I’ve been binge-watching British crime shows for a few months. Whenever the police visit suspects, witnesses, random people at home, usually the hosts serve tea. But whenever they serve coffee, it’s virtually always French press.
Is French press the most common way of preparing coffee in British homes?
(Even when no crime or dead body is involved?)
I’d have thought instant.
But people in British crime dramas, especially ones who serve coffee, are mostly probably too posh for that.
My Dad used to have a whole collection of different types of coffee maker, that he would experiment with.
It might also have something to do with the production process, i.e., resetting between takes. If they’re making coffee using a paper filter, they need to redo the whole process (clear water, fresh cone, fresh “coffee”…), whereas with a french press, they just have to top it up with the generic dark liquid that’s supposed to represent “coffee”.
I’d say instant and then cafetière would be the most common forms of coffee preparation found in a British home, yes.
Is it important on British television to show the process of the coffee being prepared? In my head I’m imagining that it has to do with the cultural importance of making tea. I understand that I may be completely full of shit here.
On American TV a character who is serving coffee to a visitor usually just has a pot ready for pouring.
When I was living in Britain in the mid-70s, the only coffee I was offered at someone’s home was instant (and it was never particularly good). In restaurants, I seem to recall it was usually made espresso-style, maybe watered down or with frothed milk.
I notice that when coffee is shown in TV shows or movies it is almost always black coffee, but I think in real life well below 50 percent of coffee I see being consumed is black—20-30 percent I’d guess just in my personal encounters.
I would say it’s pretty accurate. I only use a cafetere (what we call a french press). Coffee machines are a pain to clean in comparison.
They don’t usually show it actually being prepared, but, for instance, someone will carry a tray with cups and French press pot to the police who are seated at dining table. Or when the Midsomer Murders guy is having breakfast with his wife prior to being summoned to crime scene, there will be a French press pot on the breakfast table. Or at the crime scene in a hotel, the room service cart will have a French press pot on it.
Mind you, most of the time teapots appear in these scenes, but when it is coffee, it’s virtually always French press and not the ubiquitous drip pot that one sees in the USA (as mentioned in the quotation above).
I’m also thinking that since everyone has a kettle, electric or stove top, making French press is pretty easy. I don’t think you find kettles for boiling water in every American home.
Speaking of the universality of tea preparation, I had to laugh at the incongruity in one episode of some show when a particularly brutal group of street thugs were commencing to plan their hired murder of an innocent family, and one of the guys says something like (in a working-class accent), “Okay, we need to map this thing out-- I’ll put the kettle on.”
I think that’s pretty much it. I can’t remember seeing a drip filter coffee machine in the UK since the 80’s – I certainly haven’t used one since then.
That was my first guess as well, and I also wonder about the ubiquity of coffee in British homes. I kind of got the impression that it’s not so commonly drunk that people would necessarily have a drip coffeemaker out and in working order like you could probably assume in the US.
But if you’re in the habit of making tea, having a French press around for the occasional pot of coffee seems sensible.
Like all the other Brits I think it is pretty accurate when it comes to making “real” coffee in the home but with the caveat that in most homes, if someone offers you a coffee it will most likely be instant. Actually if someone offers you tea it is most likely a teabag in a mug, not a leaves in a dinky bone china teapot with the milk in a jug and the sugar in a bowl. Of course in posh or hip homes there is quite likely a Nespresso machine but I guess the programme makers would not want something that makes random noises and needs constant work to make several cups - it would mess up the flow!
Personally I rarely drink tea. I drink a good quality Columbian instant coffee most of the time with probably one mug of ground coffee a day made in the cafetiere. As noted, very easy and quick when you have an electric kettle. I also have a stove top espresso machine for when I want an espresso or a cappuccino. Probably chucked out the drip machine 15 years ago as too much hassle to keep clean and too slow.
MarcusF, what brand would qualify IYHO as “a good quality Columbian instant coffee”?
Okay, I’m not MarcusF, but I imagine he is thinking of something like Kenco Colombian.
I wonder if the quality of instant coffee in the UK and Ireland is better than that in the US, just from the glowing reviews of the various Kenco instant coffees on the US amazon.com?
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a domestic drip coffee maker in use; I’ve seen 'em in shops, but the only times I’ve seen drip coffee is in cheap cafes and the occasional office.
We have three cafetieres in the house, all of which get regular use by their respective owners, and one stove-top espresso maker, which doesn’t.
In my experience it’s not. One of the great mysteries of the culinary world is how did Europe get convinced that instant coffee was palatable when it was the birthplace of the coffee house and otherwise is a foodie paradise (including London)?
Interesting. There are NO reviews of Kenco Instant on the US Amazon site.
And the 12 reviews on the Amazon UK siteare mostly about how it’s a good buy.
Actually, there are plenty of positive reviews of Kenco instant coffee on amazon.com, just none on that particular Colombian variety.
a British friend turned me on to having an electric kettle and I just love it. very fast hot water and then I can make a cup of whatever I like - coffee using one of those things that hold cone-shaped filters and make one (strong!) mug at a time.
I stand corrected. This is fascinating! Whole bean instant coffee… how do they do that? I might have to give it a try.
I went one better and got the Panasonic NC-EH22PC Water Boiler 2.3-Quart with Temperature Selector. Keeps water hot all the time at your choice of three temperatures.