Value for money: Cafetiéres

La Cafetiére Classic, €54 Highs:This is a well-known and widely-available brand.

La Cafetiére makes a range of options in different sizes, and this particular model makes eight smallish cups. It does make a fine coffee and there was not so much as a trace of grounds in the cup at the finish. The beaker, filter and plastic plunger are dishwasher-safe but the metal frame must be washed separately.

Lows: It is on the pricey side and we felt we were paying a little over the odds for the name. The lid is surprisingly lightweight and coffee will not stay warm for much longer than 10 minutes in this. The cleaning instructions are daunting, but we assume a quick wash in soapy water will suffice.

Verdict: Quality but pricey

Star rating: ***

Marks & Spencer Cafetiére, €9

Highs: This is very cheap and fairly solid and makes a grand cup of coffee. There is an extra filter at the lip of the jug, although the gaps are so wide you wonder just what they are supposed to filter out - actual coffee beans maybe? It is dishwasher-safe, and faultless as a short-term solution. For once, the sterling/euro conversion rate seems to have worked in our favour - M&S has decided £7 equals €9 and not €9.27, which is the current exchange rate.

Lows: You get what you pay for and we're not sure our €9 will give us many years of coffee-making with this. The filter looks and feels flimsy and, once damaged, coffee granules would be difficult to keep at bay.

Verdict: Cheap but short-term

Star rating: ***

Stellar Stainless Steel Cafetiére, €82.99

Highs: This is a shiny and heavyweight option which looks more like a coffee pot than a traditional cafetiére. It will not break if dropped and is certainly an elegant way to serve coffee. Its double wall insulation keeps the coffee hottest for longest. If treated with care, this is the kind of coffee-plunger that will last a lifetime.

Lows: And well it might, considering the cost - it is hideously expensive. You can't see at a glance how much coffee is left (if that matters) and taking the plunger out of the empty pot causes a fairly nasty metal-on-metal scraping noise which is not for nervous dispositions or the badly hungover.

Verdict: High quality, high sheen

Star rating: ****

Bodlum Kenya Coffee-Maker, €21.95

Highs: Bodlum is a good-value brand that can be found almost everywhere coffee pots are sold - in fact, in many stores this is the only option available. It is dishwasher-safe and replacement parts are easy to find. Comparatively cheap and well-made, it also comes with its own measuring scoop and instruction book.

Lows: Superficially, this looks almost identical to the ultra-cheap option from M&S and the coffee it produces is almost identical too, which left us wondering why it costs more than twice as much. Compared with some of the flashier models, it is a little drab and disappointing.

Verdict: Reliable

Star rating: ***

Smart Café Cafetiére, €40.95

Highs: This claims to be a "clever cafetiére" with a unique coffee-capture system that locks the grounds in and prevents coffee from stewing - and we have to say we were mildly impressed with it. It has a nice big handle and is an attractive-looking option.

Lows: Maybe it is a little too fussy and, on reflection, we're not sure how necessary it is to have a coffee-capture system (are the manufacturers trying too hard to improve on a product that is absolutely fine?). It is double the price of the Bodlum and we're not sure what exactly we're getting for the extra money. Does coffee in a cafetiére really stew or is it more likely to have been drunk or thrown out because it's gone cold?

Verdict: Dear and disappointing

Star rating: **