Lets talk coffee (and France). As a coffee lover, like many of you out there, I must, really I must, start my day with at least one cup of coffee. Yes, it gives me the caffeine kick, but more importantly, I just love it!
Coffee Everyone?
Most of us know that it has been around for ages. In fact, over 2000 years. It came here to France in the 16th century. From there it developed into the drink as we know it, coffee houses and big business for this country.
These days it is associated with a ‘petit noir’ (little black), which dates from the late 1600s, sitting outside at cafes and the ‘French Press‘. (Which was actually invented in Italy, but don’t tell anyone.)
To Press or Not to Press?
The French Press or cafetière is a true coffee lover’s coffee maker. It’s where you put ground coffee in the bottom of a, usually glass, canister and add hot water. Then a press system is used to force the coffee through the water and keep it at the bottom of the container. Mostly.
This is probably my preferred method for making a pot of coffee for more than one. I love the ritual, as well as the wait for it to infuse (rather like tea). ~ And, I get to reuse the coffee grounds to make the most delicious body scrub. Hey, I did say I was a real coffee lover, inside and out.
But when I am in the office and would like just a single cup of coffee. For this, I prefer the drip method. It’s quicker, less to clean up, and the coffee pots and filters are just so darned cute!
My Personal Débelloire
Yup, as a coffee lover, I say let’s bring the La Débelloire back in style! It’s traditional, time tested and makes a darned good cup of coffee. And! It is just perfect for making yourself, just yourself, a cup of coffee.
What is a débelloire, I hear you ask? You may know it better as the drip coffee method. The débelloire was invented in France, by an Archbishop no less (Jean-Baptiste de Belloy), in the early 1800s and is considered to be the first coffee maker. It consisted of a filter stacked on a cup. But unlike a drip filter of today, it had an additional filter trap that fit into the filter to hold the coffee grounds in place. Think a little like filter coffee meets French Press.
As a vintage lover, I think its wonderful that the débelloire enjoyed a resurgence in the mid 20th century, and feel they should be more in use today. They were often made of silver (or some metal) for the single cup and in enamel when developed into larger pots. You can see a couple examples in our pictures below, both single and large multi-cup.
For the Coffee Lover
Finding a silver débelloire sparked my realisation that I often seek out coffee related items for our shop. It also prompted delving a bit more into coffee’s history. (Half the fun of owning a vintage & antiques shop is the research.) So, if you are a coffee lover, or you know someone who is, we have a great variety of coffee related gifts in our Shop, or just click on an image below.
