# Whatever happened to coffee percolators? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [May 13, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775 "2011-05-13T13:26:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/21 "2011-05-13T16:43:54Z")
We’ve got two: one old-school stovetop style, one of the newer electric ones that plugs into the wall and is stainless steel. It’s very fancy. (I bought it from Amazon; they had several choices.) Why? My husband likes them, and likes the coffee they make. (I’m not much of a coffee drinker. And when I do drink it, I add cream/creamer and sugar, so any of the nuances are pretty lost on me.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/22 "2011-05-13T16:53:48Z")
I recall when the Joe Dimaggio commercials came out for Mr. Coffee. My mom bought one and so did nearly everyone else. Those commercials changed the coffee maker market forever. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NwnnNwLDG1E/hqdefault.jpg "Joe DiMaggio for Mr.Coffee Christmas 1977") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwnnNwLDG1E) It’s a shame they let the Mr. Coffee quality drop. I’ve heard the new ones only last a year or two before burning out. There’s much better brands today. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/23 "2011-05-13T17:05:39Z")
I recently hosted a book club meeting at my house and I borrowed my mom’s percolator - that she received as a wedding gift 41 years ago. It was in perfect condition. I needed an additional source of coffee because my 12 cup drip coffee maker wasn’t going to produce enough. Everyone raved over the percolator coffee. It was actually really good - much better than the drip. My mom had planned to sell the percolator at a yard sale the week before, but couldn’t find the cord (it was stuffed inside the filter). I’m going to see if she’ll give it to me, but if not, Target sells percolators. ETA: my mom’s percolator is by Corningware. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/24 "2011-05-13T17:25:19Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > . . . I would surmise that they didn’t have drip coffee machines back in the 60’s because it requires a separate heating element inside the coffee maker, as compared to the percolator which can be placed on the stovetop. . . Nah. You’ve seen all the comments about electric percolators. Electric percolators were the default for decades. They’d run through a perk cycle and then keep the coffee warm indefinitly. It was a social shift. Before Mr. Coffee, filter drip coffee was pretentious and, since it was a specialty item, costly. After Mr. Coffee, filter drip coffee was Modern and, since it was mass-produced, cheaper. Everyone was getting one. It may also matter how much coffee was being consumed. My folks had a 12 cup percolator and made several pots a day. The coffee didn’t sit around very long. A couple who would only have, say two cups each with breakfast, or one cup each now and one with lunch, later, might want a different process. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/25 "2011-05-13T17:40:35Z")
Is [this](http://www.remolacha.net/2010/07/c%C3%B3mo-colar-la-taza-perfecta-de-caf%C3%A9.html) what you guys are calling a stovetop percolator? It looks a lot like a Moka, and from the description given above, that is _exactly_ how it works. How is that different from another percolator? BTW, the article is about how to brew the perfect coffee shop. Dominicans (and Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and who knows how many other Latin Americans) still use this method as our preferred coffe-brewing device. Heck, I have two coffee machines. The Mr. Coffee type for the cheap stuff, and “la greca” (that’s the nickname of the device shown above) for the expensive type. Expresso-like, strong (very strong), very rich and awesome. You DO have to more careful about not letting it overboil. But man, it is awesome! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/26 "2011-05-13T18:04:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You have the first part of your answer already, although some obviously disagree. Percolators make inferior coffee. But IIRC they are faster than drip, and have a smaller counter footprint. You don’t have to wait for the pot to fill all the way with a drip coffee maker. When I’m brewing a fresh cup of coffee, I wait for enough coffee to drip into the pot to make a cup, pull the pot away, and pour. It has a valve that closes when the pot is removed and will not drip coffee out of the basket until the pot is replaced. So drip coffee really doesn’t take that long. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/27 "2011-05-13T18:18:21Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Is [this](http://www.remolacha.net/2010/07/c%C3%B3mo-colar-la-taza-perfecta-de-caf%C3%A9.html) what you guys are calling a stovetop percolator? It looks a lot like a Moka, and from the description given above, that is _exactly_ how it works. How is that different from another percolator? According to wikipedia, a Moka/la greca are one type of percolator. I think (but one can never tell on the Dope) that most of us are thinking of the other kind when we’re talking about what our parents used in the '50s. A [Moka](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MokaCoffeePot.svg)/la greca has two chambers, the bottom one builds up steam and when there’s enough pressure, the steam forces its way through the grounds up to the second chamber, yes? The[other kind](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator) boils water through the grounds continuously until you turn it off. There’s a basket near the top which holds the grounds, but it’s one chamber. With a moka/la greca, the water only passes through the coffee grounds once. With a single chambered percolator, the water passes through it many times. ---
**Author:** ![martinezcoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@martinezcoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martinezcoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/28 "2011-05-13T18:19:37Z")
Percolators extract more from the coffee than drip since the coffee is recirculated over the grounds again and again. This can mean more acid, and over-extracted coffee. That is why they are typically considered inferior to other methods (apart from espresso, my favorite is French press). At the end of the day, it is all about personal taste, which can be influenced by flavors from childhood or other memories associated with the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/29 "2011-05-13T18:26:42Z")
I bet an alarm clock with a percolate sound would make someone very, very rich. Well, I’d buy one. If it was a _scented_ alarm clock, I’d buy two. Keurig are great, but they’re wholly lacking in character. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/30 "2011-05-13T18:30:23Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > According to wikipedia, a Moka/la greca are one type of percolator. I think (but one can never tell on the Dope) that most of us are thinking of the other kind when we’re talking about what our parents used in the '50s. > > A [Moka](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MokaCoffeePot.svg)/la greca has two chambers, the bottom one builds up steam and when there’s enough pressure, the steam forces its way through the grounds up to the second chamber, yes? > > The[other kind](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator) boils water through the grounds continuously until you turn it off. There’s a basket near the top which holds the grounds, but it’s one chamber. > > With a moka/la greca, the water only passes through the coffee grounds once. With a single chambered percolator, the water passes through it many times. Aaah. Thanks for your answer! It cleared my confusion with the disdain for percolators and the Moka presented as “fancy”. I grew up with what you call Moka. Those were not fancy! They were used and abused! And made good coffee! ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/31 "2011-05-13T18:59:01Z")
Back in the 1960s my mother had a [Drip-O-Lator.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drip-O-lator) ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/32 "2011-05-13T19:09:17Z")
My grandma had a wonderful electric percolator that she got as a gift from grandad in the 1960s when they were New and Shiny and Wonderful. Damned if it didn’t make fabulous coffee until the day she died. Great machine. I’d give just about anything to walk into her house again, hear the coffee burbling away, the smell of it, and sit with her on the porch, drinking coffee and gossiping for an hour. Loved that thing. My aunt got it when she died, and it still works like a dream. Unfortunately, my aunt lives 2500 miles away from me now. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/33 "2011-05-14T01:19:42Z")
I saw someone buying one in Wal-Mart a couple of years ago, so I suggest trying there if you’re looking for one. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/34 "2011-05-14T03:00:17Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Only if you didn’t use percolator filters. I don’t know anyone who used a percolator at home that didn’t use filters (camping is another story, where it was also common to just boil grounds in a pot of water then strain the coffee out with a pot lid), and they were common at least back to the 1940s (cite: mom). I do think they were used more to keep grounds out of the coffee, but they also were touted as making clean-up a snap. OTOH, I don’t recall anyone ever using a filter on a percolator. My mother just dumped the coffee in and in our store – where we sold Melita filters and electric coffeemakers – we never even stocked them. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/35 "2011-05-14T04:10:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Same here. Nostalgic memories aside, percolation makes for poor coffee, and the science supports that. I drank an ocean-full of rotten coffee in the military from those ubiquitous 42-cup percolators. You and me both. The one at my unit ran nearly 24/7/365. So much caffeine had leeched into the metal that it would make new pots on its own when it got low. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/36 "2011-05-14T04:21:16Z")
My dad used percolators most of my life. I bought him a drip machine in the early-'90s. > [@silenus](#): > > Perc tastes more acidic to me, for the same reason. > > Different strokes, and all that. Dad almost always drank MJB. It’s what I grew up drinking. I was at a hotel across from LAX (I worked in the office building next to it in the mid-to-late-'80s) and had come coffee with breakfast. MJB. It was really good. Fast-forward a decade or so. In a fit of nostalgia I bought a large can of MJB. I made it in my drip machine. It was barely drinkable. I found it to be more acid-tasting from the drip machine than from the percolator. Maybe it’s just that I’d been spoiled on French roast; but even if it wasn’t as good as I remembered, it was harsher from the drip machine than from the percolator. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/37 "2011-05-14T04:48:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > OTOH, I don’t recall anyone ever using a filter on a percolator. My mother just dumped the coffee in and in our store – where we sold Melita filters and electric coffeemakers – we never even stocked them. That’s odd. I won’t challenge your recollection, since it might be a regional thing or something that would be (un)adopted by certain groups based on personal and local preference. I imagine folks used to unfiltered coffee grounds would be used to (and prefer) an acidic taste in coffee (and even like the occasional coffee ground in the drink) and might not adopt filters in other brewing methods, especially if harsh coffee was the way someone had been accustomed to the drinking it. My store sells perc filters from several brands (some are Melitta branded!) in three areas-- consumables (dry grocery: coffee), hardlines (domestics: coffee makers) and (sporting goods: camping goods)-- and from my (admittedly anecotal evidence) they’ve been available since the Melitta method originally made filters an obvious boon. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/38 "2011-05-14T17:09:50Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Back in the 1960s my mother had a [Drip-O-Lator.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drip-O-lator) My grandfather who was a hard-core coffee hound had one of those. As I recall, his was all-metal and pretty simple. Just a water reservoir with a tiny orifice to release the water slowly, then a coffee basket and the main coffee reservoir below. It sat on a stove burner to keep warm, but you had to boil water separately in a kettle or saucepan then pour it through the dripolator. It made good coffee. A percolator pumps the coffee back through the grounds repeatedly and does indeed give a more acidic flavor. “Boiled” coffee can be pretty good, but the trick is to not boil it at all. Just bring the water up to steaming temp. and let it steep for awhile. SS ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/39 "2011-05-14T18:00:14Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqkZfbDfaw) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775/40 "2011-05-14T19:14:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqkZfbDfaw#t=3m13s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqkZfbDfaw#t=3m13s) Okay, that was a silly slogan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-coffee-percolators/581775.md?page=3)