Hey folks. As you recall I recently asked about electric coffee
percolators, and got a lot of responses. My research didn't stop
here, though. I found a lot of similar dissent about the percolator
around the web, but there was also a very small population of radicals
that were arguing that percolators are great. Many of these folks use
other "coffee snob" methods (press pot, manual drip, vacuum pot)
alongside an electric percolator. Something I noticed a lot was that
a lot of people who hated percolators had also never used one.

Seems like the bad reputation that a percolator gets comes from about
20+ years ago. Here's why:

1) Most percolators were stovetop. It was difficult to know the
difference between 'perking' (between 190-205F) and boiling (212F) the
water. As we all know, actually boiling the coffee destroys it.
Modern electric percolators are regulated to the 190-205 temp, which
is also the optimum extraction temp for coffee. It seems to be a
common misconception that percolators "boil and reboil the coffee",
but they actually do not boil if used properly.

2) Up until 30 or 35 years ago, all coffee in the US was made from the
cheap and bitter Robusta family instead of the Arabica. Arabica costs
more (significantly less yield per tree) but the taste difference is
huge. Coffee as an 'art' wasn't established yet in the US. Just like
how the only beer you could buy was Budweiser, Schlitz or Coors, the
only coffee you could buy was robusta. Nobody really knew the
difference.

3) You must keep percolators spotlessly clean. A lot of people either
don't know this or don't do it. You also have to remove the coffee
basket when it's done perking, as the steam from the coffee below will
continue to overextract the grounds above.

After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
1950s.

Just thought I'd share.

-J

On 9/2/2010 1:21 PM, phaeton wrote:
> Hey folks. As you recall I recently asked about electric coffee
> percolators, and got a lot of responses. My research didn't stop
> here, though. I found a lot of similar dissent about the percolator
> around the web, but there was also a very small population of radicals
> that were arguing that percolators are great. Many of these folks use
> other "coffee snob" methods (press pot, manual drip, vacuum pot)
> alongside an electric percolator. Something I noticed a lot was that
> a lot of people who hated percolators had also never used one.
>
> Seems like the bad reputation that a percolator gets comes from about
> 20+ years ago. Here's why:
>
> 1) Most percolators were stovetop. It was difficult to know the
> difference between 'perking' (between 190-205F) and boiling (212F) the
> water. As we all know, actually boiling the coffee destroys it.
> Modern electric percolators are regulated to the 190-205 temp, which
> is also the optimum extraction temp for coffee. It seems to be a
> common misconception that percolators "boil and reboil the coffee",
> but they actually do not boil if used properly.
>
> 2) Up until 30 or 35 years ago, all coffee in the US was made from the
> cheap and bitter Robusta family instead of the Arabica. Arabica costs
> more (significantly less yield per tree) but the taste difference is
> huge. Coffee as an 'art' wasn't established yet in the US. Just like
> how the only beer you could buy was Budweiser, Schlitz or Coors,

Don't forget Dixie, Lone Star, Pearl, Jax, Narragansett, National
Bohemian, Falstaff, Colt .45, and a zillion other local brands of beer.
Not to mention local and regional brands of coffee that were actually
made with Arabica beans.

the
> only coffee you could buy was robusta. Nobody really knew the
> difference.
>
> 3) You must keep percolators spotlessly clean. A lot of people either
> don't know this or don't do it. You also have to remove the coffee
> basket when it's done perking, as the steam from the coffee below will
> continue to overextract the grounds above.
>
> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
> good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
> 1950s.
>
> Just thought I'd share.
>
> -J

phaeton wrote:

>
> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
> good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
> 1950s.
>
> Just thought I'd share.
>
> -J

Good for you, but i still prefer the stove top percolator with no basket
at all. I have heard it referred to as hobo coffee, cowboy or campfire
coffee.

Bring the water to the boil, remove from heat, add ground coffee wait 5
minutes and serve.

After my fist cup i then decant the brewed coffee from its steel brewing
pot to a 'thermos" carafe for storage.

After 5 minutes 90% of the grounds have settled to the bottom of the
pot, and after 10 - 20 minutes 99% of the grounds are settled on the
bottom of the pot and the coffee can be poured off the grounds,
decanted, well enough for me.

I used French presses for years but just got fed up with their
fragility. And after breaking my 19th or 20th French press happened to
find myself at a flea market where i found a never used, Revere ware 10
cup percolator for $5.00 Not a mark on it. Previous to that i had used
a sauce pan to make coffee.

It seems to me the coffee is more important than how its brewed. I get a
bit more than a pound of Vietnamese coffee for $4.00 and could spend
more easily enough, but the Vietnamese blend i purchase is tasty and
good enough for me.

The Indo Noirs, Konas, Javanese & etc. that are available are not so
much better to me that they are worth the more than double or triple the
price i pay for the Vietnamese blend.

Which i buy packaged out of Canada for the Mexican/American market, that
i purchase at a small mom & pop grocery in our local Chinatown

--

Mr. Joseph Paul Littleshoes Esq.

Domine, dirige nos.

Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky.../sf_anthem.mp3

In article
>,
phaeton > wrote:


> Something I noticed a lot was that
> a lot of people who hated percolators had also never used one.

I think percolators are worse, theoretically. Sometimes practice and
theory just don't match.

> Seems like the bad reputation that a percolator gets comes from about
> 20+ years ago. Here's why:

Perhaps different parts of the world, and the US, are different. I saw
very few stove top percolators twenty years ago. We were starving
students when we got married in 1972, and we got *two* electric
percolators for wedding presents.

> 1) Most percolators were stovetop. It was difficult to know the
> difference between 'perking' (between 190-205F) and boiling (212F) the
> water. As we all know, actually boiling the coffee destroys it.
> Modern electric percolators are regulated to the 190-205 temp, which
> is also the optimum extraction temp for coffee. It seems to be a
> common misconception that percolators "boil and reboil the coffee",
> but they actually do not boil if used properly.

Water boils at 212F at sea level. That's just a fact. In order to
"perc", the water at the bottom has to boil. To the extent that you
have coffee down there, later in the cycle, you are "boiling" the
coffee. It's true that the water being dispersed over the grounds on
the top has cooled to the correct temperature. Of course, the stove top
percolator will boil *all* the liquid on the bottom (if you have a
normal stove), whereas the electric will only boil the liquid right
under the lift tube.

> 3) You must keep percolators spotlessly clean. A lot of people either
> don't know this or don't do it. You also have to remove the coffee
> basket when it's done perking, as the steam from the coffee below will
> continue to overextract the grounds above.

Yup. Keep it clean, and keep those grounds away afterwards.

4) Use a paper filter in the basket, unless you plan to drink *all* the
coffee quickly. Otherwise, the fine grounds will go into the coffee and
eventually make it taste overdone and bitter.

> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
> good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
> 1950s.

I was always pretty happy with our coffee from the electric percolator.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

JL wrote:
>
>
> phaeton wrote:
>
>>
>> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
>> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
>> good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
>> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
>> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
>> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
>> 1950s.
>>
>> Just thought I'd share.
>>
>> -J
>
> Good for you, but i still prefer the stove top percolator with no basket
> at all. I have heard it referred to as hobo coffee, cowboy or campfire
> coffee.
>
> Bring the water to the boil, remove from heat, add ground coffee wait 5
> minutes and serve.
>
> After my fist cup i then decant the brewed coffee from its steel brewing
> pot to a 'thermos" carafe for storage.
>
> After 5 minutes 90% of the grounds have settled to the bottom of the
> pot, and after 10 - 20 minutes 99% of the grounds are settled on the
> bottom of the pot and the coffee can be poured off the grounds,
> decanted, well enough for me.
>
> I used French presses for years but just got fed up with their
> fragility. And after breaking my 19th or 20th French press happened to
> find myself at a flea market where i found a never used, Revere ware 10
> cup percolator for $5.00 Not a mark on it. Previous to that i had used
> a sauce pan to make coffee.
>
> It seems to me the coffee is more important than how its brewed. I get a
> bit more than a pound of Vietnamese coffee for $4.00 and could spend
> more easily enough, but the Vietnamese blend i purchase is tasty and
> good enough for me.
>
> The Indo Noirs, Konas, Javanese & etc. that are available are not so
> much better to me that they are worth the more than double or triple the
> price i pay for the Vietnamese blend.
>
> Which i buy packaged out of Canada for the Mexican/American market, that
> i purchase at a small mom & pop grocery in our local Chinatown
>


I just bought a 2 pound bag of Community dark roast coffee. It seems
to be ground coarse enough that I'll have to use a percolator to get a
good extraction from it instead of the automatic drip pot.

My Dad gave me his old Corningware "blue cornflower" percolator that
he was about to throw out. I'll give it a test drive this weekend.

Bob

phaeton wrote on Thu, 2 Sep 2010 11:21:12 -0700 (PDT):

> Seems like the bad reputation that a percolator gets comes
> from about 20+ years ago. Here's why:

> 1) Most percolators were stovetop. It was difficult to know
> the difference between 'perking' (between 190-205F) and
> boiling (212F) the water. As we all know, actually boiling
> the coffee destroys it. Modern electric percolators are
> regulated to the 190-205 temp, which is also the optimum
> extraction temp for coffee. It seems to be a common
> misconception that percolators "boil and reboil the coffee",
> but they actually do not boil if used properly.

> 2) Up until 30 or 35 years ago, all coffee in the US was made
> from the cheap and bitter Robusta family instead of the
> Arabica. Arabica costs more (significantly less yield per
> tree) but the taste difference is huge. Coffee as an 'art'
> wasn't established yet in the US. Just like how the only beer
> you could buy was Budweiser, Schlitz or Coors, the only coffee
> you could buy was robusta. Nobody really knew the difference.

> 3) You must keep percolators spotlessly clean. A lot of
> people either don't know this or don't do it. You also have
> to remove the coffee basket when it's done perking, as the
> steam from the coffee below will continue to overextract the
> grounds above.

> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I
> bought a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes
> some pretty good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not
> bitter. Gone is the 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my
> Automatic Drip machine. So all in all, I think that coffee
> from the modern electric percolator is a completely different
> animal than that from the old stovetop in the 1950s.

> Just thought I'd share.

I don't remember your asking but percolators make lousy coffee, IMHO.
The automatic drip pot, invented by Mr. Coffee, does a much better job.
I've been using one for 15 years and it's still going strong. Previous
to that I used a Chemex and that was much better than a percolator. I
don't think percolators are any improvement on the Norwegian stove-top
method, with or without eggshells!

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On 2010-09-02, JL > wrote:

> fragility. And after breaking my 19th or 20th French press happened to

I used the same french press every day for 10 yrs. Gave it to
my daughter in working order.

You gotta be smarter than the tool.

nb

On Sep 2, 4:04*pm, zxcvbob > wrote:
> JL wrote:
>
> > phaeton wrote:
>
> >> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. *I bought
> >> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. *It makes some pretty
> >> good coffee. *Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. *Gone is the
> >> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
> >> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
> >> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
> >> 1950s.
>
> >> Just thought I'd share.
>
> >> -J
>
> > Good for you, but i still prefer the stove top percolator with no basket
> > at all. *I have heard it referred to as hobo coffee, cowboy or campfire
> > coffee.
>
> > Bring the water to the boil, remove from heat, add ground coffee wait 5
> > minutes and serve.
>
> > After my fist cup i then decant the brewed coffee from its steel brewing
> > pot to a 'thermos" carafe for storage.
>
> > After 5 minutes 90% of the grounds have settled to the bottom of the
> > pot, and after 10 - 20 minutes 99% of the grounds are settled on the
> > bottom of the pot and the coffee can be poured off the grounds,
> > decanted, well enough for me.
>
> > I used French presses for years but just got fed up with their
> > fragility. *And after breaking my 19th or 20th French press happened to
> > find myself at a flea market where i found a never used, Revere ware 10
> > cup percolator for $5.00 *Not a mark on it. *Previous to that i had used
> > a sauce pan to make coffee.
>
> > It seems to me the coffee is more important than how its brewed. I get a
> > bit more than a pound of Vietnamese coffee for $4.00 and could spend
> > more easily enough, but the Vietnamese blend i purchase is tasty and
> > good enough for me.
>
> > The Indo Noirs, Konas, Javanese & etc. that are available are not so
> > much better to me that they are worth the more than double or triple the
> > price i pay for the Vietnamese blend.
>
> > Which i buy packaged out of Canada for the Mexican/American market, that
> > i purchase at a small mom & pop grocery *in our local Chinatown
>
> I just bought a 2 pound bag of Community dark roast coffee. *It seems
> to be ground coarse enough that I'll have to use a percolator to get a
> good extraction from it instead of the automatic drip pot.
>
> My Dad gave me his old Corningware "blue cornflower" percolator that
> he was about to throw out. *I'll give it a test drive this weekend.

Some of those were recalled because the handles can detach and spill
hot coffee all over a person.
>
> Bob

--Bryan

On Thu, 2 Sep 2010 11:21:12 -0700 (PDT), phaeton
> wrote:

> Hey folks. As you recall I recently asked about electric coffee
> percolators, and got a lot of responses. My research didn't stop
> here, though. I found a lot of similar dissent about the percolator
> around the web, but there was also a very small population of radicals
> that were arguing that percolators are great. Many of these folks use
> other "coffee snob" methods (press pot, manual drip, vacuum pot)
> alongside an electric percolator. Something I noticed a lot was that
> a lot of people who hated percolators had also never used one.

I've noticed that with a lot of things here on rfc. The loudest and
most opinionated people here either have never tried it or have a
dislike from childhood that they never got over, because when
pressed... it turns out to be a "theory".
>
> Seems like the bad reputation that a percolator gets comes from about
> 20+ years ago. Here's why:
>
> 1) Most percolators were stovetop. It was difficult to know the
> difference between 'perking' (between 190-205F) and boiling (212F) the
> water. As we all know, actually boiling the coffee destroys it.
> Modern electric percolators are regulated to the 190-205 temp, which
> is also the optimum extraction temp for coffee. It seems to be a
> common misconception that percolators "boil and reboil the coffee",
> but they actually do not boil if used properly.

I still say the best coffee comes from a stovetop percolator. I can
do it in an electric one, but I like the old fashioned way. I joined
the modern era and bought a drip maker as soon as they came out
though, but I will never diss a stovetop percolator.

The biggest problem I see is that most people do not like strong
coffee. If it goes anywhere beyond weak, they start complaining about
it tasting burned. They're just coffee wimps grabbing at straws
trying to look like they know what they're talking about.
>
> 2) Up until 30 or 35 years ago, all coffee in the US was made from the
> cheap and bitter Robusta family instead of the Arabica. Arabica costs
> more (significantly less yield per tree) but the taste difference is
> huge. Coffee as an 'art' wasn't established yet in the US. Just like
> how the only beer you could buy was Budweiser, Schlitz or Coors, the
> only coffee you could buy was robusta. Nobody really knew the
> difference.

Maybe I didn't know there was such a thing as Robusta and Arabica, but
I knew I didn't like most of the coffee that was sold in cans back in
the day. I did like the one mixed with chicory though. It was the
best of the bunch, which isn't setting the bar very high.
>
> 3) You must keep percolators spotlessly clean. A lot of people either
> don't know this or don't do it. You also have to remove the coffee
> basket when it's done perking, as the steam from the coffee below will
> continue to overextract the grounds above.

Absolutely, take the basket and stem out when it's done perking.
>
> After learning all this, I decided to take a chance on one. I bought
> a National Presto 12-cup electric percolator. It makes some pretty
> good coffee. Really strong, really smooth, not bitter. Gone is the
> 'plasticy' flavor i used to get from my Automatic Drip machine. So all
> in all, I think that coffee from the modern electric percolator is a
> completely different animal than that from the old stovetop in the
> 1950s.
>
> Just thought I'd share.
>
I learned how to make percolator coffee when I was in college from an
Arab man who sold coffee beans from a garage converted to shop. I
passed by there yesterday and he's still in business. The place is a
lot fancier so he's doing well.


--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On 9/2/2010 7:19 PM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
> On Sep 2, 4:04 pm, > wrote:

>> I just bought a 2 pound bag of Community dark roast coffee. It seems
>> to be ground coarse enough that I'll have to use a percolator to get a
>> good extraction from it instead of the automatic drip pot.
>>
>> My Dad gave me his old Corningware "blue cornflower" percolator that
>> he was about to throw out. I'll give it a test drive this weekend.
>
> Some of those were recalled because the handles can detach and spill
> hot coffee all over a person.
>>
>> Bob
>
> --Bryan


Yeah, I know; I'm gonna use it anyway. But thanks for the warning
(really. I appreciate it)

Bob

On Sep 2, 7:28*pm, zxcvbob > wrote:
> On 9/2/2010 7:19 PM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
>
> > On Sep 2, 4:04 pm, > *wrote:
> >> I just bought a 2 pound bag of Community dark roast coffee. *It seems
> >> to be ground coarse enough that I'll have to use a percolator to get a
> >> good extraction from it instead of the automatic drip pot.
>
> >> My Dad gave me his old Corningware "blue cornflower" percolator that
> >> he was about to throw out. *I'll give it a test drive this weekend.
>
> > Some of those were recalled because the handles can detach and spill
> > hot coffee all over a person.
>
> >> Bob
>
> > --Bryan
>
> Yeah, I know; I'm gonna use it anyway. *But thanks for the warning
> (really. *I appreciate it)

I made adobo seasoned (Penzey's) chicken for tacos this evening in a
blue cornflower casserole dish. Love that Corning Ware.
>
> Bob

--Bryan

Amen. I've used the same one daily for about five years now (little single cup job.) I have five or six presses of different sizes. I've broken one carafe. I've found plenty at Goodwill in unused shape. people probably don't buy them because they don't know how easy they are to use and care for.

That said, every now and again, when I visit my old neighborhood, I go to a lunch counter that's been around since the 30's. they have the massive perc that goes way up. I just love it. A plate of eggs (sunny up)with cheap, crappy, white toast, bacon and a cup of that coffee. It's all about prespective.

Drips do a good job; but, as mentioned before, the hot plate turns on and off and that ruins coffee more than perckin' it.

I'm having a nice cup as I type. This Torke stuff is a decent blend and not overly roasted. Mediocre, but drinkable. Pressed it, though.

On Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:43:02 GMT, notbob wrote:

> On 2010-09-02, JL > wrote:
>
>> fragility. And after breaking my 19th or 20th French press happened to
>
> I used the same french press every day for 10 yrs. Gave it to
> my daughter in working order.
>
> You gotta be smarter than the tool.
>
> nb

watch it, now. you're calling for ninety percent of the personal computers
in this country to be confiscated.

your pal,
blake

On 9/2/2010 8:28 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
> On 9/2/2010 7:19 PM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
>> On Sep 2, 4:04 pm, > wrote:
>
>>> I just bought a 2 pound bag of Community dark roast coffee. It seems
>>> to be ground coarse enough that I'll have to use a percolator to get a
>>> good extraction from it instead of the automatic drip pot.
>>>
>>> My Dad gave me his old Corningware "blue cornflower" percolator that
>>> he was about to throw out. I'll give it a test drive this weekend.
>>
>> Some of those were recalled because the handles can detach and spill
>> hot coffee all over a person.
>>>
>>> Bob
>>
>> --Bryan
>
>
> Yeah, I know; I'm gonna use it anyway. But thanks for the warning
> (really. I appreciate it)

One suspects that if the handle hasn't detached and spilled coffee all
over a person by now it's not going to.