The Neapolitan flip coffee pot ( or , ; , ) or is a

drip brew Drip coffee is made by pouring hot water onto ground coffee beans, allowing it to brew while seeping through. There are several methods for doing this, including using a filter. Terms used for the resulting coffee often reflect the method ...

coffeemaker A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers, the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee ...

for the stove top very popular in Italy and France until the 20th century. Unlike a

moka express The moka pot is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that brews coffee by passing hot water driven by vapor pressure and Charles's law, heat-driven gas expansion through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, Yemen, Mocha, it was ...

, it does not use the pressure of

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

to force the water through the coffee, relying instead on gravity.

History

The was invented in 1819 by Jean-Louis Morize, a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a historical term for a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession was also known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profe ...

and lampmaker from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. It was originally constructed out of copper, until 1886, when the material was switched to aluminum. The reason for taking its name from the Italian city of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in English is unknown. The namesake derives from , meaning 'copper or terracotta vase'.

Structure and use

It consists of a bottom section filled with water, a filter section in the middle filled with finely ground

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

, and an upside-down pot placed on the top. When the water boils, the entire three-part coffee maker is flipped over to let the water filter through the coffee grounds. Once the water has dripped through the grounds, the water-boiling and filter sections are removed, and the coffee is served from the remaining pot. If coarse grounds are used, the coffee is brewed quite mildly. Using very finely ground coffee in the "Neapolitan" style, this method can produce a coffee that has a stronger flavor than an automatic

maker.

The is a small paper cone (which is used in other ways in Naples, such as holding food) that goes over the spout. This is used to preserve the aroma of the coffee while it drips into the tank, which can take up to 10 minutes or more. To make a , a small piece of paper is folded to create a cone shape.
Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan language, Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and ...
offers a description of the and the importance of coffee in Naples.

Variants

Some of the finely crafted coffee pots manufactured in the late 19th-century work on the same principle, including the ''Russian reversible pot'' aka ''Russian egg'', and the ''reversible Potsdam cafetière'' aka ''Potsdam boiler''. Another variant was the (not to be confused with the ). A spiritus cooker heats the mounted flippable pot.

Classic designs

Italian

Riccardo Dalisi Riccardo Dalisi (May 1, 1931 – April 9, 2022) was an Italian architect, designer and artist. References Further reading * 1931 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Italian architects Italian designers People from Potenza {{Ital ...

redesigned this classic for Alessi. He began his research in 1979 and earned international attention when his design entered into production in 1987. As they have come back to gain some popularity, ILSA now also makes them in stainless steel.

References

External links

The Coffee FAQ brewing techniques: Neapolitan

The Neapolitan Coffee Maker
(2023-12-21) by James Hoffmann 5:34 {{Home appliances Coffee preparation Coffee in Italy Neapolitan cuisine French inventions Products introduced in 1819