Question about percolator style coffee pots

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

wahoowad

wahoowad

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Threads
19
Messages
58
Location
Virginia
OK, I've never used a percolator style coffee pot except my Mr. Coffee style at home. But it shuts off after cycling the water through the coffee grinds one time. Does the camping style percolating coffee pots just keep percolating until you take it off the pot? How do you know when it has percolated enough? :confused:
 
Aroma and color as it's perking, watch out, the coffee will be also mutch hotter than a Mr. Coffee.

Doug
 
Yep it just keeps perking along until you remove the heat.

My advice is to heat on high until it just starts to perc, then cut the heat down or it will boil over. All you need is a bare simmer to keep the perking action going. As gonejeeping15 mentioned watch the color in the glass. Once you have made a few pots you will know about how long to let it go to get the flavor you like.
 
Personally, I prefer to use my lexan french press for coffee vs. a perculating pot.
 
BJTLC100 said:
Personally, I prefer to use my lexan french press for coffee vs. a perculating pot.
Click to expand...

Ditto unless I'm making coffee for several people in which case I have a (retired from kitchen duty) Mr. Coffee programmable coffee maker that I'll take with and plug into shore power at camp or my inverter. Regardless, both make better tasting coffee than a percolator.
 
BJTLC100 said:
Personally, I prefer to use my lexan french press for coffee vs. a perculating pot.
Click to expand...
Affirmative.
I use one at home for coffee on the weekends, and I have one in my chuckbox for camping.
 
The thing you miss out on with a french press ( I have one and use it frequently at home) is aroma. Nothing beats the smell of coffee perking on a Coleman stove with the overtone of pines, sagebrush, or both. Something about the combination of smells of naphtha, coffee perking, and the outdoors just brings me home.
 
I agree with Rusty. I have the large Cabela's stainless percolator and have used it for years. It makes fantastic coffee. The key is to have your coffee ground coarser than for a drip machine. Also what Rusty said about the heat is very true. I use a propane stove and it's on high to boil then drop the heat rapidly until just percolating. Let it perc for a good 10-15 minutes, depending on how much you're making. I never have made less than a full pot because someone always wants more.
The aroma is intoxicating.
 
I use one of these for camping, and normally end up with a line of people with cups at the back of the car in the mornings, thanks to the aroma of good coffee.

feature-product.jpg


CoffeeGuy Presso - YouTube

I use a local small roasting business who make a very nice blend, and that way its fresh in the pot the day its roasted, and lasts the week.

I carry a stainless steel plunger as a back up.
15676.jpg
 
AutoCraft Aus said:
I use a local small roasting business who make a very nice blend, and that way its fresh in the pot the day its roasted, and lasts the week.
Click to expand...

This.

You can take good, fresh beans and run them through a cheap/simple process (french press for example), and get awesome coffee. Or take Charbucks and run it through a $3,000 espresso machine, and get junk.

The quality of the roast (and especially the freshness) makes a far bigger difference than the method used to brew it.
 
I love my stainless percolator. My wife likes to use a coffe filter in the little basket thingy. Just poke a hole in the middle of the filter to pass that tube through. As mentioned earlier, once it starts to perk, lower heat and perk for about 10 min. or until it's where you want it.
 
skidplate said:
I love my stainless percolator. My wife likes to use a coffe filter in the little basket thingy. Just poke a hole in the middle of the filter to pass that tube through. As mentioned earlier, once it starts to perk, lower heat and perk for about 10 min. or until it's where you want it.
Click to expand...
Back in the day they sold percolator grind, did that sound crotchety?
 
I use a French Press that I got from REI (:rolleyes:), relatively cheap and it works. Try mixing some of the flavors of coffee when you grind them.
 
BJTLC100 said:
Personally, I prefer to use my lexan french press for coffee vs. a perculating pot.
Click to expand...

Me too! I've loved mine.

But now with that instant stuff from starbucks, i'm getting to where i don't even mess with the... mess of making coffee with coffee grinds and the press anymore.
 
For all you french press guys; pick up a cheap percolator at the thrift store, brew a pot next time you go camping. Then tell me how great your french press is. You don't even have to drink the coffee to enjoy it, just hang out near the stove while it brews. A pan of frying bacon enhances the experience.
 
rusty_tlc said:
For all you french press guys; pick up a cheap percolator at the thrift store, brew a pot next time you go camping. Then tell me how great your french press is. You don't even have to drink the coffee to enjoy it, just hang out near the stove while it brews. A pan of frying bacon enhances the experience.
Click to expand...

I'll take french press over percolator any day for taste.

But percolators do have the aroma bonus.
 
Most people haven't played with a percolator enough to get it right and it's easy to screw up if you don't get anal about it. Years ago, when there were no choices, one learned how to perc properly. Use a timer and assure to keep the H2O at a steady boil. If you just want strong, bitter coffee, just let it perk forever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom