Percolated coffee fell out of the coffee scene when automatic drip coffee makers surged in popularity in the 1970s.
But drip coffee is only a step or two away from instant. It needs to be finely ground and precisely extracted with water to achieve the optimal flavor.
Drip coffee can be very bitter if it is processed too quickly or at the wrong temperature, or if too much oil passes through the filter. For this reason, paper filters are a must.
So as my stomach has become a bit more sensitive, I’ve been attempting to recreate what I remember as the perfect cup of coffee.
Percolated Coffee Was for Everyone
Believe it or not, percolated coffee is a memory from my early childhood!
That’s right. My grandmother served everyone coffee and that didn’t seem strange to us.
I don’t think that it was unusual in ethnic households. It’s like serving everyone tea at teatime.
Whether coffee or tea, however, the kids’ cuppa was more of an au lait: half cream, half brew.
Oh, and a healthy spoonful of sugar.
Setting aside the cream and sugar for the moment, I thought back on how my grandmother made her excellent coffee.
First and foremost, it was percolated. She used a common store brand of coffee that was nothing special. But it always tasted so good.
The Quest for Memorable Coffee
I found a classic stainless steel percolator in the basement. It seemed that my husband purchased it a few years back to take on sailing trips. But when pour-over coffee made its debut he opted for that instead.
I brought the stove-top percolator upstairs and did a quick search of how to percolate coffee. Websites had different instructions, and some were even contradictory.
Following the steps that seemed best, I prepared for the worst. I was using a pre-ground basic grocery store coffee brand.
When I tasted the result, I was astonished.
Rather than being bitter and bland, the coffee was actually more smooth and flavorful than the pour-over version.
Eureka! I could get away with a less expensive coffee and achieve a great result.
It took some trial and error to get there.
How to Make Great Percolated Coffee
Let me save you some time and share my steps and suggestions.
- The fastest way to make percolated coffee is to fill the percolator with boiling water. So heat your water in a separate pan or kettle and then pour the desired amount into the percolator.
- Measure out the amount of coffee you like and place it directly into the coffee basket. No filter needed.
- Turn the percolator on medium heat. In a minute or two you will hear the water begin percolating in the kettle.
- As the coffee percolates, you may want to adjust the heat down a bit to keep the perking steady. As you gain experience, you’ll know how to set your stove.
- Perk the coffee for 9-10 minutes, until the color of the coffee showing through the glass cap looks rich and brown.
- Turn off the heat and allow the perking to stop and the water to settle. This will keep a lot of coffee grounds to settle in the basket and not get poured out when you pour your coffee.
- When the pot has cooled you can discard the grounds in your compost bucket or trash can.
It may take a few tries to get your ratios of coffee to water and your timing down. But once you do, you’ll be impressed with your smooth, rich cup of percolated coffee.
