Come to think of it, cowboy coffee is boiled and many think that's the way to go too. It's a personal taste thing.

Jim's aunt had a percolator, a good one, and her coffee was horrid. We even gave her some good fresh ground beans, and it was still not good.

I wouldn't waste money on it unless you know how it'll taste. There are plenty of drip machines for under $30.

Interesting timing on this thread, I'd just finished reading Rhulman's post on perc'd coffee a day or so ago.

Interesting comments once you weed out the fan boy's "me to, me to" ones.

Here is a link that might be useful: Percolator Love.

My next coffee maker is going to be a percolator. I'm so tired of fighting the hard water battle and the hassle of cleaning these drip machines.

I am also replacing my drip maker with a percolator this Christmas.

Percolated coffee is nasty....some of the coffee has to be boiled to get it to rise in the tube....and that tube is so hard to clean that it always tastes to me like a dirty pot....stale coffee oils!
But...I used to have an electric perc pot....and when that died I got another.
Some where I tasted coffee I liked better and got a drip pot, now I can't stand perc coffee.
Try a French press...they are cheap, small and simple...I keep thinking I need to ditch the Senseo and get one.
Cowboy coffee tastes a little like a chuck wagon....the ambiance has a lot to do with the taste...LOL!
I remember my MIL making Swedish coffee with an egg.....delicious...but perhaps that was also partly the ambiance...
Linda C

Maybe my taste buds aren't that perceptive or whathaveya, but personally I don't notice much difference and perked coffee tastes great to me. When we'd go to the summer house, that's all there was and I loved it. I've thought about getting a percolator. Next time I see one at a thrift shop, I'm going to snag me one!

My aunt & uncle use a percolator. I've never had a bad cup of coffee there. My aunt has brewing a cup of coffee down to a science though.

I've got an old Corningware percolator that goes on the stovetop, I use it when the power goes out. The coffee is fine, as long as I remember to let it perk long enough and not boil over.

I have a Hamilton Beach at work and the darned coffee is NEVER hot, not even when first made. My free Gevalia pot here at home makes a decent cup and it stays hot for a couple of hours.

Of course, I'll take a cup of yesterday's coffee and put it in the microwave in the morning, so what do I know? It is freshly ground Paramount Breakfast Blend, though, I don't like Folger's or Maxwell House at all. Don't like Starbucks either, it tastes burned.

Annie

I've used French press coffee makers for years, they come in all sorts of sizes, coffee making is quick and easy as is clean up.

My mom has made perk coffee as long as I can remember. She has never liked the drip machines because they don't make the coffee hot enough for her. She fills a glass jar with tap water the night before and refrigerates it overnight to get rid of the chlorine. She makes good coffee, I have to say.

Teresa

Mary's:
A short story !
I was working on a friends Deck here in the Pocono's.
It was in a a Trailer Park.
He went in and put on a pot ot of Coffee.

When the owner of the Campground drove by slowly and waved, he hit his brakes.
Backed up and hollered over to me ,
" Lou, are you making Perked Coffee ".
I answered "yeh ! Why ? ".
" Because I haven't had a cup of Perked in a long while "
Well , He had 3 cups!!!

I had a Wide bottom Alluminum Percolator, like in M.A.S.H.
It was great, like a woman. A little flame and it heated fast.

My wife sold it in our Collectible place, because she bought a new Shiny Chrome electric.
Next came the Hamilton Beach. Makes good Coffee but I have to heat it in the Micro Wave.

Still looking for a Wide Bottom coffee pot.( Or woman !!!)

Lou

Coffee is a comfort food; if you're used to it a certain way, all other ways will come up short.

If you're used to perked coffee and like the taste, by all means go for it. Having said that, I find that most perked coffee has an undertone of 'burnt' that I don't like. I prefer drip or French Press. But hey, it's your palate that needs to be pleased. Chacun a son gout.

Coffee trivia:

"Just to satisfy those history geek, the very first real coffee maker in the form of a percolator was invented in Paris by a guy Laurens, in the year 1818."

re Mr. Coffee. "In 1974, once Joe, one of the greatest baseball player around endorse the product, drip coffee maker was the default machine for coffee brewing. It sored to dizzy heights in terms of sales and market growth.

For close to twenty years, nothing come close to the sales or market share that drip filter system has."

perked coffee is the only way to go for me. Also, I'm spoiled because I purchase a specialty local coffee that's smooth, nutty, and delicious. Drip coffee, to me, tastes "off" or "old." I love the hot coffee a percolator produces! I have an electric one, and the replacement I had to purchase recently was 89.00, which I thought was a tad expensive. however, I'll never go back to drip coffee again.

Not fond of it or standard drip coffee, but YMMV. We use the Chemex-style drip, which is now called pour-over.