If you’ve been drinking coffee for any length of time, you’ve probab...
Let’s start with a caveat. Nearly any coffee expert will tell you that a percolator is about the worst possible way to make coffee. Because the water is heated to a boil in order to perk, it’s really too hot for the coffee. It gets over extracted, and you end up with the bitterness and acidity that made coffee a ‘grownups only’ drink.
That said, there are people still who prefer perked coffee to any other kind. Taste is, after all, a matter of taste. In addition, those enormous coffee urns are still the best way to make lots and lots of coffee for a crowd.
A coffee percolator consists of five parts. There is the percolator coffee pot, into which you put your coffee. There is the stem, a hollow metal tube that fits into the bottom of the pot. In non-electric percolators, it has a flat, round bottom. There is the filter basket, which slides onto the tube and holds the ground coffee. There is the filter basket cover, a round perforated lid that fits on top of the filter basket and makes sure that the water showers the entire basket of coffee evenly. Finally, there is the coffee pot lid, which often has a glass bubble in it.
The glass bubble just might be the most fun part of the entire contraption. It lets you watch the coffee splurting up from the tube and splashing inside before it spills back down onto the lid.
Coffee percolators come in two distinct types – electric and non-electric. The electric percolators include coffee urns that can make up to forty cups of coffee at a time. Stovetop percolators are great for bringing along on camping trips. Both can actually make decent coffee despite their horrible reputation if you follow a few simple guidelines.
1. Keep all parts of the percolator clean.
That means washing the entire thing with dishwashing liquid and hot water every time you use it. To clean inside the stem, use a pipe cleaner or a long, thin brush.
2. Use freshly ground coffee.
Obviously, this may present a problem if you’re on a camping trip with no electricity miles from nowhere. In that case, carry your ground coffee in a vacuum container with a lid to prevent the air from getting at it and spoiling the flavor.
3. Disassemble the Coffee Percolator. Put the coffee stem in place.
4. Fill the Coffee Percolator with water to below the line on the stem where the filter basket will rest.
5. Put the filter basket in place.
Add one heaping tablespoon of coffee for each cup of water in the pot.
6. Fit the basket lid into place inside the percolator.
7. Here’s where we branch off in two directions. – If you are using an electric percolator, plug it in and turn it on. The coffee pot is now on its own until its done perking. If you are using a stove top percolator, put it over a low flame to heat the water. As soon as the first splurt of coffee hits that little glass bubble, turn the heat down. We now return you to your regularly scheduled directions. For both electric and stovetop pots:
[adinserter block=”2″] 8. Watch the pot carefully.
As soon as the pot stops perking, remove it from the heat.
9. This is the most important part of making coffee with a percolator.
Being careful not to scald yourself, remove the lid of the percolator and remove the entire filter stem from the pot. If you leave it in there, the steam from the coffee will continue to condense, drip over the spent coffee grounds and drip into your coffee.
10. Fill your cup and enjoy.
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Mary Laiuppa says
Stove top percolators work below boiling. If the water is at a rolling boil it will just boil away without perking. Hence after the water gets hot and you get that first perk you lower it just a tad. Much easier to do with gas than an electric stove top.
When using a percolator on a stove, don’t perk for more than 7 min and it’s best to use coarsely ground fresh beans. After 7 min turn the heat off and allow the pot to rest for about 30 seconds so any grounds that escaped the basket can settle. With coarsely ground fresh beans you could perk it to 10 min if you like it really strong but you run the risk of it jumping the shark to bitter.
You can add ground cinnamon to the grounds in the basket before perking if you like a little flavor with your coffee.
DaveS says
Mary’s got the touch. You certainly can over perk coffee. (Using Revere 8 cup) When the “rolling boil” starts you’ll see rapid bursts of water against the sight glass. This can flood the spreader and basket, displace the grains and pull out too much bitter oil. If you lower the heat setting gradually the bursts will turn into a gentle bubbly pumping that seems to have no gaps. This evenly rinses the flavor and aroma off the surface of the coffee grains without excessive heat, agitation or flooding. Lots of science in there but most people get nervous watching steam explosions and seem to prefer a relaxing gentle bubbly flow for about 5 minutes. A big name manufacturer tightly calibrates their commercial machines to get to that boil/pump point. Once you get the hang of balancing the temperature you can adjust brew time, grind and water ratio. to satisfy your personal taste, 40 years of experimenting at 3000 ft elevation, I found 2 ounces of coarse ground medium roast bean to 50 ounces of cold spring or filtered water with a filter in the basket slow perked at 7 minutes works. Enjoy making it as much as drinking it kind of like a little gift you give yourself and your guests….
Jeffrey Wang says
I think it’s a common misconception that percolators boil the water, which isn’t to say that they won’t if you’re not careful with the heat. Instead, it’s the roiling near-boiling water that gets forced up the stem, just like in a drip coffee maker. Except in a percolator, you are using coffee to brew stronger coffee. Mmmmm. Anyways, had my GSI 6-cup for five years now and it’s always a treat when I have time to use this over my French press.
Angela Aldorasi says
Hi! I grew up on perked coffee from the clear pyrex coffee pots…lol yes that old. My Keurig broke and I am back to perking my coffee. Yes coffee just is not the same. I remember my mom opening up a can of coffee and the aroma made you swoon. Not so anymore. But sorry went off on a tangent. Beside the fact that the new Faberware pots stink try using a filter. I will not make a pot of coffee without a filter.
Donut says
hi angela…have you tried shopping ebay for a pyrex pot? i got one years ago at a thrift store or garage sale, but ebay is what we have for right now.. or maybe craigslist…
good luck!
joe smith says
Perc coffee till the aroma hits your nostrils, perc 2 or 3 min to taste, take off stove, let sit 30 min
enjoy. Happy Easter
Alexis Del Gesu says
Everything I have read says perk 7-8 min and take off heat. Let stand for 5 min. so water in basket will drip down. If you perk it too long like 10 min you will end up with bitter coffee. The amount of coffee (2 tbsp for 1C water) mentioned in the article was surprising. Strength of coffee is subjective so if you like dark strong coffee either use more coffee or buy dark roast like French. I am using Columbian and was told 1 tbsp/1C water and it is not very strong as far as I’m concerned. Revere Ware makes great pots/pans/percolators and are sorely lacking in their instructions.
Kathy p says
I have a stovetop perculator and it doesn’t make sense to start heating On low and then turn the Heat down after it starts to perk. Also does it stop perking all by it’s self. That doesn’t make sense. Am I just reading it wrong?
Charlene says
I was taught to let it percolate for 10 minutes. Whoever wrote the article missed that part. The stovetop percolator does not stop on it’s own.
maryanne says
Can anyone help me figure out why my percolator (farberware 10 cup electric) wont make coffee on the first round of perks? It comes out like water! It takes two full perks (which can take up to 1/2 hour) before I get a dark cup. I love perked coffee because of the flavor. Everything is super clean and the perking is strong. Ive norrowed it down to the ground coffee itself. I think that its too fine and gets clogged in the little vents at the bottom of the filter where the water takes forever to drip out. Does anyone else have this problem? Happens to all my perculators. Is there a special ground that I’m supposed to use? ty and help! I love my perked coffee!
Helen Adamietz says
Use coarse ground coffee Maryanne.
tecnewsnow.com says
Fill the bottom chamber of the percolator with hot water. If you have not already, remove the top chamber and filter basket. Heat some water, then pour it into the bottom chamber of the percolator. Keep filling until the water level is just below the steam valve.
John Wilson says
Water boils at 201 degrees at the altitude of my current town (5300 feet). Percolators run about 10 degrees cooler here and I think it makes the coffee come out even better than when they operate at sea level.
Angelique Speers says
Let me guess, you are explaining the difference between the altitude in the mountains of Colorado and the low levels of No. Little Rock, Arkansas??? I too am often faced with similar situations while cooking recipes given to me by Old Timers from Colorado! I haven’t come up with a easy way to break the math down yet? If you have, please help!!!!!!
Oviee Saleh says
It’s really a great coffee maker!!
marzav says
Can one over fill the coffee basket. Thought you had to leave a space from lid to coffee to circulate better. Not to compact to tight
marzav says
Can one over fill the coffee basket. Thought you had to leave a space from lid to coffee to circulate better. Not to compact to tight
Andrzej Jennings says
I am curious about all the mentions – in this article, the comments, other articles, and other articles’ comments – about keeping the coffee pot parts absolutely clean. I have always found that when using aluminum or stainless steel, the metal imparts a metallic flavor into the coffee. If you only rinsed the parts, and not scrubbed, scoured, brushed, or used soaps and chemicals, then, a film of coffee is left. This is akin to rinsing a cast iron skillet after use, rather than cleaning it – albeit for different purposes. I suppose the outcomes are the same: a film of coffee fills the microscopic pores of the metal and thus reduces the surface area of metal to coffee, thereby imparting less metallic taste. Then again, my wife and I drink different favors of coffee. I like mine plain and regular, she likes french vanilla. FV gives me headaches, so either we have to wash the pots thoroughly after she’s done with her coffee, or we use separate pots. We’ve taken to use separate pots, and only rinse them after each use. Both our pots – and everyone we’ve ever used over the years – are dark brown with coffee residue. It is instantly noticeable when a well-intentioned guest scours our pots. Has anyone noticed the same?
Andrzej Jennings says
I am curious about all the mentions – in this article, the comments, other articles, and other articles’ comments – about keeping the coffee pot parts absolutely clean. I have always found that when using aluminum or stainless steel, the metal imparts a metallic flavor into the coffee. If you only rinsed the parts, and not scrubbed, scoured, brushed, or used soaps and chemicals, then, a film of coffee is left. This is akin to rinsing a cast iron skillet after use, rather than cleaning it – albeit for different purposes. I suppose the outcomes are the same: a film of coffee fills the microscopic pores of the metal and thus reduces the surface area of metal to coffee, thereby imparting less metallic taste. Then again, my wife and I drink different favors of coffee. I like mine plain and regular, she likes french vanilla. FV gives me headaches, so either we have to wash the pots thoroughly after she’s done with her coffee, or we use separate pots. We’ve taken to use separate pots, and only rinse them after each use. Both our pots – and everyone we’ve ever used over the years – are dark brown with coffee residue. It is instantly noticeable when a well-intentioned guest scours our pots. Has anyone noticed the same?
Hannah says
Gene – how did you go through thirty of the coffee percolators? I’m on my second. The clear plastic bit broke off the lid on my first one!
Gene McCluney says
Corning Wear white ceramic coffee percolators are (in my opinion) the very best way to make coffee. There has been a lot of discussion about the hazard or danger due to the metal top band (which the handle attaches to) coming loose and causing an hot coffee burning accident. Seems the metal band is bonded to the ceramic body of the pot with an epoxy compound that can possibly come loose over time. Well, maybe, but I have over 30 of these pots, both stovetop and electric and I have not a single one that even appears to want to come loose. Now I’m not stupid, I handle these pots carefully, and gently, and they make the greatest coffee imaginable, but there is skill in using a percolator, regardless of brand. Here are my tips: Start with a squeaky clean percolator. The fantastic feature of the Corning Wear pots is that EVERYTHING except the cord on the electric models can be put through the dishwasher, yes, even the electric heating unit that sits inside is water tight and can be dishwasher cleaned. If you get an old nasty pot, you can clean it up fairly easily. I use liquid Cascade dishwasher soap, squirt it in pot, and swish it around with a foam brush on a handle and let it sit, and it will dissolve eventually all the discoloration. I do the same with the metal percolator parts and heater. Then I run them through a dishwasher cycle to further clean them. Anyway, a clean pot, of any style is very important. Now for stovetop percolator, you want to start with fresh cool water, freshly ground coffee, and you don’t need to use a paper filter whatsoever. After you put in the water, and the coffee grounds in the basket. Set the percolator on the stove and turn on medium-high heat, and wait, generally about 10 minutes for the percolation to start, and you have to watch this carefully because the INSTANT it starts perking you need to reduce the heat to the minimum your stove will adjust to. You want it to just simmer and perk slowly. I generally perk for about 6-7 minutes then remove from stove, it will continue perking for a bout a minute as it cools down. I use my iPhone to time the preperk, and the perk times, as I have worked out how long it takes for my situation for the water to reach perking temperature. OK, you have perked and removed the pot from the stove and it has stopped perking. WAIT, this is not yet the time to start pouring. There is still water in the basket, and you want to let this drain back down into the pot. I generally remove the lid and the basket lid so I can observe the water level in the basket, and I wait until the water has completely drained down so I can see the grounds, I then use a paper towel to grab the whole basket and stem assembly and remove it from the pot and sit it in the sink, I then stir the coffee with a wooden spoon, and pour. After I fill my giant mug, I decant the remaining coffee in a glass lined thermos bottle, and immediately rinse out the pot, to keep it snowy white on the inside. If you let the water fully drain out of the basket after perking you will get very few grounds in your coffee, very few. It is attempting to pour a cup of coffee from the percolator while the basket is still full of water that causes grounds to come out of the basket into your cup when you pour. Let the basket drain and remove it before you pour and you just won’t get many grounds in your coffee. Thats all for now.
Don Bowersox says
Drip-cappuccino machines-French press–Percolated coffee absolutely the best. I recently found flea market corning ware coffee maker—great coffee
greg says
when making a new pot with the 60 cup electric percolators, first cool the pot with ice water to reset the peculation process. also dont mix up perk stems from different models
annah says
p.s. to kendell clark—the g.e. percolator my parents had did NOT have a spring.
annah says
to kendell cklark–that smaller plastic basket that came w/ your immersible g.e. percolator is to be inserted into the meral one when you make smaller amounts of coffee. maybe 3-4 cups and less. my parents had one years ago. can’t find the pot, but still have the orange plastic basket, lol.
George Douglas says
The person that wrote this article must be around 18 years old or very uneducated. As a 70 year old man who has used a Kuerig, Mr. Coffee coffee maker, a Sunbeam party pot, and a Sunbeam model AP percolator, as well as a Sunbeam stove top percolator I can tell you a percolator makes the best coffee if it has a brew strength adjustment. Also, you can make around 90 cups of coffee for around $4. With a Kuerig it will cost around $54 dollars. Elitists think if you pay more for something, it’s better. With the Kuerig or a coffee maker, water passes over the grounds just once and with a percolator it is done many times and you can control the strength of the brew.
kendell clark says
hi all. Just bought a GE immersible 9 cup percolator on ebay. i’ve read through the comments so know how to use it. i just have two questions. The percolator did not come with a spring, but it did come with a filter basket and the basket cover. It also came with a smaller basket that looks identical to the metal one, but made of plastic. Does anyone know what this is for? I’m also not sure if these GE immersible percs require a spring or not the last two I’vew bought didn’t come with them. THe model number is a7p15 if this is any help. i’ve tried calling GE’s customer service, it’s a joke. Leads me to walmart and those people don’t seem to know much about the products they currently stock, let alont stuff that was made 30+ years ago, lol. Thanks for any help.
Nola says
Hi
I am searching for a replacement glass top for my General Electric Automatic Perculator Cat No 16PG42F
I am from South Africa and cannot find one here anywhere.
Can you please be of assistance to where I will be able to get one?
Anywhere in the world
Thank you very much
Nola
kendell clark says
I just found a great find, a late 1970’s possibly early 1980’s GE emerceable perc at good will for $2. It works fine, but upon opening the lid, I saw that the perc tube is lacking a spring and the filter basket does not have a basket cover. I tried to add the spring from my modern GE 12 cup perc, but while the spring fits, the lid, which is a plastic dome, won’t fit over the perc with it on. i’ve mad three pots of coffee and they’ve all come out extremely week, barely flavored water. Have used community collumbian classic, folgers chocolate, and eight o’clock original. Is this perc supposed to have a spring and filter basket cover and if so where can i find replacements? I love this perc, it’s extremely quiet. I also added my basket lid from my GE 12 cup, which should work, but because of the lack of a spring the basket falls far downt he tube until a nub stops it. Will the lack of a spring impact water flow? I think water not be showering evenly over the grounds. Thanks for any help
David L. says
w50…the key to stove-top percing is same as w/hard boiled eggs…timing begans Only when boiling/percing starts; and using simple kitchen timer I would start at 10 min percing and subsequently adjust accordingly…Quality/fine coffee, yes? It’s all about the simple things, that make us truely happy.
vv50 says
i found that on a stove-top glass percolator, brewing time on the percolator varies quite a lot, so i just base my decision on the color of the water to determine when to stop.
kendell clark says
Well, it’s been a year since I’ve switched to a parcolator completely and the coffee has been excellent! I recently got a one cup drip machine for christmas and time after time the coffee comes out horrible no matter what coffee I use, lol. This site has been helpful and i love my GE percolator.
Mike Wolin says
The best coffee I’ve had in years. My electric drip maker brode(another one). Got my old perculator out. I forgot how GOOD a cup it makes. For now I have no plans to replace the broken drip coffee maker.
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