Have you ever made coffee in a percolator? I must confess, I am something of a coffee snob (yes, I worked at Starbucks for awhile and have a thing for French presses). In my humble opinion, coffee is at its best when It is smooth and black and bursting with flavor—no cream or sugar to lighten things up for me. For awhile my preferred method of brewing was the French press, but now I use my percolator almost exclusively. Why? Well…
First of all, I love the way an old-fashioned percolator looks. Mine is from the 60’s, as is apparent from its design. My mom laughed when I first made her coffee in it--she told me her mother had one just like it and used it to make coffee every morning. J
Secondly, a percolator—in my experience—makes excellent coffee. Quite possibly the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. Oh goodness, it’s yummy! Don’t get me wrong—I still enjoy and appreciate a nice French press. But coffee in a percolator is a little lighter--no quick so thick and heavy.
After doing some research on percolating, I realized that most coffee experts and snobs (remember, I am a coffee snob too) very much disagree with my high estimation of the percolator (see here and here for example). I can understand the reasoning behind this—the water gets hotter than is desirable (when brewing coffee, the water should not get hot enough to boil), which causes it to extract too much acidity from the grounds. This creates a coffee that is bitter and unpleasant to drink. Or at least that’s what they say. However, like I mentioned above, I have had only good experiences with my percolator and intend to go right on enjoying it. J
~Bessie
4 comments:
I've never tried coffee made using one of those, but I'd definitely like too! We've got a coffee machine, a Gaggia Classic that we love. I prefer it with steamed milk, though I'm still getting the hang of doing the milk! lol We've also got a moka pot, which is so fun to use! I like both but for different reasons.
We live in Lincoln (UK) which is home to the Imperial Tea shop. They also sell the rarest and most expensive coffees. I bought a taster pack for me and OH to share on Valentines day. WOW!! They were all delicious, you could really taste the difference in quality.
We've been hankering after a grinder since we got the coffee machine. I suppose actually starting to save up might help! lol
Wow, I rambled! lol Enjoy your coffee :)
Ashley x
As I prefer tea and all coffee I brew is atrocious, I'll stick with the "I buy mine from other people" method. And, since I disprove of straight coffee, I would say your method is the kind that many of my cowboy compatriots follow--it's done when the nail stands up straight (or substitute a horse shoe). Of course, I am a flavor snob myself and the taste I have is directed towards a more... rich flavor over a bitter one.
Tea on the other hand, oh, now there is glory right there. Tea is so diverse in preparation and making, style and form--wonderful! If you haven't gone to a place called Teavana (I know, it sounds like a hippy establishment) I highly encourage you to go. The original store is in Duluth.
I think your percolator is very cute. I make mine the boring way, in a coffee maker. It is retro though! I too worked at Starbucks for a while. The thing that stuck with me from those days was my love of the Americano. That's what I order out. You know, for the Americans who can't handle straight espresso... :)
A.J.A.--I'd definitely say that the Americano stuck with me, too. It's just so much tastier than Starbuck's brewed coffee! :)
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