Vintage Coffee Makers

[Salv]

Thanks for the clearing up! (I was writing my post when you posted this information the first time, so I missed it. )Well, Chandler called it a percolator too i think, so I'm in good company!

But then I guess a Bialetti coffee put is really not a percolator either, since it the water passes through the coffee on the way up, not raining down? Please forgive me if I am to much of a geek here, (or make a fool of myself misunderstanding,) I just really like to know things!

The Bialetti I use is a different type to the usual Bialetti stove-top espresso maker, and really is a percolator, where the water bubbles up a central tube then drips down over the grounds to give you coffee in the bottom of the pot. Bialetti just make it to look like their espresso makers which work, like you say, by forcing steam up through the grounds giving you coffee in the top half of the pot.

 

[Elaina]

Have no idea. My great grandmother didn't think it was coffee unless it was chickory and came when you whistled and ate the spoon. My dad likes it stronger then I do and I drink so much of it, anything that alters my caffeinestream-er I mean blood stream- isn't good in my book.

Anything anyone could add to make it softer, frankly, doesn't make your hair turn red or put hair on your chest (and yes, as a kid I got told both of those.)

 

[Helen Troy]

My understanding is what supposedly happens...the white latches onto the grounds about the time they're done brewing and stops the more bitter oils from getting into the coffee...but like you, I don't know. I've never had the guts to try it. Part of me says I'm going to end up with a big mess to clean up - both the coffee pot AND the wall or floor where I spit out the ungodly swill.

I do know my grandmother tossed shells from the eggs she was frying or scrambling into the pot. I was only a little kid at the time - I got some of the eggs and none of the coffee. I've heard some of the calcium leeches out of the shells or it does a little neutralizing of the acids in the coffee or softens the water some...I dunno...[huh]

That is some clever thinking! Now I am really tempted to try sometimes, just to see what happens!

 

[cookie]

Vintage Caffettieras

Those Atomic original jobs bring big dough Down Under.

 

[dhermann1]

Weak coffee!!!

" The one place I draw the line is weak coffee. Unfortunately I run into that in some restaurants, and it's always a big disappointment. "

That's one of those "obnoxious New Yorker" things. You leave the friendly confines of the 5 boros, and suddenly the coffee becomes a sad imitation of real coffee. All the refills in the world can't make up for it.

 

[Twitch]

History Channel had a program about the history of coffee and concluded that old perculators make crappy coffee by over boiling it continuously.

 

[celtic]

i'll chime in as well that i've also seen/read/talked to coffee snobs about percolating being one of the abolute worst things you can do to coffee.

i'm planning on a french press or one of those 'over the cup' coffee filter gadgets. they're supposedly the best cuppa you can have short of a french press..only cheaper and easier.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I haven't yet tried percolated, but I will say that, despite the fact that millions swear by Starbucks, I think it tastes like burnt toast. So maybe I'll like percolated better!

(Burnt toast is yummy if it's not in liquid form and is buttered.)

 

[celtic]

i'm with you - i have always thought that starbucks overcooked their beans.

 

[Story]

If anyone sees a brass, copper or glass 5" hemi-sphere that could be used as a lid for this, please PM me.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=17286

 

[RedPop4]

I use a French Press and agree it's better than drip, but it lacks the romance and quirkiness of a percolator. I think I want to hear my coffee being brewed. Plus, nostalgia sometimes adds nice flavor.

While I'm definitely not vintage like the rest of y'all, I am nostalgic and do have a sense of history and place. I draw the line, however, at a percolator's nostalgia making a better cup of coffee. I appreciate your dedication, though.

I've been drinking semi-satisfactory store-bought, pre-ground coffee at work lately as I've been so busy I haven't had time to roast beans.....painting the garage and trim on the house, cleaning out the garage, cleaning up the garden.....big to-do at home this weekend with my cigar smoking buddies.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

While I'm definitely not vintage like the rest of y'all, I am nostalgic and do have a sense of history and place. I draw the line, however, at a percolator's nostalgia making a better cup of coffee. I appreciate your dedication, though.

No dedication to nostalgia, vintage or being consistent here. I just consider flavor to be more than actual taste. For example, I prefer breakfast at my local mom and pop greasy spoon over an upscale restaurant's fare- sometimes. Sure, from a culinary standpoint the eggs may be "better" or "perfect" at the five star joint, but I can also appreciate bumbling honest service because it somehow makes my food taste better than when served with a pretentious presentation.

So, a "better" cup of coffee for me doesn't always pertain to just the coffee itself, but the whole experience.

It's a good thing I don't have to pick just one method of brewing!

(I suspect this makes me more quirky than vintage.)

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I haven't yet tried percolated, but I will say that, despite the fact that millions swear by Starbucks, I think it tastes like burnt toast. So maybe I'll like percolated better!

(Burnt toast is yummy if it's not in liquid form and is buttered.)

The "burnt" taste you mention is from the degree of roast you select. So percolating, let's say French Roast, is only going to give a coffee you feel is burnt an even more burnt taste. Try a less-roasted variation at Starbucks.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

The "burnt" taste you mention is from the degree of roast you select. So percolating, let's say French Roast, is only going to give a coffee you feel is burnt an even more burnt taste. Try a less-roasted variation at Starbucks.

Regarding Starbucks, I've tried all of them. I lived in Seattle for six months in 1990, and tried all of what they had to offer and never liked it. I gave it another try years later, and still don't care for it.

 

[Elaina]

When I was in Washington/Oregon I drank it alot (alot, alot, I seemed to always win the $100 GC at work) and found that if I requested a specific blend (like breakfast) it was less burnt.

Of course, I came home and the coffee is triple what I was paying, so I don't get ANY now.

 

[Fletch]

" The one place I draw the line is weak coffee. Unfortunately I run into that in some restaurants, and it's always a big disappointment. "

That's one of those "obnoxious New Yorker" things. You leave the friendly confines of the 5 boros, and suddenly the coffee becomes a sad imitation of real coffee. All the refills in the world can't make up for it.

I encountered the same thing when I visited San Francisco 10 years ago. I had a cup of coffee that redefined my idea of "coffee" (I think it was at the Fairmont Hotel) and then slowly made my way down the coast to LA, the joe getting weaker and weaker each place I stopped.

Nowadays I think there's good and bad coffee lots of places. You pay more in the chain/bookstore outlets, but it's made with better bean and not kept around so long.

Obnoxious NYers aren't really obnoxious, they're just trying to cover up homesickness. My theory.

 

[RedPop4]

Eight O'Clock coffee is acceptable alternative to Starbucks, the price is better, as well. That 34.5 bag is ten bucks, it's whole bean, so it'll be a tad fresher than pre-ground. The dark roast in the tan bag is my favorite, followed by the French roast. That French roast has a sharp taste I don't like as much. Plus it goes on sale, sometimes and that makes it even nicer.

http://eightoclock.com

The Dark Roast is the fourth one down

The Green Mountain coffee that Exxon sells, is surprisingly passable as well. I blend 1/4 of a 24 oz. cup with the breakfast coffe, and 3/4 with the Dark Magic.

Now, none of this is a viable long-term substitute for my home roast, but for those of you lamenting weak, watery coffee, they're alternatives, give them a look see if you're able.

OH, and don't grind that Eight O'Clock in the store, it'll begin going stale as well as taste and smell like all the other pre-ground stuff. Wait until you're ready to make your coffee and THEN grind it.

 

[Elaina]

Okay, I drink so much of the stuff, I just buy Folgers for me. I have some beans I get from an online source (I don't know who. My husband orders it) for the espresso machine. I used to be much more picky about my coffee, but anymore, if it's leaded, it's good.

 

[52Styleline]

Okay, I drink so much of the stuff, I just buy Folgers for me. I have some beans I get from an online source (I don't know who. My husband orders it) for the espresso machine. I used to be much more picky about my coffee, but anymore, if it's leaded, it's good.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you. I have lived my whole life here in the land of Starbuck's and I really don't care for their brew all that much. I buy the old store brands that I grew up with and perk it when I have the time. Hard to beat the smell from a percolator in the morning. I also do a fair amount of outdoor stuff and the percolator is the best thing going over a campfire. Perhaps my tastbuds were burnt out early by drinking logging camp and Navy coffee. lol

 

[Dan G]

mmmmm Logging camp coffee the only coffee!