Vintage Coffee Makers

[ScionPI2005]

The aroma of a percolator just can't be beat. The smell of coffee and toast and bacon wafting through the house is enough to wake you up on its own.

You're making me hungry, Dhermann! lol

Course, I haven't had my coffee in three days either...I'm surprised there aren't teeth marks in my desk yet...

 

[Salv]

I use a small stove-top percolator if I have time, or a French press if I have to hurry a little, and the coffee from the percolator tastes much fuller and richer, plus it stays hotter, than the press. I had to experiment to get the right amount of coffee grounds to water, and to get the right amount of time to leave it to perc, but it was definitely worth the effort and the wasted coffee.

The stove-top moka machines are very good as well, but they work the other way around from a percolator. The hot water is forced up through the coffee grounds and ends up in the top chamber, leaving just a little water in the bottom. I had to throw away a large moka machine after it was left on the stove and the bottom chamber got badly burned, and the rubber seals melted.

Paddy - do you want a large electric espresso machine? Kenwood make a nice looking espresso machine, the Retro Cafe...

...which you can find for £93.99 at electricshopping.com

The machine that kicked off the retro espresso machine fad though was the Francis Francis! X1 which is a very handsome machine and comes in a variety of colurs. Prices start at about £349 from Red Monkey Coffee but a bit of shopping around in the sales may turn up a cheaper one:

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Supposedly coffee is best made with water just below boining temperature, like 205 degrees. Percolators give 212 degree water, which can make some of the acids in the coffee come out, giving it a more bitter flavor.

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.

 

[carter]

Stovetop ?

Here's one that needs no electricity. I purchased it at an estate sale. The bottom is copper-clad.

 

[Lincsong]

Some of the new coffee machines we install in businesses now have a computer brew thermostat feature that won't allow the machine to begin until the temperature in the tank has reached 191 degrees. With the older mechanical thermostats the person could make a pot then push the button and brew another pot. It doesn't allow for consistency though as the second pot will be brewed at a lower temperature and thus the extraction will be less and the coffee will taste weaker.

The type of water used also has a big impact on taste. If there's a lot of minerals in the water a filter is usually attached to the water line.

 

[carter]

Here's one that needs no electricity. I purchased it at an estate sale. The bottom is copper-clad.

My grandmother used to put eggshells in the basket with the coffee. Was this done to offset the acidity caused by 212 degree water, as dhermann1 noted, releasing more acids from the grounds?

 

[~*Red*~]

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.

I'm with you!!! I used a stove top percolater for years, and while it's fun, there is nothing like a BUNN. Steaming hot tasty coffee in 3 minutes or less...you can't beat it.

 

[carter]

Why eggshells ?

I'm with you!!! I used a stove top percolater for years, and while it's fun, there is nothing like a BUNN. Steaming hot tasty coffee in 3 minutes or less...you can't beat it.

But...what about the eggshells? Why did my grandmother put them in the basket with the coffee?

 

[russa11]

These are some nice Coffee makers. Carter that is a big stove top percolator. I have a similar one like that but it only does 6 or 8 cups (can not remember at the moment). How many cups does yours make? It looks like it would provide enough for a small army.

 

[carter]

These are some nice Coffee makers. Carter that is a big stove top percolator. I have a similar one like that but it only does 6 or 8 cups (can not remember at the moment). How many cups does yours make? It looks like it would provide enough for a small army.

I haven't tried it out yet. I can't even drink that much coffee.

I'd say it'll brew at least two quarts.

Maybe I should use it to brew iced tea?

 

[skyvue]

My wife, a professional barista, is very knowledgable about coffee, and she swears by her new Chemex. The coffee tastes roughly like coffee made in a french press, she says, but it has none of the silt.

And it couldn't be easier to use.

I think the design's kind of classic, too; the Chemex dates back to 1941. Mary Richards used one on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.

Here's a six-cup model (they come in several sizes, each looking roughly the same).

All-glass Cory vacuumj pots are cool, too. I have a small one of those, but I lost the small glass rod that serves as the filter so I can't use it. Chemexes are easier to use, anyway.

Coffee is well served by not touching metal, I'm told, so the vintage Cory and the contemporary Chemex are good choices.

 

[jeep44]

One of my earliest memories is smelling coffee perking in the kitchen. These percolators filled the whole room with a delicious coffee smell-I liked that smell long before I ever started drinking coffee. When I was maybe 14 or so, I would eat breakfast before going to school,right after my father had left for work. The coffee in the perc was still warm,so I'd sip a bit . After not too long,I was hooked,and was drinking a full cup every day. I doubt there is anything else I can say I have done EVERY day for 40 years,but drinking coffee is one,for sure.
My dad was a product of the Depression,and the WW2 Army. He didn't discard the grounds after just ONE brewing-he just perked it again the next day-maybe adding a bit more fresh coffee to the old grounds.

 

[Josephine]

But...what about the eggshells? Why did my grandmother put them in the basket with the coffee?

I read where the calcium carbonate from eggs could have the ability to neutralize the acids in coffee. The large particle egg shells don't have a lot of surface area. If you grind the shells into a powder, then you have enough surface area to dissolve and react more readily. As an additive to coffee, you would get the neutralization of the acids and still maintain nutritional calcium intake.

Or something like that.

 

[Story]

Not vintage, but vintage-esque

Got $20k for a cup of Joe, pal?
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/coffee-cult-200.html

 

[Brinybay]

Here's one of my finds, an Arab coffee pot. I think it's from the 60s. Not sure how they work, but I don't plan to make coffee in it. I just thought it was very ornate and vintage-looking (and not made in China!):

 

[$ally]

Oooh, that's a good find, brinybay.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Wanted to pass along this modern/repro set, currently available online.

(Sorry, the pic isn't postable)

http://www.johnlewis.com/19664/Range.aspx (Link to on sale)

 

[JEEP]

I prefer my good old enamel pot with a fabrick filter:

Here's after a little PhotoFiltre work:

Regards.

Jakob

 

[Talbot]

All-glass Cory vacuumj pots are cool, too. I have a small one of those, but I lost the small glass rod that serves as the filter so I can't use it. Chemexes are easier to use, anyway.

QUOTE]

I was wondering when vacuum coffee pots would get a mention. I use a stove top macchinetta, and a friend bought a vintage vacuum pot at an estate sale. Figuring out how to work it had us stumped for days. Eventually figured it out.

Vac java is very agreeable

http://www.coffeekid.com/coffee/vacpots/vacpotfaq

Talbot

 

[feltfan]

Circa 1981 San Marco Type 80 Leva, single group.
Above you can see the round glass and handle from
a 1950s Faema Faemina machine, siphons, etc.