Vintage Coffee Makers

[Tomasso]

the percolator is the worst possible way to make coffee because it burns the oils and makes a bitter tasting coffee.

lol

 

[p71towny]

Yes, it's true, coffee is best brewed between roughly 195 and 205 degrees fahrenheit. That temperature range works best for extracting the oils that give coffee its flavour without burning those same oils and making them bitter-tasting. From the standpoint of the coffee-connoisseur, the percolator is the worst possible way to make coffee because it burns the oils and makes a bitter tasting coffee. For the vintage enthusiast and those who like cool things, the percolator is a lot of fun, especially if you have one with a glass dome on top through which you can watch the coffee perk (my percolator sadly does not).

The reason that people in that era were able to "get away" with using percolators was because the coffee they were drinking was pure rubbish. Maxwell house coffee at about 1/8 the amount of coffee one should use to make a full-flavoured pot of coffee does not make for something I'd ever want to drink. When you have that little amount of coffee, it doesn't terribly matter how you prepare it. Seriously, for the younger members in the crowd (I'm 28), ask your grandparents to make coffee. Trust me, you'll only do that once.

Also of note, lighter roast coffees actually have more caffeine because, as noted, darker roasts destroy the caffeine and give you less oil.

Great info!! I always figured that it would be better in a percolator because it is always "re-brewing" through the grounds. I like strong coffee but the flavor has to be good. Now I'm contemplating what type to get once Mr. Coffee craps the bed. I have an old percolator, but I've only used it a couple times. It works fine but I can't get the taste of old out of it. Its probably from the late 20s. Also, whats up with old school coffee grinders? Why does everyone charge an arm and a leg for those things? I'll keep buying ground until I find the right antique for me!

 

[storman113]

Here's a post I did with pic's of my Sunbeam and Cory vacuum pots.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=47864

Would like to use them all the time but takes a bit of time to clean up. Guest really love watching the glass Cory to it's thing!

 

[Restorer]

After being inspired by this thread, and after much searching I thought I would share with you the percolator that I recently found, complete with the original hang tag! I believe it to be a late 40's Keystoneware Silver Percolator, hang tag shows the original price of 36.50! By the looks of it I don't think it was ever used!

 

[John in Covina]

This made me think of some of the coffee makers my parents had.

One was a tall plug in electric percolator in a gleaming chrome that was seldom used.

The regular was a stove top percolator that was not so tall and had kind of a triangular shape from the base up about halfway.

The last was a tall blue enamel coffee maker that had a cloth bag that worked as a pour thru type, you heated the water in a separate vessel and poured the boiling water through the fresh coffee grounds. The blue one was for special occasions and we considered it pretty high falootin'!

My parents often seemed to subsist on coffee and cigarettes.

 

[Forgotten Man]

After being inspired by this thread, and after much searching I thought I would share with you the percolator that I recently found, complete with the original hang tag! I believe it to be a late 40's Keystoneware Silver Percolator, hang tag shows the original price of 36.50! By the looks of it I don't think it was ever used!

That is a beautiful set! I would say by the looks of it is earlier than the 40s but, I know a guy who could tell you not only what year but probably the month and tell you about the company! I'll have to ask him about this!

 

[Forgotten Man]

You are absolutely correct, you are not supposed to boil coffee for the best brew. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from having "fun" with a percolator. As for myself I'll stick with my professional diner style Bunn coffee maker. No frills but makes the best coffee guaranteed. We have used them for 12 years and they also have the best customer support you could ask for. I even bought one for my office.

Modern coffee makers make good coffee, mostly for the fact they are automatic and designed to operate without watching a perking pot. After watching "This is Cofee" from the Coffee Instituted from about 1961, it tells how to make the perfect coffee in stove top, electric and other types of coffee makers of the standard variety. They point out how important it is to make sure the pot and all parts are cleaned with soap and water before coffee is made... Also, they also make mention that the water is to come to a boil before adding the grinds in the basket... after water boils, you ad the basket with grinds and put the lid on it and leave it to perk for 4-5 minutes tops. This will make a very good cup of coffee! Bitterness come from over perking, or burning. And also using a good coffee is important for good flavor ; I love the smell of coffee perking, the sound and watching it bubble in the glass top, oh it's nice and makes good coffee so long as one knows how to use one proper.

Here's "This Is Coffee" from 1961:

[video=youtube;KQ4mQVlt-4o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4mQVlt-4o[/video]

 

[John in Covina]

I got to see an episode some time back where Huell Howser visits a top coffee shop called LA Mill in Silver Lake. They used a neat twist on an old brewing system. The coffee grounds are in a chamber above the water chamber. The water is heated and is driven up into the top chamber by the boiling process. Then the heat is shut off and the coffee sits for a bit, when it cools the pressure change draws it back into the bottom container and the coffee is said to be as close to perfectly brewed. They referred to it as a vacuum system. Similar but not the same as perking. They said it was a system from the Victorian age used for both tea and coffee/ Black and Decker had an electric version not too long ago but I can't find it.

This is the episode: Visiting...With Huell Howser #1607 - COFFEE and if you get to see this method I am sure you'll find it interesting.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Yep, that's a vacuum type of coffee pot. They were popular earlier on and through the 50s and 60s, earlier ones were stove top styled and by the 40s they started to make electric types such as pictured.

One can find these on ebay, vintage ones work just fine, stove top or electric. Some times they can be found NOS, I've heard people swear by these things, I'm yet to try this style of brewing, I have a friend that has a slew of coffee pots, he actually has a few display cases at "Persnickety Antiqueity" on Pomona's Antique Rowe. He has great pieces in great condition, prices very but, I'm sure you'll find a good vacuum pot set it you desire one!

 

[rlk]

Vacuum Brewers

French Hellem, Farber Coffee Robot, Kent and Cona(all over 25 years old).
Bodum Santos, Cona, Yama and Hario are currently available new.

 

[Bonneville]

After getting into coffee in a serious way and learning about it I became an espresso drinker exclusively.
I learned that your grinder is more important than the actual machine ie: your machine is only as good as your grinder.
Those $90 - $400 modern automatic espresso machines have a very, very poor reputation among serious espresso drinkers as do grinders costing less than $500 new.
I managed to snag a famous old Italian lever machine known as the Ararrex 'Caravel' from Italian ebay for $100. These were made in Milan in the 50's and are still considered by many to produce an espresso as good or better than modern machines costing thousands of dollars. Love my Caravel.

My grinder is a hand grinder of German manufacture from the '50s (when hand grinders were capable of producing an espresso grind). I will eventually get a good grinder ($500).

Beans are another story.

 

[Mr_D.]

Can a percolator be used to make tea?













P.S. 200th post

 

[PrettySquareGal]

YES! I tried it for the first time recently and the tea came out beautifully! I put in two tea bags for a full percolator.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I am still using a percolator although a different one than pictured at the beginning of the thread since the glass bubble on that one no longer stayed secured to the lid. I had a period of being between percolators where I was drinking automatic drip and it tasted dreadful to me. I bought another vintage percolator in the summer. Thank goodness! Best way to brew coffee in my opinion.

 

[John in Covina]

Can a percolator be used to make tea? P.S. 200th post

Yes and no, tea is best made when the water is boiling hot and the tea is immersed and allowed to sit (steeping) but not on the heat so it is boiling. However if it should be boiled it won't make it bad unless it gets boiled a bunch.

 

[martinsantos]

These glass percolators in this thread as just wonderful!

My grandmother had one. I always liked to see it working, it was very different. And soon discovered that the result was very tasteful, too!

 

[Michael Carter]

When using a percolator type coffee maker such as in the original post, how do you know the coffee is ready? Is it timed or does an indicator lamp turn on?

 

[PrettySquareGal]

When using a percolator type coffee maker such as in the original post, how do you know the coffee is ready? Is it timed or does an indicator lamp turn on?

It depends on the model; some versions have an indicator light when it's ready. I know mine is done when it stops making a (pleasing) racket!

 

[Mr_D.]

YES! I tried it for the first time recently and the tea came out beautifully! I put in two tea bags for a full percolator.

Yes and no, tea is best made when the water is boiling hot and the tea is immersed and allowed to sit (steeping) but not on the heat so it is boiling. However if it should be boiled it won't make it bad unless it gets boiled a bunch.

I was thinking the same thing about tea needing to steep. But tea is also made in a drip coffee maker and taste fine, so I wonder if it would taste the same in a perk.

 

[John in Covina]

It would seem to me that the temperature and the length of time the tea leaves are in the water and also how much water affects what is drawn out of the leaf. I am sure at a certain point there are flavors you don't want that will occur.