Coffee pot parts -what are they?

What are Coffee Pot Parts?

What are coffee pot parts? Coffee pots are simply containers that are used to hold coffee that has been brewed by the coffee maker. Glass coffee pots or carafes are the most common.

There are also stainless steel coffee pots or thermal carafes, that either come in stainless steel, or in some cases, ceramic. When people are talking about parts about coffee pot, they are simply referring to coffee pots that can hold and brew coffee at the same time.

Therefore, coffee pot parts, which this article will go into detail, are the following: French press, coffee urns, vacuum coffee pots, and percolators, among others.

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French Press

The French press goes by a number of names throughout the world. It’s also known as the coffee plunger. In France, it’s also called by its brand names, such as Bodum or Melio. Another French name for the French press is the cafetière.

The French press is a brewing process that does not make use of conventional paper filters. In essence, it’s a narrow coffee pot that has a lid and a plunger (its coffee pot parts), which is a fine mesh that acts as a filter and fits tightly in the coffee pot.

To brew coffee, coffee grounds and water are placed together and left to brew for a few minutes. Then, the plunger is depressed all the way down to trap the coffee grounds, leaving the brewed coffee on top and ready to serve. A coarser grind is required so that the coffee grounds won’t seep through the filter and into the coffee.

Pressed coffee is stronger than the standard drip brew coffee, since it does not make use of paper filters that normally trap the oil and essence of the coffee grounds.

Percolators and Coffee Urns

Percolators are another type of coffee pot that is used to brew coffee. This is the more traditional type of coffee maker and was the most widely used before the advent of the modern electric coffee maker. Percolators are made of stainless steel, and are usually placed on top of a stove to brew coffee. Today, there are a number of electric percolators, which already have their own heat source; therefore a stove is no longer required.

A percolator consists of three basic coffee pot parts. It has an upper chamber which is the filter that is supposed to contain coarse coffee grounds. The larger bottom chamber contains the water.

Finally, there is a tube that runs along the center of the pot from the bottom to the top. As the water heats up and comes to a boil, some of the boiling water runs up the tube, into the chamber where the coarse coffee grounds are stored.

Then the water and coffee mixes and eventually seeps down into the bottom chamber. More water is forced up the tube, and this cycle continues. As the brewing process continues, a sound emanates from the pot, which is the famous trait of the percolator. Once it stops, it’s the indication that the perked coffee is ready to be served.

Percolators can only brew for up to 12 cups. To brew for up to 100 cups, coffee urns are required. Coffee urns are large sized percolators that can brew a massive amount of coffee for social gatherings. Coffee urns work in the same principle as percolators and have the same set of coffee pot parts.

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Vacuum Coffee Pots

Vacuum coffee pots are the most interesting and fascinating processes of brewing coffee. At first glance, it looks more like a science lab apparatus than a coffee maker.

It basically consists of three coffee pot parts: an upper chamber that contains the coffee grounds, a lower chamber that contains the water, and a tube that runs from the lower chamber to the bottom of the upper chamber.

To brew coffee, place coffee grounds in the upper chamber and place water in the lower chamber. Place the lower chamber on top of a heat source, such as a stove.

Then, attach the tube into the base of the upper chamber and attach the upper chamber to the lower chamber. Make sure that the lower chamber is completely sealed.

As the water comes to a boil, the water is forced up the tube into the upper chamber, allowing the water to mix with the coffee. Eventually, pressure from the water vapor forces all the water up the tube, and by that time, you should remove the whole apparatus from the heat and on top of a cool surface.

As the lower chamber cools down, it creates a vacuum, forcing the brewed coffee from the top chamber to seep into the lower chamber. Once only the used coffee grounds are left in the top chamber, it can be removed. The lower chamber then acts as the coffee pot and you can serve the coffee.

This all sounds complicated, but it’s easier than it sounds. Additionally, because of the vacuum process, all the essential oils and moisture of the coffee grounds are absorbed into the coffee, leaving only dried up coffee grounds in the upper chamber. Therefore, full-flavored coffee is brewed every time.

So, while you cannot imagine coffee pot having any parts, the coffee pot parts that most people refers to might have something to do with the few types of coffee makers highlighted above.

To have further chat about coffee or coffee machines, drop us a message below.

About US | OCM Profile

OCM (OnCoffeeMakers.com) was started in 2007 with the first webpage about coffee machines. And for a number of years, we focused on helping people find their desired coffee machine (we still are helping folks with that! So, if you are looking for coffee machines for office or restaurants - check out the link).

In 2010, we started getting enquiries on restaurant marketing and we start to help food and beverage brands with their marketing. Below are campaigns and events that we have done over the years:

OCM's campaigns: F&B Marketing Ideas by OCM

OCM's Events: F&B Industry events by or with OCM

Check out this restaurant marketing guide to learn more about the many campaigns and companies we have worked with.

Since then, we have also created many marketing workshops and classes for the F&B industry. Many of these modules are still running in tertiary institutions such as Temasek Polytechnic Skillsfuture Academy and also ITE College East COC classes, below are some snippets of our lectures and workshops:

OCM’s F&B workshops: Food and Beverage Marketing Lectures | Workshops - click to watch classes on customer journey map, JTBD and more.

So, if you are looking for industry practitioners to help you scale your coffee or F&B businesses, do drop us a message or book an appointment. Do also check out our various social media platforms on regular F&B and coffee market updates:

For regular coffee (F&B) related videos: OCM Youtube

For Daily Coffee Inspiration (fun coffee content): OCM IG

For insights into the coffee (F&B) industry: OCM LinkedIN

PS: For the coffee lovers, we continue to share coffee articles (and videos) and have also started a free coffee class section (with free online coffee training supported by coffee partners).