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.