Diskuse:Karlovy Vary

Hi. Is this building (old hospice in Karlovy Vary) still existing? With which name/function? --Derbrauni (diskuse) 25. 10. 2017, 09:52 (CEST)

@Derbrauni: It seems, that building still exists as hotel Sanatorium Trocnov. JAn (diskuse) 25. 10. 2017, 16:07 (CEST)

@JAn Dudík:Thanks for your help (and please excuse the delay...) --Derbrauni (diskuse) 2. 1. 2018, 15:14 (CET)

Karlsbader Kaffeemaschine / Karlovarský příbor

Dear fellow Wikipedians,

I am currently researching the history and origins of the so called "Karlsbader Kanne" / "Karlsbader Kaffeemaschine" for the English and German Wikipedias, which, in the English world, is known as "Karlsbad coffee maker" and sometimes as "Bohemian coffee maker". The Czech name appears to be "Karlovarský příbor". This is a variant of French drip coffee makers (also known as "cafetière du Belloy" since 1795, and as "Seihkanne" in Germany), but with a special double-layered finely cross-slitted through-glazed porcelain sieve instead of the round drilled holes found in French drip coffee makers.

One of the earliest and long-lasting manufacturers of these devices was the German porcelain manufacturer Walküre, based in Bayreuth (founded as Siegmund Paul Meyer (SPM) in 1899). They went into insolvency in 2019, but Friesland Porzellan in Varel (who have their origins as a part of the Melitta group) has taken over some of their designs (including the Karlsbad and Bayreuth coffee machines) since then.

SPM / Walküre claimed that the now-classic pear-shaped form [1] of the coffee pot they introduced in 1910/1913 was their original design ("Werksentwurf"), but they originally referred to some of their coffee makers as "Berliner Kaffeetrichter mit Karlsbader Seiher, geschlitzt oder nach französischer Art gebohrt." ("Berlin coffee-cone with slitted Karlsbad strainer or drilled according to the French method."). This indicates that the main difference between French drip coffee pots and Karlsbad-style coffee makers is the special construction and material of the filter, not the general shape of the device (besides the pear-shaped version there have been other shapes, see below). It further suggests that the Karlsbad-style filters themselves were not an invention of SPM, but were already known before 1910, and, from the name, that they most probably originated from the area of Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary).

So far I could identify about a dozen porcelain manufacturers (from Germany, Czechia and France) who were manufacturing Karlsbad coffee makers in the first half of the 20th century (most of them stopped about mid-century). Almost all of them were producing them in three major forms: the possibly earliest form with a cylindrical filter with two squarish handles and a ball-round pot, a somewhat trapezoid form I would associate with the term "neukonisch", and the now common pear-shaped form which Walküre claimed as their original design. In addition to these there are a couple of newer forms looking quite differently but using the same type of filter.

The coffee these coffee makers produced was (and is) known as "Karlsbader" in the Vienna coffee house culture (apparently quite different from another type of coffee known as "Karlsbader" which had zichory and honey as ingredients?).

Now my questions:

• Do you know of any manufacturer (name, location) producing them before 1910? Which style?
• Do you know of other manufacturers (name, location) producing them somewhen after 1910 and not yet listed in the list in the English Wikipedia?
• Does someone know better details of the history of the "Karlsbad" double-layered slit porcelain filters? Who invented it, where and when? How did the name "Karlsbad filter" came about?

It appears to be quite difficult to find reliable sources for this, so if you are aware of (historical) works (regardless of language) discussing them in better details, please let me know.

Feel free to reply here or on the talk page of the English article on drip coffee, or even contribute to the article(s) yourself. (And sorry for writing in English.)

Thanks and greetings, --Matthiaspaul (diskuse) 29. 5. 2023, 16:10 (CEST)

Nobody? Hey, come on, it is about your cultural heritage. Even if it is more than a century ago, somebody in Karlovy Vary should be able to find out the historical facts by visiting a local library or so... ;-) Or is it just a legend, and the "Karlsbad filter" wasn't actually invented in Karlovy Vary but in Bayreuth (in 1910 at S.P.M./Walküre)?

--Matthiaspaul (diskuse) 19. 11. 2023, 11:09 (CET)