# Drip Coffee **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 22, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409 "2001-02-22T02:31:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/1 "2001-02-22T02:31:50Z")
Pardon me, but **WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD??** You are all a bunch of effete scumbag fops. Drip coffee. My old stovetop percolator which I had since college bit the dust. The bottom wore through. Mrs. Scylla bought a Mr. Coffee. This is as close as I’ve come to divorce. Drip coffee is not coffee, it’s fucking tea, or latte or somesuch bullshit. Anybody that drinks it or makes it might as well just kill themselves now because it’s clear there a pussy scab, on the festering arm of society. It’s time we lance this boil. Drip is not coffee. It’s weak assed crap. I had to go to three different stores before I found a stovetop percolator to replace the one that died. Mr. Coffe went into the garbage can along with his shitty little toilet paper filters. Got my percolator at Dunham’s Discount Sporting Goods, camping section. I boiled some water in it to clean it. I put three heaping tablespoons of Maxwell House into the cup, an eggshell and put that bad boy on the heat. I let it percolate for ten minutes or so. This is Coffee. Slightly oily, as all that good caffeine and stuff has come out of the grounds after being passed through the percolating mechanism a dozen times or so, it is strong, dark, and slightly bitter. There’s always the bares hint of fine grounds which pass through the percolator to add zest. No filter paper taste. Just real coffee. You bastards can take your drip coffee, and your Goddamn Maxi-pad filters and kiss my ass! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/2 "2001-02-22T02:35:00Z")
\<---------sipping tea, pinkie fully extended, making slurpy sounds. "Pardon me, but do you have any Gray Poupon? " 😃 Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/3 "2001-02-22T02:46:15Z")
You know, they do still make percolators. Splurge! Or do we have to take up a collection?? The stovetop ones are only like $12 [http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/search?P=all&is=1&p=percolator+&did=](http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/search?P=all&is=1&p=percolator+&did=) Zette sipping a frappa mocha latte with two sugar cubes ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/4 "2001-02-22T02:49:42Z")
Whoops! I missed the part that said you already got a replacement. I thought your description of making coffee was a fond memory of percolating past. If it makes you feel any better, by the way, I have a friend who percolates and won’t have it any other way, either. I don’t know if he’s quite as passionate about the whole issue, but his hasn’t worn out yet. We shall see! ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/5 "2001-02-22T02:52:43Z")
Zette: If you didn’t have your brain melted from that frappe you would have seen that I found a replacement. From the OP: > [@](#): > > I had to go to three different stores before I found a stovetop percolator to replace the one that died. ::Bangs Zette in the head with her damn plastic Krups Frappinator:: who wants a piece of my new stainless steel percolator? ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/6 "2001-02-22T03:00:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > **it’s clear there a pussy scab** I won’t say it 😃 Seriously though, I feel your pain. Coffee is coffee is coffee. Even worse though… Instant coffee. Vending machine coffee. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![inor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f475e1/32.png) [@inor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inor)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/7 "2001-02-22T03:01:16Z")
\*\*Scy lla Scy lla Scy lla! ::not lookin for any trouble…jus’ kina shufflin on out…:: ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/8 "2001-02-22T03:07:49Z")
My brain is fried from the 50 year old coffee that comes out of my workplace (old manufacturing facility) machine. You can stand a spoon up in that shit, and the instant you finish a cup (a great bargain at 35cents), you buzz around like a little dog on crack. Mea culpa. Zette ---
**Author:** ![They\_Call\_Me\_Sneeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@They\_Call\_Me\_Sneeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/They_Call_Me_Sneeze)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/9 "2001-02-22T03:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > > I put three heaping tablespoons of Maxwell House into the cup, an eggshell and put that bad boy on the heat. I let it percolate for ten minutes or so. > > \*\* Excuse my coffe ignorance, but why in the name of all that is caffeinated and good would you put an eggshell in with your coffe? ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/10 "2001-02-22T03:17:58Z")
Woohoo!! Someone else who appreciates perked coffee!! I started [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59304) on this very topic, and I got told quite firmly that one **never** should boil coffee. Feh. I think I like you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/11 "2001-02-22T04:19:32Z")
Ever since Christmas, I only drink espresso. I never minded drip coffee, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bawdysurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/90db22/32.png) [@Bawdysurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bawdysurfer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/12 "2001-02-22T07:27:45Z")
Not bad “Ol’ Bean”, however: We’re born…we die. In betwixt there be wimmens/[sub]mens[/sub] , elektrawnic cipherin musheens, and coffee. Real coffee. Cowboy coffee. Done when no more grounds come roiling to the surface under full boil. “Percolating mechanism” be damned. For shame! ---
**Author:** ![kawliga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@kawliga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kawliga)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/13 "2001-02-22T10:48:44Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Scylla \* \*\* This is Coffee. Slightly oily, as all that good caffeine and stuff has come out of the grounds after being passed through the percolating mechanism a dozen times or so, it is strong, dark, and slightly bitter. \*\*[/QUOTE You do realize, don’t you, that drip coffee has much more caffeine than percolated coffee does? From the Mayo Clinic website: Milligrams of caffeine per serving of coffee (6-ounce cup) Regular Drip method 105 Percolator method 75 Instant (1 rounded teaspoon, dry) 60 Espresso (1 fluid ounce) 50 Only three tablespoons for a pot of coffee? You’re drinking water. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/14 "2001-02-22T21:10:27Z")
Thought I own a drip coffeemaker, I don’t use it much, so I’m going on secondhand info here: I’ve heard many folks complain that drip coffeemakers trap too many of the flavorful oils in the filter, making the coffee just kinda blah. I also hear that you can correct this by using a metal mesh filter (very widely available) rather than the paper filters. Required a bit more cleaning, but the results, so I’m told, are worth it. You might also want to consider a coffee press sometime; they’re much easier to find than percolators, and should make the kind of coffee you like. Probably more elegant than a camping appliance, too. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/15 "2001-02-22T21:25:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cartooniverse \* > \*\*\<---------sipping tea, pinkie fully extended, making slurpy sounds. "Pardon me, but do you have any Gray Poupon? " 😃 > > Cartooniverse \*\* Sorry, I wiped all my gray poop off. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/16 "2001-02-22T21:32:34Z")
I disagree with the statistics. I boil the shit out of my coffee, and get every last bit of caffeine and oil out of the grounds. Three big heaping tablespoons is a lot of coffee for a a stovetop percolator. I’d say I use that to make about 4 cups of coffee. It’s plenty strong. I’d rather drink piss then use a coffee press. ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/17 "2001-02-23T02:49:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > \*\*I disagree with the statistics. I boil the shit out of my coffee, and get every last bit of caffeine and oil out of the grounds. Three big heaping tablespoons is a lot of coffee for a a stovetop percolator. I’d say I use that to make about 4 cups of coffee. It’s plenty strong. > > I’d rather drink piss then use a coffee press. \*\* So I still don’t understand the egg, and I came across this [here](http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~adb/coffee/coffee.html). > [@](#): > > 1. Why you should never use percolators. > Percolators violate most of the natural laws about brewing coffee. > > [sub]Don’t overextract the oils and flavour. Percolators work by taking coffee and reheating it and throwing it over the grounds over and over and over again. Never reheat/boil coffee. This destroys the flavour. For best flavour, boil the water, pass it over the grounds and retain the heat. Don’t reheat it. > Violating these rules may not sound like much, but these are about the only rules there are. The effect of a percolator is to keep passing boiling water/coffee over the grounds until there is no flavour left and the flavour in the coffee is so dead that it’s a worthless **waste**.[/sub] Why? ::ducks and runs!:: ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/18 "2001-02-23T03:00:27Z")
I have no idea what the egg shell does, I just know it’s important. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/19 "2001-02-23T03:15:23Z")
Okay, found the answer to the eggshell thing [here](http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq6.htm#eggshell): > [@](#): > > Adding egg shell to the grounds of coffee is said to take away some of the bitter taste that can be associated with coffee. I have personally never tried shell in my coffee although I am sure it is better than what the local Shell station sells. I believe this to be a fairly rare practice now. Given what we’ve found about brewing methods, I reckon we can now conclusively say that percolating is an abomination, and Scylla has fooled himself into liking the ranker, overcooked taste. But hey, I like my steaks well-done, so who am I to deny you your pleasures. Drinkwhutchalike. Incidentally, that site quoted above evidently swiped the percolator text from the coffee FAQ, as seen [here](http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq2.htm#Perc), or perhaps the other way around. Think we should blow the whistle? ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409/20 "2001-02-23T03:31:15Z")
> [@](#): > > _Given what we’ve found about brewing methods, I reckon we can now conclusively say that percolating is an abomination, and Scylla has fooled:eek: himself into liking the ranker, overcooked taste._ So how do we let Scylla down gently? 😉 Maybe we should get him some real (non-Maxwell House) coffee. Though I have to admit a penchant for Turkish coffee (smuggled in by a friend) just boiled (3x) and poured into a cup, at least it’s not perc’d Max. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drip-coffee/55409.md?page=2)