There are two legends about the discovery of coffee. Perhaps the better-known one is of Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat herder in the 9th century A.D. His goats had consumed red berries from a bush and began to dance playfully. He tried the fruit and found it bitter but after eating it gained extra energy and he felt more alert. His wife tried it with the same results. They took these berries to a local monastery for confirmation they were a gift from God. The fruits and leaves the monks cooked tasted terrible so they threw them onto a fire to burn them. From what they thought was devilry came a delicious aroma. The idea of roasting coffee and pouring water over it to turn it into a beverage was born—so it is said.
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| Enjoying Coffee, Unknown Artist, 1700s {PD} |
Roasted and ground coffee beans were heated in water to infuse them. Whatever container they were boiled in, the main task was to pour out the beverage while trapping the grounds. The means haven’t changed a lot but the method has evolved over the centuries.
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| French Coffee Pot 1700s By Creator:François Thomas Germain - This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons by as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57851405 |
In France, several people came up with contraptions for brewing coffee during the 18th century. Around 1780, the Archbishop of Paris, Jean-Baptiste de Belloy came up with a two-level pot design. A sock, which was a like a drip filter, held the coffee in the top compartment. The water, poured over the filter, would then drain through holes into the bottom compartment and modern drip brewing was introduced to the world. The compartment for the coffee could be metal or ceramic.The strength of the coffee was controlled by how finely the beans had been ground. Other innovations in France, included a pumping percolator and an insulated coffee pot.
Different articles I read cite different dates for the invention of the percolating coffee pot over the next one hundred years, but it is Hanson Goodrich’s design patented during the 1880s that was the original modern percolator. Place the pot on the stovetop to heat the bottom and steam rises through a tube and as the water condenses again at the top it drips over the drainer basket holding the coffee.
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| 1950 Percolator By Creator:François Thomas Germain - This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons by as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57851405 |
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| Vacuum Coffee Brewer By Einar Faanes - Taken with Canon Ixus v3, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182256 |
The invention of vacuum brewing machines began in 1830’s Germany. A two-chamber device which used principles of heat and cooling to force the near boiling water into the chamber which contained the grounds to then cool and drip through them. (From what I can discern from the description.) In 1930, Inez H. Pierce of Chicago, Illinois, filed the first patent for a self-heating vacuum brewer, the first truly automatic coffeemaker.
One of the most important innovations, but also one of the simplest, was invented by a Dresden, Germany housewife. In 1908, Melitta Bentz wondered how it would work if she used blotting paper from her oldest son’s notebook to filter out unwanted residue. She punctured the bottom of a brass pot and set the paper in it. A less bitter, filtered brew resulted. She applied for a patent for her discovery in Berlin, later that same year. Over the years the Melitta filters have changed with the times and are still used today. It was the pre-cursor to the automatic drip coffeemaker.
The Moka Pot was invented in the 1930s. This was a stovetop coffee brewer that used hot water pressurized by steam. It is still produced by Bialetti Industrie today.
And finally, while there were other incarnations of the electric drip coffeemaker, starting in 1950’s Germany, the trademarked Mr. Coffee brought automatic drip coffeemaker to the average American household in a big way in 1973. This self-contained system not only heats the water which was siphoned into an upper chamber to be sprayed over the grounds, it also keeps the drip-prepared coffee warm.
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| Mellita Bentz {PD} |
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| Cup and 1908 style basket for Mellita's paper filter. By Melitta Group History - https://www.melitta-group.com/en/History-838,436.html, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60568486 |
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| Moka Pot By Medvedev - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15584266 |
And finally, while there were other incarnations of the electric drip coffeemaker, starting in 1950’s Germany, the trademarked Mr. Coffee brought automatic drip coffeemaker to the average American household in a big way in 1973. This self-contained system not only heats the water which was siphoned into an upper chamber to be sprayed over the grounds, it also keeps the drip-prepared coffee warm.
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| Late version of the original Wigomat, pre-1958. One of the earlier automatic drip coffeemakers. {PD} |
Later came the single serve Keurig coffeemaker. There are other inventions I haven’t covered here. They were more numerous than I expected. I’m wondering what coffee-brewing invention is next!
A Giveaway for You!
Do you know of an interesting contraption for brewing coffee? Or have you seen any of the vintage coffeemakers here? Please share. And I welcome any of your comments about this post to enter for a chance to win a paperback copy of Rumors and Promises. (Continental U.S. and Canada only.)
Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and the novella, The Pocket Watch. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen has loved making up stories since she was a little girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of 36 years, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.
2017 Bookvana Award Winner in Religious Fiction
In 1900, two wounded souls find each other in a small Michigan town that doesn’t like secrets. Sophie Biddle passes off her illegitimate toddler daughter, Caira, as her younger sister. Pastor Ian McCormick reaches out to help them as he battles the failures of his past. Sophie’s only desire is to raise her daughter respectably, in peace, as she works as a housemaid. Soon rumors about her sordid past travel through Stone Creek. Ian must decide whether to support her in her time of need, when to do so could threaten his calling. The pair must choose to trust God and forgive those who slander and gossip, or run. Will the scandals of their pasts bind them together forever, or drive both deeper into despair?
