Guide · Cafetières
Best large cafetière: 8 and 12-cup cafetières for families and guests
Large 1-litre and 1.5-litre cafetières sold in the UK compared on capacity, materials and insulation, with Redber and Lakeland prices checked 3 Oct 2026.
The best large cafetière in the UK depends on how many people you’re serving and how long the pot has to last. An “8-cup” cafetière usually holds a litre, and a “12-cup” holds 1.5 litres, but those cups are small. We haven’t tested this in person. This guide is based on product listings at Redber, Lakeland and Stanley UK, with prices checked 3 Oct 2026. Read how we compare.
Best large cafetiere UK: the short answer
Get the Elia Contemporary Cafetière 1500ml if you want 12-cup capacity for the least money. It was £36.95 at Redber, which lists a stainless steel build and a 1,500ml capacity.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants the coffee to stay hot. Redber doesn’t say it’s insulated.
Get the Bodum Columbia 1500ml if you want a big pot that keeps its heat. It was £99.95 at Redber, checked 3 Oct 2026, which lists double-wall stainless steel and says it keeps coffee hot for up to two hours.
Who it isn’t for: anyone on a budget. It’s almost three times the price of the Elia.
Get the La Cafetière Pisa Eight Cup if you want a glass 1-litre cafetière with a long guarantee. It was £36.99 at Lakeland, checked 3 Oct 2026, which lists a 10-year maker’s guarantee.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who regularly makes coffee for more than four. It’s a litre.
What a large cafetière costs
Our picks ranged up to £100 for the Stanley 1.4L, checked 3 Oct 2026. Insulated steel costs much more than glass at the same size.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who only makes one mug at a time. A smaller cafetière suits that better.
Cups vs millilitres
Cafetière “cups” are smaller than mugs. Lakeland bases La Cafetière’s 8-cup count on a 125ml serving. Redber’s Bodum Brazil listing says its 1,000ml jug gives about four 250ml mugs before you allow for the grounds and plunger, and around three generous mugs in normal use.
Working from those listings, our rough arithmetic is:
- 1 litre (8-cup): about three full mugs.
- 1.5 litres (12-cup): about four or five full mugs.
- 1.4 litres (Stanley): in between.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who buys by the cup count on the box. Check the millilitres instead.
How much coffee a large cafetière needs
Redber’s starting recipe for the Bodum Brazil is 60g of coffee to 1,000ml of water, steeped for four minutes. At the same ratio, a full 1.5-litre cafetière would take about 90g. Use a coarse cafetière grind.
Who it isn’t for: anyone without a scale. Weighing the coffee makes a big batch easier to get right.
The picks
Elia Contemporary Cafetière 1500ml: £36.95 at Redber. Redber lists a stainless steel build and a 1,500ml capacity, and says it’s suited to home or hospitality use. It’s also sold in 1-litre (£34.95 at Redber) and 350ml (£19.95 at Redber) sizes, checked 3 Oct 2026.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants detailed specs. The listing is brief.
Bodum Columbia 1500ml: £99.95 at Redber, checked 3 Oct 2026. Redber lists double-wall stainless steel, a silicone and mesh plunger, a cool-touch handle and a safety lid. It says the coffee stays hot for up to two hours and brews in about four minutes.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to see the coffee as it brews.
Stanley Classic Stay Hot French Press 1.4L: £100 at Stanley UK. Stanley lists 18/8 stainless steel, double-wall vacuum insulation, a dishwasher-safe build and a weight of 1,130g. It’s designed for outdoors, but Stanley says you’ll “probably use it at home every day”.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a traditional kitchen look.
La Cafetière Pisa Eight Cup: £36.99 at Lakeland, checked 3 Oct 2026. Lakeland lists a borosilicate glass jug inside a brushed stainless steel frame, a fine-mesh steel filter, a 1-litre capacity and a dishwasher-safe glass beaker. Other colours were £37.99 at Lakeland, checked 3 Oct 2026.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to keep coffee warm. It’s single-wall glass.
Bodum Brazil 1000ml: check price at Redber. It lists a borosilicate glass carafe, a stainless steel plunger and filter, and a BPA-free plastic body, handle and lid.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a plastic-free cafetière.
Downsides
- Over-extraction. Coffee left on the grounds keeps brewing. In a big pot that sits around, it can turn bitter.
- Heat loss in glass. None of the glass picks says it’s insulated.
- Stock. The Bodum Chambord 1500ml was sold out at Redber when we checked.
Keeping a big batch hot
Once it’s brewed, pour off any coffee you won’t drink straight away into a flask or vacuum jug. The Elia Cylinder Vacuum Jug 1.5L was £69.95 at Redber, checked 3 Oct 2026. Or pick an insulated cafetière like the Bodum Columbia or Stanley.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who serves everything at once. Decanting only matters if the pot sits around.
Alternatives
If you regularly make coffee for a crowd, a batch brewer may suit you better. See our filter coffee machines hub. For beans, see coffee beans and our supermarket coffee ranges guide. To grind your own, see our coffee grinders guide.
FAQ
What’s the best large cafetière in the UK? For a 12-cup on a budget, the Elia Contemporary 1500ml was £36.95 at Redber on 3 Oct 2026. For a 12-cup that keeps coffee hot, look at the Bodum Columbia 1500ml.
How many cups does a 12-cup cafetière make? Twelve small cafetière cups, or about four to five full mugs.
How much coffee for a 1.5-litre cafetière? Redber’s Bodum recipe of 60g per litre works out at about 90g for 1.5 litres.
Is a bigger cafetière harder to press? A bigger pot has a wider plunger and more grounds. Press slowly and steadily.