Ever since the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when a group of colonists snuck aboard three British ships and dumped 342 crates of East India Company tea in the harbor; Americans have preferred coffee over tea. That rebellious act set the tone and made America a nation of coffee lovers.
Coffee lovers will debate passionately which makes better coffee; a drip coffee machine or a percolator. While most coffee aficionados will vehemently protest that a percolator does not make a good cup of joe, there are still some die hard coffee lovers who swear that it is the best.
A percolator works with heated water being forced up a metal tube into the brew basket spewing hot water over the coffee grounds and dripping back down into the pot. Because it must boil the water in order for it to perk, some people argue that percolated coffee is too hot and bitter. According to experts, coffee should be brewed at 200 degrees and boiling begins at 212 degrees. That being said, nothing is better than hearing and smelling coffee merrily bubbling up through the glass knob filling the kitchen with the mouthwatering aroma of fresh hot coffee.
Percolators were in wide use until the 1970’s when automatic drip coffee makers became available for home use. A percolator has five parts: the pot, the cover knob, the spreader cover, the basket and the pump stem. On electric percolators the pump stem fits in the bottom of the pot, on stove top percolators the pump stem has a flat bottom. The basket holds the coffee grounds and the spreader cover fits on top of the basket. The basket and spreader cover have small holes so the water can seep through and back down into the pot. The cover knob fits on top. On stove top percolators the knob is glass so the coffee can be seen and coffee lovers will know when their brew is strong enough.
To make good coffee in a percolator, start with a clean pot and freshly ground coffee. Fill the pot with cold water. An average cup of coffee is six ounces. Add one tablespoon of coffee for each cup into the basket; more for a stronger kick. A coffee filter is not necessary for a percolator.
With an electric percolator plug it in and turn it on. There is an automatic timer so it will shut off once the coffee has perked. For a stove top percolator turn the burner on medium heat and once the coffee starts to perk lower the heat. Watch it closely and judge if it is done by the color of the coffee seen through the glass cover knob.
Once the percolator has stopped perking, immediately remove the stem, basket and spreader cover. Otherwise, the coffee will become bitter and strong from the grounds dripping into the brewed coffee. Be careful as it is very hot. Take a pair of tongs and lift each piece out separately. Good coffee begins with a clean pot, so wash all the parts of the percolator after every use to continue making great coffee.
