Background

Some of you may think how to make perfect Cafetiere coffee is obvious. It’s like writing about how to cook the perfect boiled egg! Actually there is a very good post about that very subject on CookTogether which you can find here.
The picture shows the sort of cafetiere I’m talking about. As you can see, it’s the most basic, cheap & cheerful 1 litre (2 pint) glass type - but the method I use works for any cafetiere with a plunger - just adjust the amount of coffee according to size.
I used to find that when I went to push down the plunger coffee would squirt out by the spout - which was a waste and made a mess. On top of that it's often really hard to get the plunger down to the bottom - unless you're a gorilla! This method prevents both problems.