To Perk or not to Perk, a follow up to the ultimate coffee question

Greetings good people, this is the Angry Systems Administrator coming to you from the darkened caverns of the Anger Central Data center. Back in November, I wrote up a post on the purchase of an old fashioned percolator.

I thought that now was the time to provide an update. I started using the percolator I purchased mostly on the weekends. As I learned how to use it and worked on my preferences, I’ve started using it far more the I used my Mr. Coffee Automatic Drip Coffee maker. I’ve found that the coffee coming from the percolator, once I figured everything out and bought different coffee, was actually much better tasting.

As for coffee, I’ve been using Dunkin’s coffee for years. In fact, when Costco had a sale last year, I stocked up with almost a year’s supply. It’s ground for Automatic Drip Coffee makers though, and without using a filter, the grounds will slip through the basket and into the coffee itself. Initially, I just used the filters that are for the ADC machine, but then I bought some filters designed for a percolator. (They have a precut hole in the center for the percolator stem)

With that I have found that I’m using half the amount of ground coffee in the percolator then I use in the ADC machine. It also seems to taste better. Occasionally, when I use the ADC, it can be a bit on the bitter side. I don’t use sugar so a few grains of salt take care of that. The ADC also is made of plastic and that does seem to affect the taste. The percolator I bought is stainless steel.

Recently, I’ve also bought other brands of coffee, mostly to test for flavor. After consultations with a self professed coffee snob, I went with a light roast and it does seem to taste better then the medium roast that is the Dunkin’s standard. I initially tried Green Mountain Breakfast Blend and it was a better taste then the Dunkins.

My latest experiment was getting roasted whole beans and grinding them myself. The first step was getting a coffee grinder. I did some research on what type of grinder I should get. It looks like you want something that is adjustable and uses a ceramic burr style system instead of steal blades.

Since I didn’t want to spend a tone of money, I went for an inexpensive hand cranked model instead of a pricey electric model. The grinder I chose is the PARACITY Manual Coffee Bean Grinder with Ceramic Burr. It runs about $15 dollars and came with two jars. It took a couple of adjustments to get the courseness level right of course. Now I just put two large scoops of beans in it and grind away.

Now according to my “expert,” along with assorted YouTube videos, you should set the grind to be a bit courser then you would for an ADC machine. A courser grind also helps with the basket’s mesh. The grounds are generally larger so won’t pass through into the main coffee chamber.

For the beans, I went with the Vermont Coffee Company Light Roast. I find this to be a very good coffee, and grinding it fresh just before I use it does seem to make the coffee even better. I bought a pound of beans and that has lasted several weeks. Granted, I am going back and forth between the Dunkins and whatever other coffee I’ve bought. Since I still have about 5 pounds left, it’s going to take a while to go through it.

Now using the percolator is a bit more labor intensive. Since I’m not using an electric percolator, but one you put on a stove, you have to use a timer. First, you set the burner on high to start the water boiling. Once it comes to a boil and it starts perking, you need to turn the heat down low and let it perk for about 7-10 minutes. At this point, it is a matter of personal preferences on how strong you want your coffee.

One of the things I like was the clean up. If you are using a filter, then clean up of the basket is a snap. I’ve also been informed that you should not use soap and water, but just rinse everything off. The reason for this is to “Season” the percolator similar to the way you season and Iron skillet. I’ve found that this works very well. I simply rinse everything off, wipe the basket down with a paper towel to clean off the used coffee grounds and it’s ready to go again.

I am seriously considering retiring my Mr. Coffee Automatic Drip Coffee machine. I can put it next to the Keurig machine that I stopped using years ago. I’m also looking at electric percolators, although I’m in no hurry to upgrade. If you are willing to put the time into it, I think you too will decide that what is old is actually better. If you want to argue over Moka pots and ADC machines, feel free. I’ve made my choice and I’ve decided that coffee from a percolator is is better then coffee from an Automatic Drip Coffee machine.