Union Bobolink Brazil: How to Brew It in a Cafetière

Union Bobolink Brazil Cafetière Grind: the light roast for a plunger

Bobolink is the Union coffee the roaster itself says is best brewed in a cafetière, and this bag arrives already ground for one. That leaves you in charge of only three things, the dose, the water and the timing, and none of them is hard to get right.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Union Bobolink Brazil Cafetière Grind: the light roast for a plunger, in summary: Ground coarse for a cafetière, Bobolink is Union's light roast from Mococa in southern Brazil. Dose about 60g per litre, let the kettle rest, plunge at four minutes and pour the whole pot at once.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

Bobolink is the Union coffee the roaster itself says is best brewed in a cafetière, and this bag arrives already ground for one. That leaves you in charge of only three things, the dose, the water and the timing, and none of them is hard to get right.

A light roast with a soft, sweet cup

Union describes Bobolink as its light roast, grown around Mococa in the Sul de Minas region of southern Brazil, and its own tasting notes are milk chocolate and roasted almond. Brazilian coffees are generally chosen for a rounded, sugary sweetness rather than bright fruit, and that is the shape of this cup: plenty of body, gentle acidity and very little bitterness when it is brewed with care.

Light roast does not mean thin here. A cafetière strains through metal mesh instead of paper, so the coffee's oils reach the cup and give it weight, which is why the same beans taste fuller through a plunger than through a filter machine. The grind has been set at the roastery, where the equipment cuts far more evenly than a home blade grinder can, so the one variable most people get wrong is already handled.

Dose, water and the four-minute plunge

Start at 60g of coffee per litre of water, which comes to 30g for a three-cup pot, or about four level tablespoons if you have no scales. Boil the kettle and let it stand for roughly thirty seconds so the water sits nearer 94 degrees. Water at a furious boil scorches the soft sweetness that is the reason for choosing a Brazilian coffee in the first place.

Leave it for four minutes, then break the crust that has formed on top, spoon away the foam and press the plunger down slowly. Pour every drop straight away, into cups or a warmed jug, because coffee left sitting on its grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter. As the bag gets older, add a gram or two more coffee instead of stretching the brew time.

Where Bobolink sits in the Union range

Of the Union coffees we stock, two come ready-ground for a cafetière. Bobolink is the light roast and the gentlest of them, a cup to drink black or with a small splash of milk. House Roast, the medium roast, is a blend that pairs chocolate and caramel with citrus acidity. Revelation, the dark roast, and Yayu Forest from Ethiopia are sold as whole beans, so both need a grinder at home.

A ground bag starts to lose its aroma from the moment the seal is broken, so a 200g bag is a sensible size rather than a small one. Roll it down tight, clip it and keep it in a cool, dark cupboard, and plan to finish it within a couple of weeks of opening. This is coffee to drink through, not to save for a special occasion.

The packs we stock

Union Hand-Roasted Coffee Bobolink Brazil Cafetière Grind, 200g (barcode 5060035756018)

What to eat with it

Thomas Fudge's 6 Dark Chocolate Florentines: Dark chocolate florentines give the milk-chocolate notes in the cup something richer to lean against.
Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: Butterscotch picks up the sugary side of a Brazilian coffee without adding yet more chocolate.
Lu Le Petit Cookie with Chunky Rich Chocolate Chips, 184g: A simple chocolate chip cookie suits a mid-morning pot of a sweet, low-acid coffee.
Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: A little ginger warmth makes a lively contrast with a soft, rounded cup that has no sharp edges of its own.

Elsewhere in the Union range

The full range is on the Union brand page.

FAQ

Can I use Bobolink cafetière grind in an espresso machine? No. It is cut coarse for immersion brewing, so water would race through an espresso basket. For espresso, Union's Revelation beans are the ones to grind.

How much Bobolink should I put in a cafetière? About 60g per litre, which is 30g for a three-cup pot. Without scales, a level tablespoon holds roughly 7g.

Why does my cafetière coffee taste bitter or muddy? Usually the water was too hot, the brew ran long or the coffee sat on the grounds after plunging. Decant the whole pot as soon as you have pressed.

Where does Bobolink come from? Union lists it as coming from Mococa, in the Sul de Minas region of Brazil, rather than as a blend of several countries.

Does Bobolink need milk? It does not need it. The low acidity and soft body mean it drinks well black, though a dash of milk sits comfortably with its chocolate notes.

Curator's note: Drink the first cup black, straight after plunging, and only then decide whether it wants milk. For our money it rarely does. Lee, Teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.