Dictionary of Coffee and Espresso Equipment

Long black

A long black is a style of coffee, most commonly found in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. It is now becoming available in the UK, predominantly in London. A long black was supposedly created in Italy to please American tourists …

Coffee tamping is the action of compacting ground coffee in an espresso portafilter with a tamp, prior to brewing. A tamp can be either handheld or attached to the espresso machine. A handheld tamp normally has a wooden handle and …

Coffee grinding is a critical step in the process of brewing coffee. Without grinding, the extraction of soluble solids, caffeine, and oils would be impossible even at high brewing temperatures. During grinding, the whole coffee beans are turned into small …

A portafilter (or group handle) attaches to the grouphead of semi-automatic and piston-driven espresso machines, and carries a tamped puck of coffee grounds within its basket. It is usually made of brass for better heat retention, but often is made …

Coffea charrieriana (or Charrier coffee) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a caffeine-free coffee found in Cameroon. This plant is the only known caffeine-free coffee plant from Central Africa. C. charrieriana was selected as …

Coffea liberica (or Liberian coffee) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a coffee that is found in Liberia, West Africa. Liberian coffee is grown in many tropical countries but is not produced on a …

FrancisFrancis! is an espresso machine manufacturer owned by illy. Founded in 1994 by Francesco Illy, FrancisFrancis produces espresso machines for the home market. Italian architect Luca Trazzi was responsible for the aesthetics. In 2004 the company was purchased by illy. …

A coffee percolator is a type of pot used to brew coffee. The name stems from the word “percolate” which means to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance especially for extracting a soluble constituent. In the case …

Frappuccino is a trademarked line of blended coffee beverages sold by Starbucks. It consists of coffee, blended with ice and other various ingredients, usually topped with whipped cream. Frappuccinos are also sold as bottled coffee beverages in stores and from …

Handpresso SARL is a French manufacturer of portable espresso machines. Founded in Fontainebleau in 2006 by Henrik Nielsen as a spin-off from Nielsen Innovation SARL. Handpresso is inspired by Danish Design and has created and patented the world’s first handheld …

A dallah is a metal pot with a long spout designed specifically for making Arabic coffee. In particular, it is used in Saudi coffee tradition. Examples of coffee brewed with a Dallah would be Qahwa, a typical Arabic coffee, as …

A demitasse is a small cup used to serve Turkish coffee or espresso. In some languages it is called fincan, fildžan, filxhan or φλιτζάνι (flidzáni). In Spanish, it is called a pocillo. It typically has about 60–90 ml capacity — half the size of a full coffee cup (a tasse à café is about 120 ml).

The thermostat is a key component of coffee brewing equipment. It is used to ensure coffee is brewed properly, and the extraction is optimal.

The Nescafé Dolce Gusto is an espresso machine/coffee capsule system from Nestlé. The machines are produced by hardware manufacturers Krups and De’Longhi.

The main piece of a French press is a glass beaker. Because the beaker is exposed to high temperatures in a short time, they are subject to thermal shock, This is why beakers for French press coffee makers are made of …

Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion (~3 × 10 /°C at 20°C), making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass.

Water tank

Many coffee makers rely on a water tank, or reservoir to supply the machine during brewing. The water tank solution is convenient, makes it possible to move the equipment, and it doesn’t require an expensive installation.

The water tank is used for drip coffee makers, espresso machines, and single serve coffee makers.

Timers are used in coffee makers for various applications. The most common applications are: timing the brewing, starting the coffee maker, or turning it off, timing coffee grinders, as a way to measure the amount of coffee beans used, timing the extraction as a way of controlling the brewed coffee volume.

A coffee filter is a utensil used during coffee brewing, for filtering coffee grounds from the brewed liquid. It is usually made of disposable paper with filaments approximately 20 micrometres wide. The fine paper screen only allows to pass through particles less than approximately 15 micrometres. This enables it to trap the coffee grounds that are bigger. The small water particles and the fines can flow through, resulting in clear coffee.

In the coffee maker industry there are many devices that are equipped with a valve. The use of a valve is different though from a coffee brewing method to another. Immersion coffee makers such as coffee drippers, use a valve to control the steeping time. A simple valve is often found on automatic drip coffee machines as a way to temporarily stop the dripping for pouring a cup.

A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid which may contain sediment. Decanters are normally used as serving vessels for wine. Decanters vary in shape and design. They are usually made of an …

A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact. They …

Decaffeination

Decaffeination is the act of removing caffeine from coffee beans, cocoa, tea leaves and other caffeine-containing materials. Despite removal of most caffeine, many decaffeinated drinks still have around 1–2% of the original caffeine remaining in them, and research has found …

PID controller

In coffee maker industry the PID improves the brewing precision, by allowing the brewing temperature to be maintained between certain parameters. What is a PID, and How Does It Work? The PID of an espresso machine controls various heating elements …

Iced coffee is a cold variant of coffee. In more recent times it has become common for coffee shops to offer ‘iced’ versions of their most popular coffee drinks. The iced latte and iced mocha are the two most common …

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Long black

Coffee tamping

Coffee grinding

portafilter

Coffea charrieriana

Coffea liberica

Francis Francis!

Coffee percolator

Frappuccino

Handpresso

Dallah (coffee pot)

Demitasse

Thermostat

Dolce Gusto

Beaker (glassware)

Borosilicate glass

Water tank

Timer

Coffee filter

Valve

Decanter

Heat exchanger

Decaffeination

PID controller

Iced coffee