Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Status:
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"
(set 21 days ago)
Location: In the north country fair
4,723 posts, read 10,315,182 times
Reputation: 6974
Advertisements
I have a Bialetti stovetop (I'm not sure if that is considered a percolator but I think it is) and do not know how I ever drank drip. I especially don't like paper-filter drip b/c it wastes so much paper.
There are certain coffees that taste better with a drip, especially lighter roasts. However, for espresso/dark roasts, I think that percolators yield a better taste, although you do have to be careful not to burn it.
I use drip, mainly because that's just the kind of coffee maker that everyone was using when I first set up my household 27 years ago. I remember my mom using a percolator when I was a kid, but when the first Mr Coffee came out, she jumped on it and never looked back. I remember my grandmother using one of the old vacuum style pots too. I was always fascinated by it. I've used a percolator on occasion and have one in the attic in our camping box. I may have to try one again. I think I actually saw one in Target or Walmart recently. I'm so sick of the drip kind breaking all the time, I could scream. A couple of years ago, when my cheap drip maker died, I thought I would buy an expensive Cuisinart, thinking maybe it would be better, and possibly last longer. Wrong. I bought a top of the line Cuisinart, and it stopped working, first only intermittently, then completely in a little over a year. When it died, DH really wanted to buy one with a thermal carafe. Ended up with another Cuisinart just like the one that died, but with the thermal carafe. I hate that thing. It doesn't keep the coffee hot enough for me. Unless you get it as soon as its finished brewing, its just luke warm. bleh Plus, you can't smell it brewing. A drip maker doesn't fill the house with the wonderful aroma that a percolator does, but at least there is some smell. With the thermal carafe, you just don't smell it at all. And to me, the smell is sometimes better than the actual taste.
I remember when I was a child my parents only drank Percolated Coffee; the aroma would fill the entire house, enticing me to get up early and it had a robust flavor.
As the years went by most everyone has switched to the Drip Coffee method; which appears to be more convenient and some people say tastes less bitter.
However after buying my upteenth Drip Coffee maker I have had it. Usually within in less than a year; they leak and or the heating element burns out.
I decided to try a Percolator once again, but could not find one in a store. I searched online and finally found what appeared to be a good model at a reasonable price.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! The Drip method produces a rather light colored and weak cup of coffee. The Percolator method produced a dark and flavorful cup....I'm just thrilled....it's like discovering coffee all over again...just delicious.
I do not find the coffee bitter at all and think that Percolated coffee is far superior to Drip coffee. Plus we just cut a little hole in a regular coffee filter to keep grounds out of the brew and facilitate cleaning.
Anyone else had it with Drip coffee makers breaking so fast and producing a rather bland brew????? I have and realize....sometimes the "old ways" of doing things are better than the "new ways". Also the coffee stays hotter much longer when percolated and takes the same amount of time to brew. Let me add...buy a stainless steel Percolator coffee maker, so there are no metallic tastes within the coffee.
I have a drip coffeemaker but I MUCH prefer percolated coffee. It's so much more flavorful.
There was a time when I didn't have any coffee maker and it wasn't in the budget to get one, so I just looked at my old 1950's Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and I made the coffee the way they said to do it. Measure the coffee into a pot with the water, let it come to a boil then lower the flame, let it cook for five minutes, then add a small bit of cold water to settle the grounds, and strain it into your cup. Wasn't pretty, but it was COFFEE and very good.
My coffeemaker doesn't have a carafe, though. It's a Hamilton Beach, and the coffee drips into a container beneath the grounds (water gets poured into a tank in the back) and then you put your cup underneath the container and press the button and it pours into the cup.
I have a Cuisinart version of the Mr. Coffee. But, you know, every now and then I just have to have a French press cup. Reminds me of how they serve it in England. I got an instant hot water dispenser for my sink (2 quarts of 200 F.) so I could make a cup of tea or French press coffee.
OT, but I find THAT sacrilegious! Tea should only be made with boiling water!
I have a drip coffeemaker but I MUCH prefer percolated coffee. It's so much more flavorful.
There was a time when I didn't have any coffee maker and it wasn't in the budget to get one, so I just looked at my old 1950's Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and I made the coffee the way they said to do it. Measure the coffee into a pot with the water, let it come to a boil then lower the flame, let it cook for five minutes, then add a small bit of cold water to settle the grounds, and strain it into your cup. Wasn't pretty, but it was COFFEE and very good.
My coffeemaker doesn't have a carafe, though. It's a Hamilton Beach, and the coffee drips into a container beneath the grounds (water gets poured into a tank in the back) and then you put your cup underneath the container and press the button and it pours into the cup.
I actually have one of those as well, but I've never liked the way the coffee tastes. No matter what I do, the coffee always tastes like plastic. My parents gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago, and the only time I ever use it, is when they come to visit.
I actually have one of those as well, but I've never liked the way the coffee tastes. No matter what I do, the coffee always tastes like plastic. My parents gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago, and the only time I ever use it, is when they come to visit.
So far, I like the coffee and haven't noticed a plastic taste (but if I do tomorrow morning, I'm holding you accountable!)
After reading this thread I'm thinking about a percolator again anyway.
Drip here, but after seeing this...getting out my camp coffee pot and doing some on the stove....maybe after I have a cup of drip while waiting
LOL....I hear ya; but apparently the stove type, though great for camping, can over brew the grounds. This new(LOL) percolator shuts off when the coffee is brewed but keeps the coffee very hot until ready, unlike drip makers which dispense lukewarm coffee after the initial cup..
I use drip, mainly because that's just the kind of coffee maker that everyone was using when I first set up my household 27 years ago. I remember my mom using a percolator when I was a kid, but when the first Mr Coffee came out, she jumped on it and never looked back. I remember my grandmother using one of the old vacuum style pots too. I was always fascinated by it. I've used a percolator on occasion and have one in the attic in our camping box. I may have to try one again. I think I actually saw one in Target or Walmart recently. I'm so sick of the drip kind breaking all the time, I could scream. A couple of years ago, when my cheap drip maker died, I thought I would buy an expensive Cuisinart, thinking maybe it would be better, and possibly last longer. Wrong. I bought a top of the line Cuisinart, and it stopped working, first only intermittently, then completely in a little over a year. When it died, DH really wanted to buy one with a thermal carafe. Ended up with another Cuisinart just like the one that died, but with the thermal carafe. I hate that thing. It doesn't keep the coffee hot enough for me. Unless you get it as soon as its finished brewing, its just luke warm. bleh Plus, you can't smell it brewing. A drip maker doesn't fill the house with the wonderful aroma that a percolator does, but at least there is some smell. With the thermal carafe, you just don't smell it at all. And to me, the smell is sometimes better than the actual taste.
My complaints exactly. The drip coffee is practically cold other than the first cup; assuming you drink it immediately. Also we bought a 100 dollar Drip one, and as you stated it still broke very quickly...I tried one different brand after another....usually almost 2 per year...IMHO...they are simply designed to break quickly and the coffee is just too weak and bland. And I agree...the percolator just fills the house with that aroma of good coffee....makes you want to get out of bed...LOL...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think I actually saw one in Target or Walmart recently. I'm so sick of the drip kind breaking all the time, I could scream. A couple of years ago, when my cheap drip maker died, I thought I would buy an expensive Cuisinart, thinking maybe it would be better, and possibly last longer. Wrong. I bought a top of the line Cuisinart, and it stopped working, first only intermittently, then completely in a little over a year. When it died, DH really wanted to buy one with a thermal carafe. Ended up with another Cuisinart just like the one that died, but with the thermal carafe. I hate that thing. It doesn't keep the coffee hot enough for me. Unless you get it as soon as its finished brewing, its just luke warm. bleh 
Plus, you can't smell it brewing. A drip maker doesn't fill the house with the wonderful aroma that a percolator does, but at least there is some smell. With the thermal carafe, you just don't smell it at all. And to me, the smell is sometimes better than the actual taste. 
Let me add...buy a stainless steel Percolator coffee maker, so there are no metallic tastes within the coffee.
