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dsi1[_9_] dsi1[_9_] is offline
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Default Electric Coffee Percolator?

On 8/16/2010 9:51 PM, Jeßus wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:20:12 -0700 (PDT), phaeton
> > wrote:
>
>> My some-years-old Black N Decker drip coffeemaker sprang a leak while
>> I was vinegaring it out yesterday, thus destroying the delicate
>> ecosystem of my countertop. I'm considering replacing it with an
>> electric percolator. I see them for around $40 at misc stores, such
>> as Sears.
>>
>> What made me think of this was last weekend, when at my girlfriend's
>> aunt's cabin, she made us all coffee in an oldish electric
>> percolator. She used just regular unspecial Folgers ground coffee and
>> it was the most lovely cup I'd had in quite some time. Bold tasting,
>> well bodied, had some octane to it but wasn't too strong or acidic
>> tasting*.
>>
>> Anyone here use one of these?

>
> Unlikely... I've not heard of anyone wanting to use a percolator for
> years. They 'overcook' the coffee, producing a foul, bitter hot
> liquid. But then, you say you *like* that flavour, so each to their
> own!


Percolators have fallen out of fashion but foul, bitter, coffee is all
the rage. Why worry about boiling the coffee when the beans are
typically getting all burnt to hell during roasting? The truth is that
if the brew you get out of your coffeemaker is bitter, not smooth, it's
because of the roast, not because of overcooking.

I have a Corning cornflour percolator that works just dandy. I use it
occasionally because it's a neat way to make a cup of Joe. The drip
maker that I use most mornings is fast but the process holds little
fascination.

I like to set the coffeemaker on the stove to percolate at a very gentle
rate. It takes a while to make coffee but the smell that permeates the
room is like foreplay. By the time the coffee is done, your juices are
flowing and you're ready to hit it hard.

Like anything, it's got it's drawbacks - it takes it's sweet time to
finish brewing, cleaning the thing is a more involved process, you'll
get grinds going down the sink. Of course, you always end up with some
grinds on the bottom of your cup - just like the old days before
filtered coffee. How quaint. "Overcooking" the coffee has never been a
problem.


>
>> 1) I assume that the new modern ones will automatically switch from
>> "brew mode" to "keep warm mode" when it's done (hence the indicator
>> light). This is important because I don't want something I have to
>> keep an eye on. I want to be able to load it, flip it on and ignore it
>> completely until after i've come out of the shower.

>
> Another great way to overcook the coffee...
>
>> Also, I tend to
>> brew small amounts most mornings (just enough for a cup to drink and
>> fill my travel mug). My B&D Drip model could begrudgingly brew small
>> amounts but for some reason it never tasted as good as the times when
>> I make a whole pot.

>
> That has been my experience with drip machines as well.
>
>> IIRC most drip makers recommend making at least a
>> half a pot. The box that percolators are in say they'll make 2-12
>> cups and it's all the same. I don't want a "one cup" drip model.
>>
>> 2) I seem to remember seeing different grinds for percolators. Is
>> that still necessary?

>
> Not sure about that one.
>
>> 3) I know I can get another crappy drip model (like a 5-cup one) for
>> about $10 and it'll make coffee for a few years just fine before
>> blowing up. The percolators I'm looking at are 4 times as much.
>> However, it looks like the way percolators are made that they'll last
>> decades. Am I wrong?
>>
>> Thanks for any help and advice.

>
> Perhaps get an espresso machine, or a combo espresso/drip machine. I
> know Russell Hobbs used to make one some years ago, not sure about
> nowadays though.
>
>> *When I first moved out on my own I had a stovetop percolator that
>> made the worst coffee ever. Maybe the water was bad or at 17 years
>> old I just didn't know how to make coffee, but it was always weak,
>> burnt tasting and acidic like i brewed it with vinegar instead of
>> water.

>
> That sounds like percolator coffee to me
>
>> Yet every time anyone saw it on my stove or heard that I had
>> one they'd say "those make the BEST coffee you'll ever have".

>
> Because they're ignorant