Q) Can I make espresso coffee on Shabbos using a manual “Unispresso” machine?
A)The portable manual “Unispresso” machine has two compartments; boiling water is poured into the first and coffee grounds placed in the second. The hot water is then manually pumped through the coffee grounds. The machine is completely manual and has no electrical components.
We need to analyse the “Unispresso” machine both from the angle of bishul, and from the angle of borer:
- Regarding bishul we are dealing with coffee grounds that have previously been roasted (not cooked) and are now being cooked by the hot water pumped through them. This presents a question of bishul achar afiyah – cooking after baking. The Shulchan Aruch[1] quotes two opinions as to whether bishul achar afiyah is prohibited or permitted on Shabbos. The Remo[2] maintains that the custom is to be stringent and not cook a previously baked item even in a kli sheni.
It can be inferred from the Remo that this applies only to a kli sheni – but not to a kli shlishi.
The hot water that has been poured into the Unispresso machine already has the status of kli sheni before it makes contact with the coffee[3]. When it is pumped through the coffee, it will be classified “irui kli sheni”[4] and subsequently is permitted with regards to bishul achar afiyah.
- There is another potential bishul issue of cooking kalei habishul in a kli shlishi. The Orchos Shabbos[5] is stringent with regards to cooking roasted coffee grounds in a kli shlishi. However, Rav Moshe Feinstein[6] is lenient regarding cooking tea leaves in a kli shlishi – and presumably the same din would apply regarding cooking roasted coffee grounds in a kli shlishi.
Therefore, from a kalei habishul perspective this is subject to a machlokes haposkim. Subsequently, one should ideally be stringent and refrain from cooking coffee grounds in a kli shlishi; however, there is certainly room for leniency when necessary.
- Regarding borer – we are presented with an issue of filtering the liquid coffee from the coffee grounds contained in the Unispresso machine. Although it could be argued that this occurs just before drinking – and therefore borer should be permitted; this is not so, seeing as the coffee is being filtered with a kli (i.e. the sieve that holds the coffee grounds back) and there is no concession to perform borer with a kli before eating[7].
There is however a leniency that can be applied to our situation: The Shulchan Aruch[8] tells us that if there are wine sediments already in a sieve from before Shabbos, one may add water to the sediments on Shabbos – even though the water will form a mixture with the sediments, and the mixture will inevitably undergo filtering by the sieve[9].
Our situation can presumably be compared to the case of wine sediments, and just as one can add water to the wine sediments – so too one can pour (or pump) water through the coffee grounds on Shabbos.
In summary: If one relies on the lenient opinions that allow cooking kalei habishul in a kli shlishi then one can use a Unispresso machine on Shabbos.
[1] או”ח שי”ח ה’
[2] שם
[3] בגלל שאפילו אם שפך מהמיחם ישירות לתוך ה”יוניספרו” בלי כלי אחר באמצע, המים שמגיעים ל”יוניספרו” נחשבים ככלי שני, ונחים לפני שנשפכים על הקפה
[4]ערוי כלי שני דינו ככלי שלישי – ע’ מ”ב שי”ח ס”ק ל”ה
[5] אורחות שבת ח”א (פרק א’ מ”ו)
[6] אג”מ או”ח ח”ד ע”ד ט”ו. והכף החיים מדייק מדברי הבן איש חי (שו”ת רב פעלים ח”ג סימן י”א) שמותר לבשל קפה אפילו בכלי שני.
[7] שו”ע או”ח שי”ט ט’
[8] שם
[9] שם, וע’ במ”ב ס”ק ל”ג שדן בטעם היתר שמרים מע”ש, וז”ל: מים שהוא נותן – צלולים הם, ואין בהם דבר שצריך לברר מהם.
