John McGaw wrote:

Sawney Beane wrote:

What could be wrong? Can a defective percolator destroy much of
the flavor as it perks?

Do you really mean "percolator"? One of the old devices that boils water
in the bottom, shoots it up into the top where it drips through the
grounds and mixes with the water, boils again, etc, etc? If so then the
answer is likely that boiling coffee, under any circumstances, is not
conducive to good flavour. That is why these devices have pretty much
gone extinct.

That could be the answer, but I don't know why my aunt says her
other percolator makes better coffee.

As it has always been possible to brew coffee like tea, I wonder
why percolators were ever popular. Could it be that people liked
the taste they produced?

If you absolutely had to use a percolator (desert-island
conditions maybe) then you need to adjust the amount of grounds to get
the proper strength rather than boiling it longer which will just cause
it to become even more bitter and burned.

An electric percolator is thermostatically controlled. I don't see
how I could vary the perking time.

The coffee didn't taste burned or bitter, just weak. I have
neighbors who make drip coffee with about 1 teaspoon of grounds per
cup. That's weak for my taste. Once in a while they'll pour hot
coffee in my cup when I haven't asked. If I'm in a hurry I'll add
tap water to cool it. The coffee I perked today reminded me of
that weak mixture. Maybe boiling destroyed flavor.


If you want good coffee and are willing to do a minimum of work for it
then you would be better off with a cone-type maker with a gold-metal
filter (rather than the disposable paper) or a French-press which is my
personal favorite. And for a step up you could start buying top-quality
beans and grinding them fresh before each use, make sure that your water
is perfect, using a fixed brewing time of 4 minutes and adjust the
amount of grounds to get the proper strength, and controlling the
temperature at which the water makes contact with the grounds (204-208F
is optimum).


Is it worthwhile to try to slow the cooling of the water after
contact? How do you measure the temperature? My infrared
thermometer reads boiling water at 186 F because there's so much
condensed steam above the surface.

What's wrong with paper filters?

When I visit relatives, they let me grind their top-quality beans
before each use in their French press. I have a French press but
prefer to brew it one cup at a time in a measuring cup. So far I
haven't noticed a significant difference between their fresh-ground
beans and my store-brand ground coffee.