| The word "percolator" has come to mean that | | | | many people rank percolator coffee right |
| special coffee pot that used to sit on | | | | beside coffee boiled directly in the water! |
| Grandma's stove and bubble away like mad all | | | | When it is made in a percolater a number of |
| morning long. Typically they consist of a | | | | things happen that produce a less than |
| heat proof pot that holds the water, a long | | | | perfect cup of coffee.For starters, the water |
| tube (like a straw) that holds a filter | | | | is overheated. Boiling water simply extracts |
| basket at the top. This filter is normally | | | | too many of the unwanted bitter flavours in |
| made of metal and holds the coffee grounds | | | | the coffee and should be avoided if possible |
| apart from the water in the main pot. | | | | (which isn't possible with a percolator). |
| Usually fairly coarsely ground coffee is used | | | | Also the coffee grounds become overextracted |
| and a perforated lid is placed over the | | | | by repeatedly passing already brewed coffee |
| filter in order to distribute the water | | | | back over the grounds. Finally the boiling |
| evenly over the grounds.As the water in the | | | | percolating action of the liquid tends to |
| pot reached the boil, it is forced up the | | | | release many of the desirable flavours and |
| tube and repeatedly spilled over the grounds | | | | compounds into the air. While this does |
| in the filter basket. In this way both water | | | | produce a wonderful aroma of fresh coffee in |
| and the freshly brewed coffee drips back down | | | | the house, it can often lead to flat tasting |
| into the hot water and over the grounds. | | | | coffee.In the end, it is often best to avoid |
| Gradually the coffee becomes stronger as the | | | | percolators if you can. There are other |
| water/coffee continues to drip over the | | | | affordable ways of brewing great coffee, even |
| grounds. This process continues as long as | | | | if it may mean turning your back on wonderful |
| the pot is kept at the boiling point.Even | | | | aromatic memories.Lynne Birch writes home |
| though we may hold special memories of | | | | improvement articles and reviews of kitchen |
| percolaters, they are not a particularly good | | | | appliances for Collection growing daily. |
| way to make a great cup of coffee. In fact | | | | |