A pipetting apparatus and method capable of detecting a liquid within an intermediate section of a pipette tube of the pipetting apparatus. The intermediate section is located between an upper section of the pipette tube at which a first electrode is arranged and a lower section at which a second electrode is arranged. The first and second electrodes form a measurement capacitor and are operationally connected to an impedance measurement unit, which is adapted to detect whether liquid, such as a portion of a sample liquid or system liquid, is present within the intermediate section based on the measured impedance or change of impedance, e.g. an increase of the capacitance and/or a decrease of the resistance, of the measurement capacitor caused by a presence of the liquid within the intermediate section.