Community Chat

[gardenman]

I've been looking at coffee maker options for my mom and percolators are my latest area of interest. From what I've read, they make very hot coffee (something she loves) and people seem to either love them or hate them. I honestly hadn't even thought about percolators for decades as they seem to have been largely replaced by drip coffee makers, but a quick visit to Amazon showed a number of electric percolators still being made and readily available.

The negatives I've seen are that they like a coarse grind of coffee and most pre-ground coffee is now ground fine for use in drip machines. They tend to be harder to keep clean. They boil/overboil the coffee extracting acids and unwanted flavors.

Are any of you guys using percolators? Are there brands you'd recommend to buy, or avoid? Do you grind your own coffee and/or is the pre-ground coffee acceptible? Do you use paper/mesh filters, or just the basket?

Thanks in advance for any answers. She hates new technology and even something relatively simple like a Keurig overwhelms her, but she used percolators for years, so she should already be fairly comfortable with the tech. Amazon has a Presto, Farberware, and Oneida that would all seem to suit her needs at a decent price point. I'm thinking this might be a good option for a Christmas gift for her, but I could use some feedback from those now using percolators and/or those who have now sworn off percolators. Thanks again!