When Monica Eng concluded her story about my love of Cleveland (she would also critique Elements of Cooking in a piece so thoughtful it would merit a marriage proposal were I not already fanatically devoted to Donna)—she described my coffee percolator and my skin-flint affection for Folgers. I subsequently got a few emails from percolator devotees and it renewed my desire to rid the world of the ridiculous automatic drip coffee maker, a sham perpetrated on an unthinking, convenience minded public.
Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman
When my beloved General Electric 9-Cup Percolator, filched from my father’s house, gave out after 40 years of vigorous life, I got what I’m sure was a gift from heaven: another one (above). Discovered on E-Bay, this one, manufactured in 1950, was all but unused. When this one went kerplooey, I got an even better gift on ebay: three of them, for $13.
I cherish the General Electric percolator (apparently no longer in production), but when I tell people that it makes the best coffee, by far superior to the ubiquitous automatic drip machines, they look at me like I've just confessed my belief in creationism.
It astonishes me that I have to defend this sleek, 9-cup wonder. I serve generic decaf to guests and they’re begging to know what kind of coffee I buy. Swear to God. I haul out the big green can to prove it. Coffee snoobs will say percolated coffee is "over-extracted." I call it very strong, rich coffee that’s piping hot and stays hot without burning. That its biggest advantage—percolators keep the coffee HOT, auto-drips burn it. And yet the GE model with its glass top and elegant drip-free spout has long been retired. Today’s percolators, what few remain, are awkward vessels with stubby spouts.
How did this happen? Where did the percolator go? Automatic drip coffee makers for the home, introduced in 1974 by Mr. Coffee (a Cleveland invention, no less! by people I know and like!), are the dominant household coffee machines, selling 20 million a year. And yet the coffee they make is at best OK. The flavor can be good IF it’s good quality to begin with and it’s served immediately upon being brewed. (But better to use a French press in this case.) Auto-drip coffee though almost never hot, especially if you put anything in it. If it sits for a half hour, it’s tepid, and soon burnt. It’s usually not much faster, nor appreciably easier to make. The machine is not better to look at, while the GE percolator is one of the great home-appliance industrial designs. And instead of the aromatic, enticing rush of gurgly percolation—one of the daily pleasures of this device—you get instead the sound of someone tinkling.
America lost something when it stowed the percolator in the back of the cupboard. It gave up a superior machine to a marketing strategy, fashionable gimmick and the promise of “convenience.” I want the percolator back. I want people to wake up.
Detzel Pretzel
That does it...I'm buying a percolator! I've went back and fourth, to and fro trying to keep my auto-drip crapolator for too long. I'm done with that lukewarm brown water.
Thanks for the push...and also thanks for the testicular fortitude to admit you use Folger's!
If it can make that stuff taste good, I might just be able to use dirt.
Kovalic
While I far prefer a percolator to automatic drip, give me my trusty French Press any day...
Easy...delicious...and I used it to make a great cup of coffee in the middle of the desert!
phoebe
They are my favorite. I have one that is also older than I am..And it shines up and looks fabulous and the coffee stays HOT
Connor
Sales of percolators and Folgers are sure to reach all-time highs!
krysta
I don't drink coffee but my mom swears by percolators. She'll be happy to know that someone who knows and writes about food thinks the same way she does.
frances
Was "wake up and smell the coffee" too snarky an ending? 😀
Although I'm picky about my coffee, I'm curious enough to try the Folgers-n-perc method because your writing and Donna's photo make it sound so good.
Plus, I could never sneer about anyone's love for Folgers since I loves me a plain old-fashioned Hershey bar.
Louisa Chu
Michael, my jaw is twinging in pain from my "taste" memory of Folgers! I tried making a good cup using a French press and a Chemex. I *really* tried - adjusting water temp, amount of coffee - one of the most common problems, people not using enough coffee. But I could only get a burnt water taste - "an infusion of ashtray"! Maybe the perc does something better for that coffee? But coffee is one of those extremely personal tastes. I have to admit I do like a sweet, milky cup sometimes - but not with the great coffees. How do you take your coffee by the way?
My Clover review - they would not let me make the Folgers in it 🙂 http://www.chow.com/stories/10853
Adam
Bidding on E-bay as I type ... I only hope your post doesn't push the prices too high!
chris brandow
why is it better than french press? my dad always used the exact same percolator and it makes great coffee, and I am terribly fond ot them. However, I still think that it doesn't beat the simplicity and flavor of a french press (or at least teh coffee brewed in it 🙂 ).
Russ
I'm not much of a coffee drinker, and I don't consider my palate in that respect to be very educated. I really have dog in the fight, but the food scientist in me is intrigued.
You describe the product as being both "burnt" and "tepid". Curious. Both appliances are electric, so apply heat to a liquid in similar fashion.
Can someone describe the workings of the percolator? Is the heating element at the bottom or perhaps a column inside of the carafe? Is the coffee sealed, what is the percolating action exactly? I'm trying to understand what produces such different results.
Jason
Cheap drip makers don't get the water hot enough (around 200 F). Just about anything will be better, even percs.
But CANNED COFFEE?!? After your realization that food is somewhat political? Come on.
Some places to start reading (search for these, as links aren't allowed): Coffee Kids, CoffeeGeek
Justin Watt
Being both not a coffee drinker and also in my mid-twenties, I had to look up coffee percolator [1] to understand what it was and how it worked. I've never known anything other than drip coffee makers...
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator
t-scape
I have been wanting a percolator since I used my dad's a couple of years ago. He uses Folgers-type coffee as well and it did, indeed, come out tasting surprisingly good. But the penny-pincher in me is having trouble justifying getting rid of a year-old drip machine and buy a percolator. Why did I buy that drip machine?! I'm going to go slap my forehead now.
French press coffee is very good, indeed, but it makes me crazy-jittery. I had one at work for a while, to make my morning coffee, and it was not a good scene.
missmaia
Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagreewith this statement: "percolators keep the coffee HOT, auto-drips burn it."
That is simply NOT true. Coffee arrives at optimum extraction of solids when brewed at 195-200 degrees (just off and under boil). nearly every drip maker on the market (with the exception of the technovorm) does not reach anywhere near these temperatures. This is why your coffeehouse brewer makes better coffee than a home model- they brew at a higher temperature. The 'burning' of the coffee, as you say, occurs on the hotplate in many models, well AFTER the coffee is brewed.
However, the coffee from a percolator is made from water heated to a boil- which yes, creates a better extraction of the solids into the water, but at that high of a temp, it will also extract 'undesirables'.
The best method, to hold coffee hot is not to perk, or to use the hotplate on most coffeemakers, but to brew coffee (using a french press or melitta) with water at the appropriate temps and time of extraction, and then place it in a vacuum carafe. :>
Shelley
Percolators and french presses may be wonderful, but I'm standing by my Senseo. It makes a damned good cup, and since I'm an isolated internet hermit who rarely sees another coffee-imbibing human being (sob!!), the one-dose-at-a-time delivery system suits me fine. So there. 🙂
Phil
Folgers? Really?
Jen
I love my Farberware percolator (though it's not nearly as elegant as the GE model you have). It's a smaller version of my parents' percolator that just kicked the bucket over the Christmas holidays (unfortunate timing!) after over 30 years of use and was brewing an excellent cup of standard canned coffee until the very last.
Natalie Sztern
Oh my G__sh! There are some things that just pop back into memory like my parent's percolator that used to bubble up into the glass knob on top and that's how they knew it was ready..we are BIG coffee drinkers and I own the Saeco Professional which sits on the counter and with the press of one button grinds and pours the best cup of coffee into which i pour 10% cream...mmm gotta go get one....and 2 sweet n low
lux
Ruhlman, I love you, but you are dead wrong that percolator coffee is good coffee. You're basically boiling those poor beans into insensibility when you use a percolator. And Folgers? Are you serious?
There are better ways to make strong coffee than that. Do yourself a favor and buy some real coffee. And a decent espresso machine.
A good shot of espresso is a gift from the gods: smooth, strong, and sweet. Learn to make one and you'll never drink percolated Folgers again.
breadchick
That does it. I'm booking a ticket right now to go back home to N.Michigan and raid my grandfather's house where I know the 1962 GE percolator sits forgotten and abandoned under the sink.
The memories this post brought back are as strong as the smell of coffee I just brewed in a dreaded drip maker.
Fred
I was once in Folgers HQ in Cincinnati Ohio, and saw a poster on the wall showing closeups of different grades of coffee, from top-quality AA coffee to D-grade. The Folgers boss said, "We're on the bottom there." He chuckled and said "I drink Starbucks."
Charlotte
Because I don't drink very much coffee, I've become hugely attached to my little Italian expresso pot -- the one where you put the water in the bottom and it boils up through the grinds -- in fact, if I think about it, it's sort of a similar design to the percolator. It makes me one very strong cup of coffee that is indeed nice and hot. Lots of milk, a little sugar, and an afternoon's editing gets done ... (Plus, there's that great scene in The Best of Youth where Carlo and Francesca fall in love over a pot of coffee Carlo makes for her ... sigh.)
french tart
after spending many years (and many dollars) trying all kinds of fancypanted coffee beans and grinding them up prior to brewing, our household decided that by far the best coffee we've ever had is Dunkin' Donuts brand, in a plastic reclosable ziptop bag found at Costco. i'd be willing to try Folgers though.
the coffee grinder is now the spice grinder.
lux
@charlotte -- there's some key differences between the two.
In an espresso pot, the water is turned into steam before moving through the coffee grinds and then up into the final holding chamber. In a percolator, boiling water is repeatedly circulated through the coffee grinds.
That's also why you'd use a fine grind for an espresso machine but a coarse one for a percolator.
thespian
Dear Peeps Who Don't Seem to Get It:
Coffee drinking, like any other caloric intake that isn't water and incredibly basic carbs and protein, is about the amount of pleasure that you take from the food and drink you're consuming.
I am sort of amused that some of you are lecturing MICHAEL RUHLMAN that he doesn't know what he's talking about, and addressing him like he has an uneducated palate and you just have to set him straight, the poor dear.
I like my coffee milky and candy sweet, with ice cream in it in summertime, and often with a good shot of chocolate in it. And there's nothing wrong with that, regardless of how insane that drives coffee snobs. What matters is the amount of pleasure that a person takes from the consumption. If Ruhlman is pleased with his coffee, then telling him he's wrong is inane. His coffee might not be your ultimate coffee experience, but it's an indulgence, a sensory experience created for himself, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if you feel the need to tell him he's wrong, you've missed a lot of the point of his writing.
idl3mind
I remember going to deer camp as a teenager with my pop and there was a percolator there. We always had a drip machine at home. I asked my pop the first time I went to deer camp, "Pop, what is this?" to which he replied "an old coffee percolator, son." I distinctly remember it making better coffee than our drip machine did at home.
Bob delGrosso
Michael
You can't like Folger's coffee. It is not organic, not fair traded, the company has a huge carbon footprint and (er, what else?) it probably tastes really bad but you just don't notice.
Oh my, I'm dying here (from laughter).
As for percolated coffee as good or not. My experience is that a good electric percolator will make very good coffee and that percolated coffee's bad rep comes mostly from those funky stovetop pots we all used to have back in the day. Those definitely got too hot and almost always turned the coffee into battery acid.
Great post man, I loved this.
alkali
One reason that the device may no longer be in production is that it essentially consists of a pot of boiling water attached to a cord that sits on the counter, possibly within reach of a toddler -- as opposed to coffeemakers whose cords are typically at the back of the counter beyond a toddler's reach. My brother was scalded badly as a toddler in such an accident (he fully recovered, thankfully). Enjoy your percolators but please avoid using them around young children.
Paul DeLuca
Great post; it really took me back to the days when the sound and aroma of my parents' percolator came creeping into my room to nudge me awake. As for taste and preference, those are personal things that really can't be argued.
It also reminded me of how subtle design can be and how it impacts what we do every day in, unfortunately, mostly negative ways. The design of this machine is simple, elegant, and utilitarian. Pick up any book by Donald Norman for an eye-opening look at design.
RI Swampyankee
Has anyone had experience with the AeroPress? I'm the only one in the house drinking fully caffeinated crack-in-a-cup and the AreoPress looked like a good solution. (Thank you, Louisa, for your article)
My mom has the same loyalty to Folger's. Never did care for it. I'll stick to my overpriced, fair trade, shade grown, extra-crunchy, Sulawesi.
Jennie/Tikka
"And instead of the aromatic, enticing rush of gurgly percolation—one of the daily pleasures of this device—you get instead the sound of someone tinkling."
Got a really good laugh out of that line!! 😉
And hey - don't forget the wheezing like a 90 year old asthmatic, too!
Susan at StickyGooeyCreamyChewy
I'm with you on the percolator issue. I have an old Farberware that my mom passed down to me. It really does make the best coffee. I only wish they would come up with a model that you could program in advance. I'd hate getting up at 6 a.m. AND have to make coffee too!
gb500
I suppose that unless you live in an area where the clouds are at eyebrow level for the better part of the winter, coffee doesn't have the same meaning as it does here in Seattle. I couldn't survive with out my French press and freshly ground Tully's every morning!
gb500
Susan -- get one of those things you plug into the electrical socket that turns lights on automatically. Set it for 6 a.m. and you're set!
Kansas City rube
I use this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417USxY5gYL.jpg
Skawt
Ruhlman:
This is like Bourdain's secret sin - KFC mac'n'cheez. Folger's. You make me very sad. Go buy a fresh package of Illy and grind it up.
tlb
This is really disturbing. At a time when many people are trying to bring awareness that coffee is an art (such as culinary arts) you've got a culinary expert giving everybody else false information. I'm not going to get into all the different ways to brew coffee, but when brewed correctly coffee is one of the most complex beverage (or food in that matter) tastewise. You can't get an optimum extraction for taste using a percolator, and if you think so, consider that fact that you have never tasted great (or probably even decent) coffee before.
misuba
Many of the recent Mr. Coffee models have adjustable-temp hot plates. I've found that if you turn the temp alllllmost all the way down, the coffee stays perfect for a good long time.
I'm convinced that the rest is ratios. I was alarmed to find on a recent vacation that the right ratio can indeed make Folgers pretty darn nice - not subtle, but sweet and eminently drinkable. (Still, though, buy from a local roaster if you can.)
Maura
I'm convinced my mother has always made great coffee because she uses a percolator. She uses seriously cheap-ass coffee, and this devoted French press user loves every drop of the coffee that comes out of her percolator.
I have one, but almost never use it. It's best when making a larger amount of coffee. I pull it out occasionally when I'm having a dinner party.
Thespian, I absolutely back you up on your comment. It's not our place to tell anyone what kind of coffee (or beer, or wine, or tea) they should drink. Drinking Folger's is not a mortal sin, and the world's not going to end because Michael Ruhlman likes it.
Snobs of any kind bug me.
Kurt
Drip coffee makers suck. They're okay for the office but not for polite company. As for percolated coffee, I have only tasted it out of church basement-sized equipment, the memory of which gives me the shivers. But maybe they didn't use Folgers, which I heretofore considered to be the polyester of coffees.
For my money, manually pouring just-off-the-boil water over (or into, in the case of a French press) freshly ground beans is the best. I make great coffee using a Melitta manual coffee maker that drips into a glass-lined thermos. It's tasty and stays piping hot for hours without heating. Sadly, though, it appears Melitta no longer sells this type of manual coffee maker.
CG
Surely you've seen this $20K doodad...
http://greacen.com/greacen/?post=943
There's no limit to how far a fetish will take people. It's not necessarily a bad thing. For me, it's the combination of fetish/obsessive perfection while keeping in touch with solid-home-cooked foods which makes the foody-thing fun.
CG
lady garlic
coffee is one of those things that make or break the deal. i agree with thespian and those who argue the point - we all need to be heard and the beauty of this blog, michael, is that you have given us a place to chat and - hopefully- be heard.
french press for me. and i often use espresso beans for my every day every morning cup..
merci- dorette
Frances Davey
8 o'clock 100% Columbian coffee beans. Fresh ground. Place in basket of long dead Bunn coffee maker - lined with official Bunn filter. Place basket over caraffe of long dead Bunn coffee maker. Boil water. Pour boiling water over coffee. Be sure to inhale deeply during that first pouring. Immediately on completion of brewing, pour a nice fat cup of coffee for yourself and your deserving spouse. The rest fits nicely in a preheated thermal caraffe.
I think that new Bunn coffee maker has been in my "Save For Later" cart at Amazon for about 2 years now. We just haven't felt the need to replace it. I think I still have my old Farberware percolator around here somewhere. Up until I tasted the coffee from the Bunn, I thought it was the best. But when the Bunn kicked the bucket after 10 odd years of faithful, ready-in-3-minutes service, it never occurred to me to resurrect the percolator.
We thought being human coffee makers was a temporary solution until another Bunn could be had. Well...
bob mcgee
Michael,
I love that this subject has gotten so many comments, so quickly.
French Laundry at Home
It's fine to share some secrets, but now that you've shared your love of percolated coffee with the ENTIRE INTERNET, I'll NEVER be able to find a replacement once mine dies (the one my parents got as a wedding present in 1961) because everyone is going to go buy them and there won't be any left. Damn you, Ruhlman..... Damn you.
:::: stomps off to her bedroom and slams the door :::: 😉
Rachel
We just switched to french press here from the drip. Our reason for saying goodbye to Mr. Coffee was that the water reservoir was always getting moldy. Even though I know the boiled water would prevent germs from getting in the coffee but sanitized mold is still icky.
I have to take issue with the use of Folgers, though. Coffee bean production is notoriously bad for the environment which is, in turn, bad for the health of the generally low paid workers doing the farming. A deforested mud pit after the rainy season is perhaps not as gut wrenching to see as an inhumane slaughterhouse. The global effects are no less devastating.
The Yummy Mummy
OMG! I thought I was the only one who had one of these! I got mine from my mom and I looooove it, but have always felt it was a little "un-cool".
I feel better now. Thanks for making me feel cooler than I really am...
Heidi
Hey Swampyankee! I've been using an aeropress for about two months now and I could not be happier. I typically drink one good strong cup per day, and this method delivers exactly that in next to no time. The clean up is almost nil; just stand over the trash and pop out a little puck of spent grinds. And there's something just ever so illicitly gratifying about the physical action of s-l-o-w-l-y plunging the syringe-type device which will deliver my fix of caffeine. Pretty, it ain't, but it lives in the cupboard between uses.
Ben
I didn't read all of the comments, time being short, but I must say,
Coffee from an electric percolator is how I got hooked in the first place! We always seemed to have the farberware ones, without the glass top, but they worked well, and seemed to round out the cheap coffee ALL of us Americans drank in those days. I can see the lure of it now, and the nostalgia, but as an older gentleman I have seemed to get swallowed up in dark roasts made in a French Press with about twice the coffe per cup than we used to use in the ol' Farberware. I just see it as a sign of the times. I wouldn't mind going old school every once in a while though.
Tags
Is that thing a percolator? I thought you ripped it off the front bumper of a '55 Cadillac. Either way, a thing of beauty.
And since when is somebody who drinks as much coffee as you uncomfortable with the sound of someone tinkling?
ruhlman
symon just called, very concerned, said I had deeper issues than he realized.
there are infinite nuances here. I would not percolate excellent coffee, for one.
my favorite coffee method is the french press. But it's not practical for the way I drink coffee all morning long and has its own heat issues.
I am delighted by the passion inspired by this subject! someone has already likened this post to Robert Parker's advocating Mad Dog or Old English 800.
The subject underscores an interesting point about coffee--it's great hot and it's great cold but it is appalling at temps in between.
To reiterate: I would happily lead the funeral procession for the automatic drip coffee "maker" which has probably ruined more coffee than has been drunk.
KevinG
ruhlman -
This was an excellent topic and apparently one that generates much passion. If even one person thinks to himself "What's a French Press?" and finds one, you've done the world a service.
I grind beans daily, which is excessive, but it's the beginning of my ritual for caffeine delivery. I have a French Press and I love it. I have a Bodum one-cup gravity drip maker (which is basically a drip coffee maker with no heating element - you pour hot water over grounds and it drains into a cup. For many interesting tools to make coffee, see their website.) It's fun and good for emergencies. I do use the evil drip machine, as well.
I found and bought a stovetop percolator in memory of my grandparents, since there was always one one their stove, but i never got to try their coffee. Unfortunately, it came with no instructions or timings, so finding out how to use it was interesting, to say the least. Mud needs much more sugar than regular coffee! I've gotten better at it lately. Plus, it drives the wife crazy, so that's a bonus. I'm going to have to find an electric perk machine now.
For the truly hooked, Sam's Club had a 60-cup electric percolator in the kitchenware aisle this afternoon. My wife dragged me away as I was drooling. Some people just don't get it.
It could be worse - my parents drink instant, but I do think it's Folgers.
marcus
NO ONE I know has a drip coffee machine (I'm in Australia). Except one old aunty who had her's built in to her alarm clock. I don't think even she ever used it though. The most popular around me are the stove-top percolators and plungers...
carri
I am stunned and amazed that you would spend so much time defending small farmers and meat producers and go and not only extoll the virtues of corporate coffee (can you say slash and burn?) but be all smug about it...you should be sourcing your beans the same way you do your precious pork! Come on man!
wcw
Percolators are beautiful to see and hear (me, I incline towards my grandparents version, the clunky continental style), but the coffee they make isn't all that good.
It is, however, better than cheap drip.
That's not saying much.
Give me a nice Yemen whole bean (note: expensive != nice) run as an Americano through the cheapest of the cheap fully automatic espresso machines out there, with a goodly chunk of half and half. A French press competes here, but halfheartedly. The percolator looks at its lovely chrome in shame. Turkish and Indonesian styles party in the next room.
Drip twiddles its thumbs on the short bus.
That doesn't make percolators good.
French Laundry at Home
I percolate Chock Full O'Nuts and french press the good stuff.
I sometimes also eat spray cheese on crackers.
Sue me.
Java Jones
Percolator Folgers?
Next it will be potted meat food product on saltines, served with Thunderbird.
Don Luis
I have nothing against percolators or Folgers (it's what I grew up on), but I really like this Cuisinart , the kind with the thermal carafe and no hot plate. It will make 12 cups, and keep it hot for hours and hours, and there's no risk of burning.
http://www.cuisinartwebstore.com/product_detail.asp?HDR=COFFEE&T1=CUI+DTC%2D975
And, of course, living in Puerto Rico, I use only Puerto Rican coffee. Local, sustainable, free range, small carbon footprint, organic...
luis
kevin g... you got me interested in the methodology of french press vs drip vs percolated coffee methods. I found this interesting explanation on the web at JL Hufford web page.
http://www.jlhufford.com/articles/frenchpress.htm
Is this about right? or do you something different?
Frank M
My mom was a firm believer in percs too. In fact, I'd better go get all of hers and get them (OK, all but one) up on eBay right now!
luis
to: missmaia | February 06, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Great post, great explanation of the dynamics of making and enjoying great coffee. I always instinctivelly pour myself a morning cup and turn off the coffeemaker. My second cup I heat on the microwave as I sense and taste that microwaving coffee under its boiling point refreshes the coffee without affecting its taste very adversely. Any thoughts?
coffeeislife
Although I have had to give up coffee (a horrible misfortune involving medication), I have great fondness for one percolator: my grandmother's. When she passed away several years back, I asked my father and aunts for one thing: Her percolator.
I never figured out what type of coffee she put in (she kept it in an unmarked Tupperware), but it made the best coffee I've ever had.
I own six coffee makers (including hers) of five different designs (two drip units), and I never got that same flavor out of any of them.
Perhaps it's because I'm too snobby to try Folgers. The very thought makes me want to scream, but hard to argue with the consensus here.
Now if I can just get my doctor to change my meds again. Sigh.
luis
"Because I don't drink very much coffee, I've become hugely attached to my little Italian expresso pot -- the one where you put the water in the bottom and it boils up through the grinds "=>Charlotte
That is great, I have one of these machines I use for making "Coladas" an expresso type coffee very popular in south florida.
I never thought of using it for making regular American style coffee. I will try it right now. In that style machine the the coffee is pressed into this middle section and the water boils (stove top machine) up through the grounds and the extracted coffee rises up and percolates down into the top reservoir. Genius.
I recently had someone at the airport make me cup of regular coffee using their expresso machine in much this same exact way and It was delicious as airport coffee goes. Better than starbucks. What a genius idea. thanks.
ruhlman
carri, you are absolutely right on sourcing.
mike nagrant, http://www.hungrymag.com, any suggestions...?
The P/A
My 76 year old great-aunt Kalliope served me percolator coffee a week ago. Her percolator might have been 40 years old, too.
Of course, the perc coffee did not taste like the beautiful stuff I'll drink from an espresso machine, briki, french press, or moka X.
But it smelled terrific, was hot-to-my-liking and created nostalgia for long-gone family meals. It also had a smooth taste.
I don't know anything about the beans' origin, and that is usually important for me (i.e. try to get Fair Trade beans). . . but Kalli's perc coffe was a most pleasant experience. I'd drink it again.
KevinG
@Luis - that's how it's done. A French Press is not too expensive, either, so it's an easy method to try.
You probably won't keep all the grounds out of your cup, especially if you pour all the coffee out of the press, but the vitamins are in the crunchy bits.
Jeff Houck
Jeeze, Ruhlman. Get a room.
luis
Genius Charlotte, My italian expresso machine ~10oz capacity brews regular coffee just as you said. The key is to adjust the amount of of Coffee to your own prefference. It's fast and eliminates clutter from the kitchen counter. Makes better coffee than the drip and is repeatable beacuse of the boiling point of water is the same always. Also it eliminates PAPER FILTERS. What's not to like. Genius. Ruhlman needs to add this one to the "elements list of basic kitchen tools".
On the Folgers subtopic... My opinion is buy it in brick form under heavy vacuum. The harder the brick of coffee the better. Pour the coffee brick into an airtight container. You know the ones with the big fat gasket and the wire pull down. That's the basics. Fail to do this type of thing and tomorrow it won't matter what brand of coffee you are brewing.
Gerard Stocker
Bodum makes a stainless steel french press. It keeps coffee pretty hot for an hour or so. I always finish it before it gets cold anyway. Mine's an 8 cup. I don't know if they make them bigger.
rockandroller
re: source. City Roast! Right there in the WSM! They have organic, fair trade, etc. and are locally owned and roasted.
http://www.cityroastcoffee.com/
cayenne
I'm more of a French-press kind of girl, but my mum is a devotee of the percolator. She also ignores real coffee & buys Tim Horton's in footstool-sized tins. I usually avoid Tim's like the plague, but for some reason I'll drink the stuff at my mum's.
Someone upthread (sorry, don't remember who) mentioned the problem of rapidly cooling coffee in the French press. I found this Bodum wrap at a craft show last Christmas & it does keep the coffee warm for about an additional hour. They do custom orders, too - I wanted one to match the tea cozy I was buying & it came in about a week.
http://tinyurl.com/2y6lhs
latenac
I think this whole debate is amusing. We have a drip coffee maker with a thermo pot for it so it coffee actually stays hot for 2 hours. I like my stovetop espresso maker as well. And have fond memories of my grandparents percolators.
I think it all boils down to taste as well as timing. My grandmother still makes Folgers and it tastes good when I'm at her house. My coffee in my drip from Porto Rico imports tastes good at my house. My FIL's Chemex coffee tastes good at his house. None of it of course compares to coffee in France not even using a French press at home except for that cup of coffee after a fine meal anywhere.
Lee Ashwood
Heh, this remained so civil!
I clicked on the comments link expecting to see a real cat fight.
My mother (age 75) loves an electric perc and Folgers. Myself, I'm nursing a baby at the mo and he prefers his decaf, so no jazz for me. But boy! would I love love love to make the ceremonial 4 pm pot just like the good old days.
Rich
I'm another French press guy. I still have a stove-top perk I use for camping though. Since I boil my water in an electric kettle I have been thinking about getting this electric French press. http://www.shiptheweb.com/epages/ShipTheWeb.storefront/EN/product/CFC&2D6950001
Anyone tried it?
Rich
Rich
I'm another French press guy. I still have a stove-top perk I use for camping though. Since I boil my water in an electric kettle I have been thinking about getting this electric French press. http://www.shiptheweb.com/epages/ShipTheWeb.storefront/EN/product/CFC&2D6950001
Anyone tried it?
Rich
Natalie Sztern
Don't tell me I have to cross the border into Plattsburgh, NY to buy a can of Folgers cause it's just another product us Quebecers don't get...I am just gonna move to States as illegal resident in order not to feel like the 'left-out friend'...but just remember I WANT the jobs Americans want!!
Jeff
Heretic. You have GOT to be kidding me. Is it April 1st already?
I guess if you boil crap coffee over and over, you will get a full-flavored cup eventually, but it's not a flavor that I'd want to taste.
You're right on one thing though, home drip makers don't get coffee nearly hot enough. Please put your percolator back in the attic and get yourself a Chemex pot.
Michael Nagrant
What a debate. I'll just weigh in here...
1) It's true, as people say, Michael Ruhlman is not a rube. He's got a damn good palate, and a few great books to show for it. My guess is his percolator somehow hits the right temp for extraction and who know's what's going on in that Folger's cup. It's possible that in exploiting a third world country, they hit upon a sweet batch of Arabica. Recently I scored a couple of batches of whole bean White Hen gourmet blend from my local 7-11 at $3.99 a pound that was better than Starbucks, Peets, and Archer Farms whole bean. The third time I bought it, it was horrible. Sometimes you get lucky.
2) Having compared various methods of making coffee, the most cost effective home solution, is buying a burr grinder (not one off those mini-krups heat seeking katana blade style grinders that removes all the essential oils and leave you with an uneven grind) and a French press, and of course good whole bean coffee, ethically sourced if possible, and maybe most importantly, recently roasted (more on sources below.)
1)Heat filtered cold or bottled water to abou 205 degrees farenheit. Boiling will burn. Do not boil. I'm not going to get in to how many particulates or solid minerals in parts per million your water should have, but if you really care, there is a difference.
2) Grind coffee on coarse french press setting. You need 2 tablespoons per 6 oz of boiled water. Put in bottom of French press.
3)Pour water over coffee, wait 4 minutes, and press down to compact solids, and pour.
3) Sources:
Outside of the way the beans were grown, harvested (hand or machine), depulped (hand or machine)dried (hand or machine) and stored (hopefully a cool dry place), the single biggest differentiator of quality taste is when the beans were roasted. The stuff you find in vacuum bags at the Grocery, even from Starbucks or Peets or whatever was probably roasted a week or weeks ago. You need to find a good local roaster or an internet source that roasts coffee the same day they ship it.
Finally, buying direct trade or fair trade coffee, ensuring some type of living wage for coffee farmers is a really good idea.
As an unapologetic Chicagoan, I gotta pimp Intelligentsia. Forget fair trade...these guys pay a premium over fair trade and develop relationships with the best farms from Africa to Oaxaca, Mexico. Likewise they roast usually within 24 hours of shipping. If you want to see how they roast their coffee or listen to their dedication, check out this podcast with their company president, http://www.hungrymag.com/2006/05/22/cool-beans/or this photo piece on their roasting works, http://www.hungrymag.com/intelligentsiaroast/.
Another good source...
Metropolis - http://www.metropoliscoffee.com
Maura
latenac said: "We have a drip coffee maker with a thermo pot for it so it coffee actually stays hot for 2 hours."
The thermos is a wonderful thing. My coffee goes right into a thermos as soon as it's done. While the coffee is sitting, waiting to be pressed, I pour boiling water into the thermos to heat it up. The coffee stays hot for several hours.
Jim Morton
I'm old enough to have grown up on perked coffee. My biggest objection to percolators is that the inner workings are almost always made of aluminum. The flavor of perked coffee is so different from drip or French Press coffee that you could almost call it a different drink.
For a time in my twenties I was fascinated with the flavor of cowboy coffee (i.e., coffee that is stirred into the water and boiled). I seem to remember someone writing an essay back then on how cowboy coffee was so much better than perked or drip coffee, and that all the hype about it being worse was the work of snobby know-nothings. When you think about it, Turkish coffee is really not that different from cowboy coffee. No one would suggest using drip filters to make Turkish coffee.
When I was a kid my mom bought a French Press--which was very unusual in the states back in 1960. For my money, a French Press still delivers the best results, but perked coffee does have its charms.
Kirk
A vision of Ruhlman in a "Best part of waking up..." commercial just popped in my head. Reminded me of Rick Bayless and Burger King a few years ago.
You'll hear no debate from me though about Folgers or perocolators. I have my own mass-produced, non-organic, un-fair-trade guilty pleasures I will keep to myself.
Connor
Just checking, but isn't Folgers is to coffee what Swanson's or College Inn is to chicken stock?!? : )
Big Red
You want people to wake up? Make me some of the coffee in the percolator and I will. HAHA. Ok bad Joke. I still have all sorts of kitchen stuff from the 50s, including a Blue Agate coated roating pan my father has from his grandmother that he will have to take out a custody agreement on b/c we all want it. We have in our OCD modern times fixed what wasn't broken. Leave me with my hand masher, crank egg beaters and agate roasting pan.
ntsc
As I recall cowboy coffee, or campfire coffee, involves a wood fired percolator and a raw egg and an egg shell. The coffee itself is probably A&P.
My parents drank Folger's instant. As a result I couldn't abide coffee until I was an adult.
My employer supplies a Bunn drip and Maxwell Industrial Strength gratis, guess what I drink most of the time. Red? Blue? only makes a difference if it is a state. My drip machine has been 'adjusted' so I like its output and for guests we usually use a big electric perc with fresh ground beans from the local gourmet shop.
The best coffee I remember my ex mother in law did with a stove top perc. Neither her daughter or myself could ever match what she did. She used 8 O'clock by preference, but it was more price driven than anything else.
Joanne
As I am probably older than most of your posters I can honestly say I've had a great deal of experience making good coffee as I am know for my culinary expertise and my delicious coffee..always made in a stainless stove top perculator. They are indeed hard to find. I have managed to find them at second hand shops so that all of my seven children have them in their homes. My twelve cup Revere one is probably forty years old and looks like new. When properly brewed one must run the cold water for at least a minute or more and fill a meticulously clean pot with desired amount of water. Then a new square coffee filter is placed in the basket and 1 tablespoon of coffee is added for every 6 0z. cup.Fold the filter over the coffe and place the pot on the burner on high. As soon as it begins to perk turn the burner to low and by the time it is no longer perking it is ready...hot and good. Personally, I like 8'oclock coffee freshly ground, sometimes with a little hazelnut added. If you cannot drink it right away it keeps very well in a glass lined thermos. My in-laws in the forties and fifties used an electric GE vacuum pot that made a most delicious full-bodied and hot cup of coffee. Drinking well-made coffee and properly brewed tea is a ritual in our home and is very satisfying. Good luck to all of the coffee drinkers out there but there is no reason to be a snob about your methods.
Salpy Kabaklian
Does this count: http://www.surlatable.com/product/coffee+%26+tea/drip+coffee+machines/cuisinart+classic+12-cup+percolator.do
Btw, I love the elements blog...so, now, this blog,too.
WJT
French press, percolator, auto drip, give it up! French press coffee is like sludge. Percolated is the least objectionable (at least it's hot)but can taste like battery acid. As for auto drip, why even bother?
Just get a pour over filter holder ($3), some boiling water and some decent coffee (fresh ground is good, home roasted would be even better)and you'll have the best cup you've ever made. Every time. You'll finally get what coffee tastes like. Really cheap, too.
gb500
I had completely forgotten the disgusting thing my mother used to do -- use freeze dried decaf Taster's Choice crystals rehydrated with hot tap water. Eeewwwww --
Kay
The fact that zealotry wars like this are even possible is one of the primary reasons why I simply refuse to drink coffee, but I tend to agree that the expensive crap every yuppie trendwhore swears is going to evoke some sort of religious experience is every bit as ridiculously overrated as their children's soccer/gymnastics performances.
joanne
Now, I'm gonna have to raid my grandma's kitchen for her barely used percolator.
MoineyOiney
Until a few years ago, I kept my late mother's metal percolator. It was one of those that was made out of a soft metal and truly bore the scars of more moves across the world than I honestly care to recall. Wither I went - so went my family and mother's perc. Finally, a few years ago, my wife and I invested in a Cuisinart coffemaker with a grinder insert and a vacuum-sealed carafe. We could now put the fresh beans in the grinder each evening before we went to sleep, set the timer, and awaken to the incomparable smell of the refined drug dripping into the carafe. I wish you much pleasure with your perc and, hopefully, you'll acknowldedge that there's certainly more than one way of being the excstatic recipient of your early morning 'fix'.
White On Rice Couple
Man, you have been and are going to continue to get reamed on the Folgers remark. Can't say you don't deserve to be, but I guess some of our daily rituals even supersede common sense in regards to knowing where what we consume comes from. As far as the main topic of your post, the percolator, I might have to give it a shot. Always have disliked drip, daily drink my own espresso, usually will do french press for guests, but you've peaked my interest in the ole coffee bubbler.
luis
Salpy , bought a new cuisinart 12 cup perc for ~45 at Amazon. I had heard good things about them before this topic came up. Thanks for the lead. They sell an 8cup for ~39 bucks too. So.. well see. When it's all said and done the largest factor affecting the taste of Coffee is the quality of the water.
Ruhlman is correct again, when he suggests using water is better than Swanson's stock. (ref from the elements book) Only water is not always the same in the city.
As the water quality goes so does the quality of my brew. Honestly, I buy bottled water just for cooking. Then I notice the quality improves and stop...on and on...
I'd check the quality of the water long before I suspect the coffee brand.
Melissa
Re: percolators, my dad has sworn by this one for years, and it seems to still be in production:
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-02811-12-Cup-Stainless-Coffeemaker/dp/B00006IV0Q/ref=pd_sim_k_img_1
I have to agree, it makes some of the best coffee I've ever had - and consistently too, which is more than I can say for the cone filters we use.
Konrad
Two Words:
French Press.
Percolators and drip machines make terribly coffee. Your emphasis on HOT tells the whole story to me. HOT masks the flavor of shit coffee.
tim
So what you're saying is "It's Time for the Percolator"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9FHknojz_s
Dave Wakeman
My first read of this blog. If this is the sort of insight into food I can expect to find here, I won't be visiting long.
Kirk
I just went to Amazon.com and my front page recommended about six different percolators based on what similar people to me have viewed. A little scary.
When dining at a friend's restaurant for breakfast a while back, I told her I really enjoyed her coffee. When asked about whether it came from a local or regional free-trade roaster she answered, "Uh, no. It's from Sysco." Point is you either like something or you don't. French press is not always good and Folgers does not always taste bad.
barbara
The newspaper here in Cincinnati, is reporting
that P & G is trying to spin-off it's Folger
brand. Shouldn't be a problem getting a buyer
now!
chefmav
This is classic - everyone's an expert when it comes to something they do every day, even though most people probably don't know the first thing about the actual process on a chemical level.
When I was stationed in Central America, we used to pop fresh coffee beans in our mouth as we walked by them and held them there like chewing tobacco. Tasted terrible from what I remember, very bitter, more than a little slimy and not even remotely like coffee, but it worked - about ten times the buzz - I could hear a cockroach crawl at a thousand meters. We didn't have Red Bull back then and you can smell a cup of coffee about half a mile downwind so we never drank it in the field - for us, caffeine was just fuel so we'd be alert all the time and make it home alive.
As many different ways there are to brew a cup of coffee, I don't think there's a right or wrong way. French press, instant from the sink, percolated, Melitta, freeze-fried - whatever works. Some people actually like the taste of coffee and some people can't stand it. Coffee is one of the few things I find out there that doesn't taste like it smells, which may or may not be a good thing. Bottom line - as long as it works for you, that's all that matters. If anyone ever came over to my house and told me how to brew a "better" cup of coffee when I made it for them, they'd be lucky if they were able to leave without being carried out the door on a stretcher. I have a Cuisinart "Grind & Brew" that pulverizes the beans every morning at 5AM, AND it doubles as an alarm clock as well. I've had the occasional coffee snob tell me that "a French Press is better," and even though I have one in the cupboard for when I go fishing, I tell them right where to stick it on their way out the door. I once had a sous chef that used caffeinated water when he made his in a French press and he swore by it.
I've tried all sorts of beans from just about everyone that sells them - Peet's, Starbucks, Safeway, Illy, LaVazza, Intelligensia (this is one of the better ones, in my opinion, but only if you drink it black) and probably dozens more I can't remember. When I visit my parents, they have Yuban in the cupboard and that works just fine as well.
I'd love to see a controlled study done with people who consider themselves coffee experts - do a blind taste test and I'll bet you nine out of ten snobs can't tell the difference between Folgers from a Percolator and $50 a pound boutique blend from a French Press, or even have the majority agree which one tastes better.
I can't tell what's right and what's wrong, but all I can say is that if I ever had the good fortune of having Ruhlman prepare me coffee at his place, I definitely wouldn't complain.
Dan
I'm a university student, that being said, I'm both young and I drink a lot of coffee.
Quite a few companies now make drip machines without hotplates, the coffee goes into a vacuum sealed container and stays reasonably hot almost all day. It doesn't burn!
Percolators are antiquated! They seem to be largely for groups rather than a small 4-cup drip machine. They're messy and can easily burn the coffee.
As for presses, I can't get the hang of it. It's too rich! I can't handle the coffee - I don't know if it's good stuff or bad stuff.
This topic is a lot like a few people have said previously: Folgers and a perc to Ruhlman are like Bourdain and KFC. It's all personal taste, but some tastes are better than others!
Maryann
Talk about coffee and commenters come out of the woodwork! haha
I like the memories the percolator brings back, but will keep to my moka pots, thanks 🙂
Way to start trouble, Michael 😉
Maryann
Talk about coffee and commenters come out of the woodwork! haha
I like the memories the percolator brings back, but will keep to my moka pots, thanks 🙂
Way to start trouble, Michael 😉
Kathryn
for me, coffee is all about location
when I am at home during the week, my "Mr. Coffee" style with a splash of 1% is just fine
when out, nothing but the best from Cafe Artigiano (Vancouver) will do
but when I'm camping? it's all about my over-the-fire perculator and evaporated milk - have tried this at home and it just doesn't cut it
diana
Do you really believe in creationism?
Natalie Sztern
The only time I have percolated coffee in the last 20 years is when someone goes into the basement and brings the 30 cup percolator for the Shiva house!! ....and the grinds are a pain to clean
bob
Michael,
I gotta be honest. I tried the Swanson broth in my french press, and it was definitely better than any veal stock I've ever made. Now I'm thinking about secretly switching out my wife's folgers for.....
Frances Davey
I can only imagine the disharmony in a house where spouses disagreed on the coffee. I'd be curious to know how many happily-married coffee-drinkers quibble about coffee with their spouses.
I remember working for a lady who complained that her husband liked his coffee "weak as possum piss." Okay, let's move past wondering how she would know so much about possum piss. Anyway, they eventually divorced. It all makes sense to me now...
luis
Charlotte had a great idea of using her italian stove to expresso machine (percolator) to make a cup of coffee. I am trying this idea an it produces very good coffee. Cleaned out the calcium deposits on the water tank overnight and replaced the gasket. This morning the coffee is delicious.
chefmav, I respect your opinion on the different flavors of coffee and basically there are two types of coffee. One you like and what you don't. Folks may not be able to discern one brand from the other. But everyone knows bad coffee when they taste it. There are tons of cafeterias that make huge money selling bad coffee. Disgusting.
French Press (I will get one soon) has a lot of variables which is why folks seem to have mixed feelings about them.
Temp of water, coffee, water quality, duration of the steep... this are variables.
The stove top expresso machine eliminates the steep time thus delivers consistentcy and repeatability in the brew. And it's fast, I can just stand there and butter toast while it brews. It's genius.
I am getting a cuisinart 12 cup for family and company. Ruhlman is right again, most drip machines burn coffee and honestly those without hot plates are a lot like ill designed percolators. Seems to me you folks buying them are overpaying for someone to reverse engineer the drip back to a basic percolator with a fancy thermos jug and a paper filter. Those of you that buy machines which grind your coffee beans and time the time of brew... Bravo for you!. You all probably have one of those fancy japanese toilets that powders your tushes. It's not envy folks...just admiration at how the other half manages.
Morning Glory
After Fourteen years in the coffee industry working from seed to cup I have come to one conclusion...The only wrong way to drink coffee is to not drink it at all.
That said, I will return to my roaster and get back to work.:)
Populuxe
I happen to know the head of GE licensing who is responsible for licensing their brand into the appliance space. Maybe I can convince him to license the percolator.
In the meantime, I suggest you check out Devicestyle coffee makers from Japan. Those guys are freaks about coffee.
French Laundry at Home
I just hope your next post is about Crock Pots.
Victoria
In the 1970's I moved from NYC to Kansas City, Missouri, where I had the good fortune to live for two years. As I recall, Folgers was actually in downtown KCMO at the time; I remember walking around surrounded by the great smell of coffee beans roasting. Anyway, coffee obviously is very personal. Just look at all these posts. My best friend drinks coffee that he makes in a 6-cup (the size would be for six espresso cups) aluminum Italian pot that you're supposed to do some gyration with on the stove - put the coffee in the top, put the water in the bottom, heat the water, then flip over the pot to make it work - which would be quite a feat first thing in the morning. He just puts the coffee in and pours boiling water in to drip down over the ground coffee. If you've ever seen one, you will know what I mean. I too hate automatic drip coffee makers. The coffee is awful, the hot plates burn the already awful coffee, blah blah blah. I personally hand drip my coffee cup by cup using a Melitta cone and paper filters. I just (this minute - it's still in its Zabar's bag) bought a tiny 1 - 3 cup Chemex because then I can avoid the plastic filter. What about the hourglass-shaped Bialetti that most people use in Italy? Every time I've ever tried one, I hate the coffee, and I always think I've done something wrong because I have friends who swear by this method. My hat goes off to Michael. I trust him completely. But having had a lot of percolated coffee at my aunt's table in Illinois, I'll have to pass and stick with hand drip. But, hey, Michael, if you invite me over for coffee, I'll show up, and I won't complain at all no matter what. I'd kind of like to see that hair in person.
Edgewater Joe
My original memories of coffee were Eight O'Clock Coffee from A&P (and still on the market!), brewed in a tabletop coffee pot - and the one thing that I remember is the aroma that filled the house when it was done. THAT is something you do not get from any other coffee pot, whether French Press or drip or whatever else you got.
I have no doubt that when Ruhlman talks about taste, it has to be connected to the smell of it, and it is tempting me to get yet another device, Which is frightening: I've got a large and small plunger pot, Bialetti expresso pot, another flip-it-over expresso pot, a super-cheapo Braun "expresso" pot, and a Braun vacuum pot because I, too, hate hotplates with drip pots. Oh, and a Melitta drip as well.
Clearly, I need another hobby.
BTW, as a transplanted Chicagoan I second the vote for Metropolis, a father-and-son micro-roastery that also has one of the friendliest coffehouse vibes you'll ever find - http://www.metropoliscoffee.com.
And Ruhlman, I'd love to compare notes about your experiences at U.S. We're close to the same age, I was a debater and knew the team from your school, and one of my best friends was a U.S. grad in '80 (but won't admit it now ...)
Tony
Michael, thank you so much for bringing back memories of my Grandmother's house in South Euclid. The Chicago article referencing your ability to drive by your elementary school and be back to those days is exactly how it is when I return to Cleveland. I can smell my Grandmother's GE Percolator (she worked at GE in Cleveland and was all things GE) cranking in the morning. It's been 25 years, but it's amazing the scensory history that our memory retains.
Sandy
I second the notion that the next post should be on the virtues of the crock pot.
My mother had the very same GE percolator and only brought it out for big dinners. The old stubby percolator was used the rest of the time. She went Maxwell House or Hills Bros though, no Folgers.
Thanks for another stroll down memory lane...
Atomic Cow
Hello, my name is Atomic Cow and I'm a coffee snob.
How much of a coffee snob am I? When I couldn't find a local roaster who could consistently provide me with great fresh roasted coffee, I began to roast my own from green coffee.
Roasting your own coffee gives many benefits from always knowing how freshly roasted it is to paying a lot less for coffee. Green coffee retails for about $5 a pound. Green coffee lasts more than a year. You don't need any special storage or refrigeration; I keep mine in the bottom of my pantry. If you're interested, check out sweetmarias.com
I've tried every method mentioned here in the comments to make coffee and to me each has it's strengths and weaknesses. The absolute best method I've found is an glass Cory vacuum brewer. You can usually score one on eBay for $35 or so. Be sure the rubber gasket is in good shape and that there are no cracks or chips in the glass. They are simple enough that little else can fail with them.
If you'd rather purchase a new vacuum brewer, follow the Sweet Maria's link above, they sell the Yama vacuum brewer which is an adequate substitute and the Cona vacuum brewer which is slightly superior but much more costly.
As someone previously mentioned, the grinder is probably more important than the brewer or ever the brewing method. An inconsistent grind means that some of your coffee will be over extracted and will damage the flavor. You can find a quality burr grinder for under $100 if you look around. As I'm a snob I went for the Mazzer Mini, a commercial unit intended as a second grinder (for decaf, flavored coffee or other lower demand grinding needs).
You probably won't need anything that industrial nor want to pay $450+ for your grinder, but a decent $90 burr grinder like the Capresso Infinity can make an easily noticeable difference.
Deborah Dowd
I have to admit that I have a drip coffeemaker at home, but use a percolator to make real coffee(instant coffee is a waste!) when we camp. There is nothing like the rhythm of those ever quicker perks and the smell that dissipates the promise of a hot, potent cup of java. I will never forget the first time we used ours when camping, and after about 10 minutes, heads were peeking out of tents from the sites around us and sniffing the air to see where that heavenly smell was coming from!
SideShow Bennie
I grew up in the 50's-60's and have been drinking coffee for as long as I can remember. I mean that literally. My first grade teacher was awfully upset when she learned I had a big mug of coffee before coming to school. All of my youthful coffee was perked. As I grew up and went out on my own, it was drip coffee, French Press and coffee house brews. I bought the hype and all the propaganda against perked coffee. Recently, my lovely bride told be that a co-worker was giving away a percolator that was made by the fine folks at Fiestaware. Since we are Fiestaware devotees, we took the machine, mostly for novelty purposes. It is a beatiful 12 cup sleek stainless steel coffee making bullet. It sat of the shelf, neglected for a few weeks and finally we decided to give it a try. I ground some good Sumatra beans and loaded it up. The sound alone brought back a flood of memories of my mom's kitchen. The smell filled the house and when I poured the first cup, it was steamy and hot and absolutely delicious. A damned fine cup of coffee! The beautiful part is that the last cup was just as steamy and delicious as the first. This fine piece of coffee brewing technology will no longer sit neglected on the shelf. Thanks for reminding me of my youth and confirming that percolation is the way to go...
luis
"Ijust hope your next post is about Crock Pots.
Posted by: French Laundry at Home | February 09, 2008 at 11:52 AM "
Sarcasm? or for real?
ruhlman
i loathe crockpots. you can't control the heat. what exactly is the point of them?
French Laundry at Home
"i loathe crockpots. you can't control the heat. what exactly is the point of them?" -- Ruhlman
Luis, honey, it's sarcasm, my darling.
I don't get the point of crock pots either. I just figured it would spark some good debate. I'm sure people use them effectively (perhaps as a sort of chafing dish for a chili party or something), but I've never eaten anything that came from a crockpot that I've enjoyed. Oh wait -- one exception -- meatballs in that disgusting grape jelly/ketchup combo served at a church picnic when I was nine. That was delicious. Then. Now? Not sure my digestive system could handle it without massive revolt.
Tags
I left sauerkraut and country style ribs in a crockpot a few times and they were great (to me, anyway).
bob
although we regifted five of them, my wife and I kept one of the crock pot wedding gifts we recieved, and we make great kim chee chigae in it. confessions of the son of working class.
Bob delGrosso
The name "crock pot" is derived from a common vulgar expression that refers to a ceramic commodes that has been filled to capacity.
bob
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMdelicious,
Pickled cabbage has a whole new appeal!
rockandroller
I find it difficult to believe you really don't know what the purpose is of a crock pot. Or the person who said they've never had anything good out of one. As someone who clearly understands the cooking method "low and slow," what's hard to understand?
I think they remain popular because there are actually an awful lot of us who work all day outside of the home. Some of us have two jobs, or children that need tended to, sometimes without another parent to help. When working people come home, they're actually tired and often crave something comforting, like pot roast or homemade soup or chili. You stick the ingredients in in the morning (or the night before and put in the fridge, then take out in the morning), cook all day "low and slow" and come home to a hot meal, no muss, no fuss. It's a time management device.
I don't use mine frequently but find it handy for making beans now that I've switched to dried instead of canned, and I use it every time I make my stuffing (mostly holidays), which is quite good and is always one of the first dishes to empty on my table. It's nice because I can just put everything in and then leave it away from the rest of the cooking space. And it DOES have temperature adjustment. Mine has 5 different heat settings.
There are a lot of "assembly" cooks out there who find them a good way to get into at least attempting a home-cooked meal with SOME from scratch ingredients, whether it's soup or pork chops or pot roast or whatever. I would rather people use their crock pots than go to Boston Market when they want something "homestyle."
Sandy
The crude origin of the crockpot was hilarious.
Actually, you CAN make some killer beans in a crockpot... I've also had some stellar chicken tacos shredded and marinated and cooked for several hours in one. Both of these were more chafing dish or party applications. That said, its not a bad option for people who can't be home to babysit a stove for whatever reason.
More interesting to me are the recipes. The most disgusting crockpot application I have seen to this point is a crockpot spice cake peddled by some Food Network personality who shall remain nameless.
Someone please explain to me what the point is of baking a cake in a crockpot?
luis
French Laundry and Rulhman wanna be...
"i loathe crockpots. you can't control the heat. what exactly is the point of them?" -- Ruhlman
Luis, honey, it's sarcasm, my darling.
I don't get the point of crock pots either. I just figured it would spark some good debate. "
I suppose you have all kinds of control over your pressure cookers and microwaves?
Bob delGrosso
I think it is really interesting how so many of us see the things we cook with as extensions of who we are and how we organize and live our lives. For example Ruhlman writes that he uses a percolator and some take it as a sign of flawed moral character while others see it as a sign of virtue.
I was especially intrigued by rockandroller's defense of his/her use of the crockpot. It seems to me that R&R sees the crock pot as something that represents the way he/she lives and so the negative comments about the tool became personal.
I'm not condescending here. Actually, I think that the only reason I can recognize what is going on is that I do the same thing myself: see the things I own as an extension of who I am and how I live.
We are all such strange beasts. Well, I am anyway.
So what about the crock pot as a cooking tool?
If there was no need for it and it did not do what it was designed to do, it would not exist in the numbers that it does. There's millions of those things out there because they do a good job of slow-cooking and free up cooks who can't afford a sous vide setup and who cannot be home all day doing got-damned mise en place and french laundry 🙂
luis
very funny Bob and also true.
rockandroller
I actually don't use my crock pot very often but I probably did sound a little bristling as I felt Michael's comment was either baiting (bait I happily took) or a little thick. I just don't believe anyone is so far removed from the "normal, little people" of the world and regular cooking that they can't conceive of the purpose of or perpetuated existence of a crock pot. It just smacked of elitism, which, as you point out, is ironic given his Folgers proclivity. 🙂
rockandroller
oh, and by "regular" I don't mean "often," I mean normal, non-chef type cooking that the average person makes, not foodies with sous vide machines or who make foam or whatever.
ruhlman
I'm not a snob about crockpots. I used one that was in our rented apt in tivoli. i think it cooks things too hot, that's all, you can't control the temps. You can do a better job in a low oven, and yet they're sold as this unique cooking tool. again marketing wins over common sense and practicality. i kind view them as a sham.
like the automatic drip coffee maker, in fact.
Bob delGrosso
Michael
I agree that the oven is a better slow cooker but the crock pot is certainly more convenient. And it may be safer than slow cooking in an unattended gas oven all day.
I don't have a crock pot, of course. Neither do I have any need for most convenience type cooking things. Like you I suppose, my a la minute cooking skills are pretty sharp, and I always have stock and other fonds on hand so I can knock out a meal in 30 minutes or so on any given night. Plus, when you think about food and cooking as much as we do, it's kind of difficult to be caught with your pants down at dinner time -ever.
These convenience products are not meant for people who spend all their waking hours thinking about cooking. Planning and visualizing mise en place and plating schemes as we mow the lawn or whatever.
Crock pots and drip coffee machines are for people who have real lives. Not us. Well, not me anyway. What the hell do I do all day: blog, cut up hogs and make salami.
latenac
The sad thing about the crockpot is it doesn't live up to its intended purpose anymore. They adjusted the heat of the newer ones so it's higher. Most slow cooker recipes call for things to be cooked 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 on high.
I work full time. Growing up the purpose of a crock pot was to put something on at 7am before leaving for work and come home at 5 or 6 to dinner. The joy of having on a weeknight something that would normally take a couple of hours to make. You can't do that with the newer, safer models b/c nothing can cook that long. You can't even make Alton Brown's overnight steel cut oatmeal without scorching it. So crock pots while always a marginal tool in my book have been rendered completely useless.
On the average weekday morning at 5:45, I cannot say the same about my drip coffee maker that has just finished making me coffee while I had been hitting snooze.
amber
i gotta say, my automatic drip machine is a vital reason why i'm actually able to get out of the house on time in the morning. it's prepped the night before and i can quickly flip it on while i'm finishing getting ready. and then presto, a few minutes later, out the door i run, with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
and while my crockpot doesn't get used all the time, it definitely does have it's place in my apt. there are just some days that i have other things that have to get done and throwing a quick dinner in there and letting it simmer away is better than running through the nearest fast food joint.
i will say i've enjoyed all the back and forth over these 2 appliances that i thought were quite harmless. who knew they'd generate such debate!
Sandy
Bob's right about not leaving the gas stove on for hours. That's one time its better to use a crockpot.
I don't use the crockpot much anymore, but I surely did when I was just out of college and working insane hours. I remember using mine to make my first pot roast. Something about pouring a can of pepsi over it.
As far as cooking a cake in the thing, no, nonononono. Make a mix before you do that!
Timm
I got online to find out if people still made coffee in percolators because I was fondly remember my grandfather making the best coffee EVER in an old, dented, stovetop percolator. Time to get myself one.
Lisa
I don't drink coffee, but my parents have always used a percolator. I recall asking my mom in the 70s why she didn't get a drip machine when the percolator broke and she was shopping for a new one, and she said, "drips are for drips".
My parents always set up the percolator at night and put the machine on a timer, so they'd have coffee ready to go early in the AM. You can buy one at a hardware store for under $10. So, morning convenience isn't just a drip machine feature.
As for crock pots, they are great for cooking dry beans. I use mine every couple of weeks for that task. It allows me to not have to mind the stove and produces the same end result as stove top boiling.
The only other thing I cook in mine is New Mexico style flat enchiladas. I learned this trick while living in Santa Fe. The classic Crockpot has a crock which perfectly accommodates the average corn tortilla with just enough room for sauce to bubble around the edges. I make layers out of various veggies, beans, cheeses, etc. with tortillas and generous scoops of sauce -which I do make from scratch; red in winter, green in summer when the chiles ripen. The enchiladas cook in a little over an hour's time, and I don't have to heat up my whole oven for them.
luis
I am enjoying my stove top expresso percolator. It's all about flavor. My ten oz old expresso machine has brought a kick in my step in the morning.
I can't wait for tomorrow. I am planning to brew a tbsp of columbian with some tsp proportion of ARABICA expresso. Don't have coco powder on hand but it's coming....
I am getting a bit ahead of myself. I need to research this compound coffee ( to borrow from master ruhlman). Hey fooling around with ingredients is an end in itself. If it's crummy then change the plan...right?
luis
The Rules...
How coffee is ground influences the result. Grinding your own coffee beans is a way to ensure freshness. Consider your style of java. Coffee ground for an espresso machine is different than the grounds for drip coffee, Espresso machine grounds are very fine because it only brews for about 20 seconds. Drip coffee grounds are coarser for a longer steep. Brewing is another important component in getting a great tasting drink.
Brew in water between 190 degrees and 200 degrees. A ratio of two tbsps of coffee to every six oz of water is recommended. Brewers agree that it is important to keep the correct ratio. Most concerned coffee houses use filtered water, as tap water can alter the taste of the brew. Coffee is roughly 90 percent water. folks have said ...many times here. Water quality is key.
luis
Bingo!.. Using the 10oz Italian expresso stove top coffee maker. I hit one of the sweet spots of flavor this morning. Check this out:
Ingredients:
10 oz of quality water
1 Tbsp of fresh Colombian coffee ground for drip machines.
1/2 Tbsp Arabica expresso coffee ground for expresso machines.
That's it. The results are very fair.
This medium really lends itself for testing new ideas.
You use very little, almost no product and the results are repeatable and FAST!.
The possibilities are endless. Add a pinch of cinamon or a hint of vanilla. A touch of mint or coffee liqueour... see my point.
This is my coffee toy thing now. One thing I really need to scrub the insides of the coffee maker every day.
Eric
I found a link to this article over at coffeegeek.com, where all the coffee snobs are guffawing in disbelief that anyone who knows about coffee would write so glowingly of the percolator. My favorite method has always been a presspot, but I went ahead and dug out a very old Faberware 4 cup perc to give it a try. With eight o'clock columbian beans ground at about presspot coarsness, and using a paper disc filter, I brewed a pot of coffee that is far superior to anything I've gotten out of a drip machine with the same beans. And it borders on presspot quality. All I can say is, "I'll be danged; he's right".
rasqual
Anyone present -- including the author -- who hasn't blind-cupped perc against other methods isn't really justified in their opinion. "Golly, I tried it and it was great! He's right!" "Geez, what a bozo. I tried it and it sucked."
For my part, I HAVE blind cupped perc against other methods. And I'm not about to declare the results. Anyone who wants to be sure they're drinking the best possible coffee, will take it a level past loyalty to their favorite food critic, or iconoclastic critique of the author.
Check it yourself, folks, and be open to learning something.
luis
rasqual, It's not about that!. I think what ruhman has done with this post is admirable.
I have been brewing shitty drip coffee for a long time and I have been totally aware of it.
My little bro and his fam love coffee and they would love to brew great coffee.
Their drip on steroids computerized coffee machine never stood up to my lousiest drip brew. Go figure.
It's not about cupping. It's not about the super coffee smart folks.
Basically it is about wether we have been sold a bill of goods by Madison ave regarding the immenselly inferior drip system in the ever expanding growing gaudy plastic white elephant drip machines.
This morning I can actually see some counterspace in my kitchen afer I kicked the crappy dripper to the curb.
It's not about you guys.... and as always don't think for a minute that folks can not tell good coffee from lousy coffee because that much we can manage without surveys or cupping or any other bs....
Hamhock
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned cold-brewing coffee yet. Although it's usually only made for iced coffee purposes, it can be reheated to the proper hot temp along with water or milk.
kanani
I've got one too.
I use it just because I love the sound.
kanani
Bob, so true.
For those of us who've been cooking for our families for over 30 years, you can bet that we've used most "convenience" tools out there. This includes crock pots, rice cookers, smokers, gas bbq's, deep fat fryers, panini makers, cuisinarts, blenders and pasta makers. In the past it's even included the occasional hot dog from Costco.
Cooking is what we do every night, morning and for many lunches. All these tools are fun, and if someone looks down at me for using a crock pot or percolator, I will gladly toss them in the kitchen with hungry teens and kids, then ask them to do eight loads of laundry, drive errands, help with homework, walk the dogs, and put in 8 hours at work.
luis
kanani, you are the salt of the earth. Outstanding post. The thing is this type of thing needs not to be defended. The idea you are mad enough to set the record straight is enough for me. I think lots of folks live in a vast amount of either pure and apart worlds of perception or they are just not connected to the collective. if you are a star trek fan ..you'd know what I mean by the collective. If you are not then sub in community for collective.
kanani
Luis, Sweetheart....
Thanks for the nod. It's been a long day. I screwed up in the kitchen. Dinner was a disaster(total lack of focus and comprehension --I shall take this up with the butcher who failed to mark a package of shortribs, which I mistakenly thawed thinking they were chicken). But never fear, there were cookies and coffee made in the percolator.
Hamhock
You made cookies in the percolator, too? 😉
Mary
I used a drip brew coffee maker for years and never liked the taste of that tepid, weak-taste. I also spent a small fortune to replace the glass decanters as they break very easy.
Tried many brands of coffees, nothing worked until I remembered the percolator I got as a weddng present 38 years ago,(still works!!) Got it out, brewed coffee drank my first cup and the angels sang.
The coffee always tastes like coffee should and it is always HOT!!!!!!
Nothing better in the morning.
luis
Mary, my percolator has arrived in town. I will have to pick it up sometime next week. When I do I will bring it to my little bro's for coffee brew-off if that's a word. I am excited to match my new perc against his super duper dripper....
Persephone
My first percolator back in the seventies was an electric Corning Ware pot that made wonderful coffee. You are also right it does keep the coffee hot. But I always pour it into a thermal carafe so it doesn't keep cooking.
misa
absolutely! my grandparents used one. my mother used one for years, till hers broke and she couldn't find one anywhere to save her life. that was before Ebay. i will ONLY use a french press or percolator to make coffee, it's just the best. really, it IS the best. thank you for extolling the virtues of the percolator!!!!!
by the way, you CAN buy one new, they are made still. last time i was in Bed Bath and Beyond they had them, although it seemed overpriced at $49.95.
misa
absolutely! my grandparents used one. my mother used one for years, till hers broke and she couldn't find one anywhere to save her life. that was before Ebay. i will ONLY use a french press or percolator to make coffee, it's just the best. really, it IS the best. thank you for extolling the virtues of the percolator!!!!!
by the way, you CAN buy one new, they are made still. last time i was in Bed Bath and Beyond they had them, although it seemed overpriced at $49.95.
luis
Amazing Grace Bubba!. Been at my other bro's house. I commented on the percolator coffee talk here. He recalled that he had a french press. When I looked at it in his crystal closet I was thrown back a bit. It is beautiful Silver and pyrex glass with porcelain lining under the silver top.
I said no thanks that's too tooo.... I am just gonna make some coffee in it. He insisted. Take it and try it....it's just collecting dust and turning pewter from oxidation. This french press is a thing of beauty. But come tomorrow it will go to work and I will experience the brew some of you have raved about.
Sometimes you are just lucky and you shouldn't fight it.
luis
The Cuisinart 12 cup Percolator is in the house. It's beautifull, well crafted and so simple. It's small in comparison with the drip monster. It's made to be plugged in do its thing and get washed and put away. It comes with no aspirations of taking up any counter space. A marvel of design. Very high quality stainles steel. Made a pot of coffee not bad need to adjust the amounts of water to coffee to get it closer to my taste. But delicious. I am happy as my drip machine needed replacement and this percolator requires NO PAPER BAGS. The best part about it is that it doesn't burn the coffee and its allright to make more than one or two servings at a time. Day to day use. I was getting a bit weary of using the stove top job. If I was to reverse engineer it. Only thing I'd wish for was a conical coffee receptacle. That would just hit it outside the park as it would save me money in coffee. For now, I am a percolator guy. The french press is also in the house and I need time to fool with it.
kanani
Luis,
It sounds like a work of art.
Of course, we expect you to buy the appropriate apron, now that you have your percolator. We also would like you to invite some lady friends over, who could play Bridge, then help you make the bridge over to Schnapps.
captain_petes
Luis, congrats on the Cuisinart. They are nice looking. I bought the 8 cup Farberware last week, and am quite happy with it. I use a grind just a tad big coarser than auto drip grind, and the Melitta 3 1/2" paper disc filters to ensure a clean brew. I haven't had coffee this good since I used to have a Krups Moka Brew. My favorite coffee to use in the percolator so far is Folgers Gourmet Selections Lively Columbian whole bean. I use a Capresso Infinity grinder to ensure a nice consistent grind.
luis
kanani, It is beautiful and simple. I can use it, wash it and place it on a shelf out of the way. The counter is free from the drip monsters that never quite washed well enough...on and on... as for the lady friends.. is in the works. We are pitting the percolator vs the super drip in the home of coffee lovers starbucks fanatics. Perhaps a super brunch thing.... time will tell.
luis
captain_petes , Thank you for the tips I need to remember them and specially remember the capresso coffee grinder that allows you to grind the beans to your requirements.
I think you can not go wrong with fresh colombian coffee and quality water. I remember a guy that sold water filters in insanediego. He shared his technique with me. Actually he would go to folks homes with roses and demonstrate tap water vs his filtered water by putting a rose in one and one on the other. Needless to say the rose in the clean filtered water would outlive the rose in the city water by a bunch of days... something like that. The water is as important as the coffee I think. I wish Ruhlman would open bottled water up for discussions. I would love to hear folks opinions on which water they find best.
Emily
I am staying out of the coffee wars here, because even though I've tried them all, I still love Community coffee. Also my moka pot and cheap Lavazza. However, my point in writing is have you seen the Presto brand perc pot:
http://www.cozycook.com/kitchen-36981.html?src=froogle&src1=cozycook&src2=gbase&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=Product%2BSearch%2BEngine
It looks exactly like your vintage ones. Just thought I'd leave the link, as I don't think I've already seen it posted.
Thanks for an interesting post!
captain petes
Bottled water? Aaugghhgh! All those little plastic bottles littering the planet. Truthfully, you get the same result by installing a Pur water filter on your tap. Where I live, the tap water is pretty good without filtration, so I don't ever worry about it. I hope this thread doesn't die. Ruhlman wants people to wake up, and from the level of participation here, I would say that he's getting his wish. I will never drink canned Folgers though. I actually wrote a guide on percolators over on ebay that explains their operation in detail. Same user name. After careful study of the principles of percolators, and looking up some of the chemical processes that go on during the brew cycle, turns out percolators don't violate the rules the way we've been told.
captain petes
Bottled water? Aaugghhgh! All those little plastic bottles littering the planet. Truthfully, you get the same result by installing a Pur water filter on your tap. Where I live, the tap water is pretty good without filtration, so I don't ever worry about it. I hope this thread doesn't die. Ruhlman wants people to wake up, and from the level of participation here, I would say that he's getting his wish. I will never drink canned Folgers though. I actually wrote a guide on percolators over on ebay that explains their operation in detail. Same user name. After careful study of the principles of percolators, and looking up some of the chemical processes that go on during the brew cycle, turns out percolators don't violate the rules the way we've been told.
luis
Emily , thanks for the link. The presto percolator looks similar to the twelve cup cuisinart I bought. When you compare them with the older GE model you see the simplicity of their design. I love it. No KNOBS to turn. NO sight glass to turn brown and all mucky on you. Just the clean design. plug it in and when the light lights your coffee is ready. They are fast and efficient and take up no counter space like the ubiquitos drip monsters.
luis
captain petes , Capresso grinder... I will check it out soon as I can. I have gotten away from grinding the beans because the drippers have issues which negate culinary progress. Like Ken Kawayashi san my old boss used to say Coffee is Coffee... Not quite. he wasn't really right about anything very often.
I agree the rigth water filter is better than bottled water. But for just making the daily pot of coffee... you know? what half of this and the other.
auntmimi
I agree with Michael. I have had my cute, little, squatty 4-cupper Farberware electric percolator coffee pot for 20+ years. It's still going strong and the only thing I have to buy for it every few years is a new cord. ($4 at the hardware store) And I agree with one of the other comments--drink what tickles your fancy. I am sure most of you will cringe when I tell you what I drink and absolutely love--chicory & coffee made with my perc pot. The kind they serve in New Orleans. And, I like it really strong too. If I ever move away from the south, I will have to mail order the stuff--I love it that much--it's that good.
Mike
Is supercilious the word of the day? or is it pretentious? First of all, the properly functioning percolator does not boil or overheat the tank full of coffee, it heats a tiny amount of water which is driven up a tube and splashed out, diffused, over the grounds. When enough of it has heated, risen, showered the grounds, the tank has attained sufficient heat to tell the percolating heater element to shut off, after which the tank merely maintains temperature.
Feeding groups of 20 to 200 people, I would often (for the higher $ parties) go buy fresh ground Starbucks or other highly touted, overpriced coffees, sometimes grind up some fancy shmancy beans. All well and good, but still, I never have gotten as many compliments as when I just brewed Folgers. Some years back, I'd been drinking some fancy Columbian thing for a couple weeks or so- fresh ground, etc. One day I came to work and my assistant handed me a cup of coffee which tasted so-o-o-o good! Since we had a few premium brands on hand,I asked her what she'd used and she replied "Folgers". Go figure.
By the way, I just happened across this message board- lots of fun, in an off-hand, silly way, a nice escape for a few minutes. Who is Michael Ruhlman? I guess I should recognize the name, but I do miss a lot in the popular culture. What universe is he the center of?
luis
Mike, Percolators keep Coffee fresher than drips. I have gone down from as many as three brews/day to one or two. Also no paper filters. They do not overheat and set your counter on fire like the drips have been known to do, and they don't take up a square foot of counter space. Even more advantages.... percolators seem to last longer than drip machines. Drip machines have very short life spans.
Mike
If you use a gold filter, a decent drip machine (I use a Cuisinart), decent coffee (never Folgers) in espresso grind, and good water, you'll get good coffee. If you don't, you're doing it wrong.
swag
Why is it that so many food experts can have such elaborate understanding of flavors and meals, and yet so few have so much as a even a mildly developed palate when it comes to coffee? Thomas Keller will wax poetic about the unrivalled virtues of Equator Estate coffees in the press, and yet virtually no one I know in the coffee industry sees anything special. Meanwhile, Andy Barnett of nearby Ecco Caffe roasting is legendary among those in the quality coffee business -- but ask Mr. Keller, and he will tell you he never heard of them or their coffee.
Preparing coffee is cooking. It's chemistry. It's about controlling the right temperature and pressure to exact the right amount of heat, time of exposure, and control of extraction. Because in making coffee, you're trying to draw out the tasteful elements with hot water and leave the bitter dreck behind (and some of that dreck is water soluble, which is where the time comes in).
On these criteria, making coffee with a percolator is akin to baking with a blow dryer -- not even a light bulb in an Easy Bake Oven. The #1 problem with most home filter drip coffee makers is temperature control. The percolator "solves" that by scalding coffee grounds unevenly with boiling water (it should be about 205-210℉, just below boiling, for proper extraction).
The percolator was part of the post-WW II era of Folger's crystals and instant coffee. The era of Tang as a scientific advancement over orange juice. It was also one of the greatest atrocities mankind ever committed to quality coffee. You will never find any business that rests its success on making good coffee using a percolator, and with good reason. Those Dark Ages should be banished along with Potato Buds.
R Phillips
I love my percolator!!! The coffee tastes far better than drip to me... Presto still makes a 100% stainless steel model with the nice spout. It looks almost exactly like the one pictured, but the top isn't clear so you can watch the coffee perc... 🙁 Still... I highly recommend the Presto for anyone who doesn't want to take a chance on buying vintage. Makes a great cup of coffee and even has the light that goes on to tell you when the coffee's ready. Most of the other manufacturers did away with that.
I've had no problem getting perfect extraction and a very balanced cup by adjusting the grind. I'll bet the Folgers ground for drip machines packs a pretty serious caffeine punch when made in a percolator. Although... that brew strength control on the vintage GE probably makes it possible to adjust the extraction without adjusting the grind. Finer grinds in the Presto make "super" coffee that tastes over extracted, but packs a caffeine buzz you wouldn't believe!!!
Shawn
I used an auto drip coffee maker for years and it produced a quick cup of ok lukewarm coffee. Recently I got my mother's old coffee pot working again after finding a new cord. Gotta admit that after forty years the old perk coffee pot works fantastic and really does brew a great cup of hot delicious coffee. If you like fancy foo foo coffee and fancy foo foo equipment I think that's great. Hey, to each his own... As for me, perk coffee and Folgers seem to work quite well.
Mark
Haven't had a perked cup of coffee in a long time, but was up in Northern Quebec on vacation and the person who lived there perked some coffee. I don't care what anyone says...that coffee had such flavor and it was a stovetop model. I won't buy a stovetop model, but I'm converting back to a percolator. Much superior in my opinion.
Waldo - Where am I?
After reading some of the comments, I did a little experiment this morning. I dripped a pot of folgers and perced 6 cups of ronnco decaf-turned it down to med hi after it actively started to perc- and tried both. the perced coffee has a more full rich flavor....it just tastes better. and the ronoco coffee is perfect for my perculator...its ground more coarse than my folgers.. Looks like the percolator is gonna get a lot more use in the future.
Mer
I switched back to a percolator after using a drip system for several years. Drip coffee has a flat hard edge with no body whereas percolated coffee seems to come alive with flavor. I spent a fair amount on expensive coffee and Folgers while not quite up there is close enough for me - I really can’t taste that much difference. I sometimes think people buy expensive coffee for the wrong reasons and do so only to impress. The coffee drinking experience would be much better without the politics (fair trade). Buy what you like and forget the rest which is just bs anyway.
Gerald Coates
Thanks for your comments on perolator. I did a lot of research into various coffee makers, espresso makers, etc. I did order a combination espresso and coffee (drip type) maker and when it finally came the product was a used and broken unit that got shipped by mistake. I cancelled the order.
Then I went to a store and saw the GE perolator and it thought why not give it a try till i can get what I want.
Well thank you (company that missed up my order) - I now remember what I have been missing in the taste of coffee - all every one has is a drip type coffee maker or if your lucky you get a espresso -
However after making my first pot of coffee in the perolator I am back hooked on the orginal way of making coffee. The flavor is great - and you can make it exactly as strong as you want it. Not only that NO MORE buying filters or having to wash a used one out to make coffee as your out and its to late or early to buy more -
GO PEROLATOR - pass the word.
blindhari
As I reach the golden years (geezerhood according to our daughter)I belive that I have tried every kind of coffee brew going. I remember Army coffee, black gang coffee, fine european hotel coffee, drip, perk, fresh ground, french press, vacum, boiled in c rations, and made out of old grounds because it was the best my host could offer. I have worked in food service for off and on for over 40 years and the greatest cup of coffee was from the poor man who shared all he had.
I have gotten to the point that I must restrict caffine and acid. The best I can make for my guests is fresh MJB when I can get it,and Folgers half caf when I can't,
BREWED IN A FARBERWARE PERCOLATER.
I just lie to coffee snobs about what they're drinking and how I made it. Works every time.
blindhari
EJG
Thanks for putting this up. I just tried a stovetop percolator from a camping kit and the coffee was amazing.
Becky
I was born in 1950. Oh yes, I also have fond memories of the sound and smell of coffee brewing in the mornings. My mother and grandmother made great coffee in their GE percolators (just like in your photo above). When I married I was using a drip maker. Around that time my Stepmother made the best coffee ever----in a Faberware percolator. She and my dad gave us one that year for Christmas. Sometime later I fell back into using the drip process. Four years ago a friend made us coffee in a Farberware percolator that had belonged to his mother. That put me back on the right track. Couldn't find my old percolator so I purchased new Farberware and have been loving it ever since. After brewing I always pour that fresh brew into an insulated carafe that stays hot for up to 8 hours. At Christmas I always take and make coffee at my daughter's house. Her inlaws now insist that perked coffee is much better than drip. I drink regular Maxwell House or Folgers-----which ever is on sale.
Leonard
I switiched to a perculator a few years ago and like having a hot cup of coffee. My neighbor has one and told me he pours the new grounds over the old ones until the basket gets full. I tried it in now do the same thing.
Ashley
I love my coffee percolator. I am never going back to a drip maker. The drip machines make tepid coffee that tastes like burnt plastic. I love the fact that a percolator brews hot coffee and it never touches any plastic, only stainless steel. It has a very good smooth flavor and most importantly it is hot and stays hot without burning or scorching. If you haven't tried percolated coffee, trust me, you'll be surprised in how good it is. You may also become a born again percolator fan. I am using the Presto 02811 Percolator and I really like it.
Marlene Banks
I am looking for a Farberware electric perculator. Our old one broke and we have not been able to find the above (10 cups). Does anyone know of the address of Farberware. I would like to write them and perhaps make a direct purchase from the company. Thanks
P.S. We miss our old electric perk.
Mark
Ahh! To meet another percolatorphile! I have been a coffee snob for a good part of my adult life. I had an espresso machine in my college dorm room! I have since reached adulthood and the luxury of a coffehouse brew daily is not in the budget. I have "lived" with the terrible taste of a drip brewer for years. Mine just kicked the bucket. I hauled out my percolator from my camping gear. Wow! the coffee from it is amazingly good. Yes I am using Folgers too. I never thought it would taste anything more than brown crap. Percolators have some magic that erases the nastiness. It makes the coffee I remember from my grandmother house(incidentally when I fell in love w/ coffee). Thank you !
trevor williams
I bought this percolater:
http://www.coffee-percolators.com/images/pictures/farberware-classic-yosemite-stainless-steel-percolator-50124.jpg
while on vacation. It's makes a damn fine cup of Joe. I've had the French press, drip (Braun and Krups) and I've stopped using my Senseo.
The coffee out of this percolator is smoother, tastier and hotter than other methods. And it's looks great on the stove.
candacem
For all those percolator fans without a family home to 'burgle' or a hankering for used small appliances, I recommend the Cuisinart Classic percolator. It's expensive, but well worth the cost. It's not going to last as long as my mom's old percolator lasted both her and me, i.e., almost fifty years, but it's graceful, works great, and has replaceable parts that are still available. cmm
Ryan
I tell ya, when do the marketing rackets stop? (It's the same as the marketing of those crappy disposable razors, and "miracle" 5 blade cartridges - if you don't know what I mean, look into double edge shaving, it'll change your life! LOL) My Braun drip maker just died (and they're even a good one, by the reviews, and the 3 years I had it, especially compared to Mr. Coffee's single year; I think Bunn makes the only really good one), and I'm definitely gonna find a good percolator, 'looking forward to it. My Grandma used to use one that worked with the heat of the stove, and that was far better coffee than those other machines. And no kiddin', the others are no easier to use, in fact they're kind of a pain, and clog up all the time - plus they need those stupid paper filters, another racket! LOL I'm all for progress, but just because something's new doesn't mean it's better...
Sandy
Hi there,
Just got my GE immersible perc on ebay. Of course there were no directions with this vintage perc. Can you tell me what the dime/nickel size metal part does and where it goes? Thanks in advance for your help!