Percolators

Awww, I remember those as a child. My grandmother used an old one like that. What a beautiful memory.

Yea, they're not good. When the coffee is percolating it smells great but the temp required to get the water up to perk is way to high and brings out terrible bitter tastes. Get a drip maker with a thermal carafe and skip the percolator idea.

I have a perculator OP, it's all I use for coffee. I like it. Easy clean up, no filters, can make it as strong as you want. I swear by it, I had a coffee machine, took up counter space, cost a lot of money, and didn't last long. This hides in the cabinet when I'm done with it. Go to Macy's or BEd Bath and Beyond with a coupon.

Get a drip coffee maker -- call it a day -- and try to work on your attention issues.

Yeah, they're nice to play around with but the taste comes out sour and I prefer my Turkish coffee bitter only. They're still big here in Europe, though.

Drip maker? I don't know her.

I have a vintage ceramic percolator similar to this one. I rarely use it, but it's certainly decorative.

I love and use my Farberware percolator every day for the past 10 years. Rich, HOT coffee, everyone I serve it to is an immediate convert to percolators. I have a smaller 2-4 cup one that I got at bedbathbeyond.com (small one not avail in stores) for my daily use and a large one for company. I do use disc filters and have to order them online.

I use Community Coffee Dark Roast (preground) and have never had a bitter outcome, wonder if the filter makes a difference. 10g coffee grounds for every 6 oz water gives me a great cup of coffee.

I always thought the old Pyrex percolators were cool. I'm sure they broke easily, though.

OMG, I have been on this kick about getting a stove top percolator for some time now- and get this, they are harder to find than you think and when you hit on one they are expennnnnnnsive….I priced a CorningWare one at $150 bucks….gotta be a stove top, not an electric, just like dear ole Mother used….I would say your best bet, which worked for me, finally, was Garage Sales, Tag Sales, Church Bizzzzzars, etc…find one cheap and experiment. Fuck those drips, french presses, blah blah blah go old school…..

Do you have to grind your own beans to get the right grind, or can you find ground coffee for percolators? I think you have to use a coarser grind than you would for a drip machine.

They suck. The already infused coffee water keeps circulating on the stove or whatever and gets way too hot for a decent brew. Plus you have to make at least 4 cups in most makers. Then there's no going back for seconds because it gets shittier by the minute. Those electric ones that keep it warm are a bitter nightmare.

I checked, r9, and with shipping, they seem to go from $50 to $60 on eBay.

I think percs make great coffee. The old stove top Corningware the best..

Moderne

No on percolating because of the taste, but we use an electric kettle every day and make our coffee from that (we use those Starbucks Via’s, sue me). It is HOT which is why my husband got it. He will not be denied his hot coffee.

The Fiesta of percolators.....

The Harlequin of percolators....

I hate coffee but these funny things amuse me.

I prefer electric percolators, personally. I have a smaller Farberware electric percolator. Very low profile and easy to keep clean. I like electric percolators overall, and we used them at one of my previous workplaces, I just got the smaller unit at home because I don't need to brew an entire pot for myself.

Just listen.....

I use my old style Italian percolator daily.

Makes the best coffee by far.

R21 , I use that device as well. Most well-known maker is Bialetti. I wouldn't call it a percolator, though. It's called a moka pot. (No, it does not make "mocha" or chocolate flavored drinks.) I agree it makes good and really hot coffee.

If it's just me I use the Bialetti Moka stovetop coffee or espresso maker:

R22 Too funny that I posted that as well :)

Yes, I noticed that! Love my Bialetti coffee maker.

I went from a drip, to Keurig. I remembered my parents using a percolator, and it always looked good on tv reruns. I have been using one for two years now. Its great. I fill it the night before so I only have to plug it in in the morning. It does make the whole house smell great btw.

They sell 'em at Bass Pro.

coffee klatch.

Lots of percolators available on eBay, reasonably priced (IMO).

I don't think they make programmable percolators, so I guess you have to wait for the coffee to brew after you turn it on/plug it in. How long do they usually take?

I use one because it is the only type of coffee maker you can find these days that are completely stainless steel. I can taste the plastic in the coffee made in machines that have plastic parts.

Older DL HOMOS I remember in the 1970's my mother or my father had a stove percolator it was white with the flowers. Was that Corning or Farberware?

Corning....

Yes that's the look. I remember theirs being taller and slimmer than this one.

OP, go for it. I hate drip coffee and I refuse to drink it. And press coffee always tastes bitter to me.

I know my mom was a big tea drinker, and I can't remember what my dad drank (except for scotch). So I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in college. I was helping out on a friend's student film set and was tasked with making the coffee, which I'd never gone before. They had one of those gigantic urn percolators. That coffee was so fucking good, I started drinking it regularly.

We used to go to a diner near our dorm at NYU and the coffee there was so good. But then if I'd go to a friend's dorm apartment and they would make drip coffee, I'd be totally grossed out. It tasted terrible. I would get deli coffee at the bodegas on the corners in Manhattan and it would be sooooo good. When I finally decided to start making coffee for myself, I almost bought one of those big urns because I thought I wouldn't be able to replicate the taste. I settled on an electric perc pot and I've never looked back.

You can use any grind in the modern perc pots. It really doesn't matter. If you do go to a place that grinds it for you, they will do a little larger, coarser grind for a perc pot, but I buy ground bagged coffee all the time and I never have a problem.

I've never tried the stovetop perc pot, but I'd love to!

And for those asking time- I usually make half a pot. I drink one huge (28 oz) cup with some half and half and it takes maybe 10 minutes to finish, if that.

My parents had that Corning percolator at r33!

And once my father discovered fresh-ground coffe and drip machines in the early 80s, the whole family never looked back.

There is NO WAY pre-ground coffee, made by any method -- perc, moka, press, drip, superautomatic espresso machine -- will or can ever taste as good as fresh-ground. Coffee loses 90% of its aroma and most of its flavor within an hour of grinding.

IMO, percolators make the best tasting coffee - better than drip coffeemakers. But I've given up on electric ones. Over the years I ordered three different ones from Amazon. None of them lasted more than a year or two. So if you go that route, be sure to read reviews before you buy. I've also had bad luck with drip coffeemakers. Regardless of brand or price they always crap out before long too.

Just FYI, R37 (and OP if he's still considering one). The last one I bought was from Amazon and was

Spectrum Farberware 8-Cup Percolator, Stainless Steel, FCP280

Apparently I bought it in January of 2007 (I just looked it up) and it's still going strong 12 1/2 years later. And they're still selling it.

Mama on Mama's Family uses a percolator

How about a siphon coffee maker, 0P?

I have my mother's Cory glass percolator, use it almost every day. It is easier to control the temperature on a gas stove. A friend gave me a Nespresso to "bring me into this century", but I prefer to percolate.

Users of percolators, do you add egg shells to your coffee? My late grandmother did and everyone loved her coffee.