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