over the coffee by hand.

  Used for: Pour-over (V60-style cone)

  Limits: Needs a kettle you can pour slowly from (a gooseneck spout helps) and some practice; brews only a few cups at a time.

• Filter coffee maker

  An electric drip machine that heats water and drips it through ground coffee in a paper or mesh filter into a jug.

  Used for: Filter coffee machine

  Limits: Milder than espresso; flavour fades if held hot.

• AeroPress-style press brewer

  A plastic tube and plunger that steeps coffee for a minute or two, then presses it through a small paper filter.

  Used for: AeroPress-style press

  Limits: One or two cups at a time; it is not an espresso maker, even though it can make strong coffee.

• Chemex-style glass pour-over brewer

  An hourglass-shaped glass carafe that holds a thick folded paper filter; brews several cups of very clean filter coffee.

  Used for: Chemex-style brewer

  Limits: Needs its own thick filters; slower than a cone; fragile.

• Espresso machine

  A machine that forces hot water through finely ground, packed coffee under high pressure to make espresso.

  Used for: Espresso machine

  Limits: Expensive and sensitive to grind, dose and tamp; needs regular cleaning.

• Milk frother

  A small device that whips air into milk to make foam for cappuccinos, lattes and hot chocolate.

  Limits: Small quantities only; plant milks vary in how well they foam.

• Coffee / spice grinder

  A small grinder that turns coffee beans or whole spices into powder, with blades or burrs.

  Limits: Blade grinders are uneven; small capacity; strong spice smells transfer to coffee.

• Cezve / ibrik

  A small long-handled pot for brewing very fine coffee in water on the hob, as in Turkish coffee.

  Used for: Turkish cezve / ibrik

  Limits: Only makes a few small cups; needs powder-fine grind.

• South Indian coffee filter

  A two-tier stainless steel drip filter that makes the thick decoction for South Indian filter coffee.

  Used for: South Indian filter

  Limits: Slow; ground too fine, it barely drips; ground too coarse, the decoction is thin.

• Vietnamese phin filter

  A small Vietnamese metal drip filter that sits on a glass and slowly drips strong coffee.

  Limits: One cup at a time; the drip speed depends on the grind and how firmly the press sits.

• Blender

  A tall jug with spinning blades at the bottom that turns liquids and soft foods into smooth purées and drinks.

  Limits: Needs liquid to move; poor at chopping, kneading or small amounts.

• Cocktail shaker

  A sealed metal container for shaking drinks with ice to chill, dilute and mix them.

  Limits: Not for carbonated drinks; small batches only.

• Nitro coffee keg or nitrogen dispenser

  A pressurised keg or dispenser that infuses cold brew with nitrogen gas for nitro cold brew's creamy cascade.

  Limits: Needs a nitrogen supply and specialised kit; without it you can make cold brew but not true nitro cold brew.

Each tool’s page in the Grocery guide covers how to use it, care, safety and alternatives. No brands or prices are recommended.