I can't say how the flavor compares with that of a percolator because by the time I started drinking coffee everyone I know was using drip, but our favorite coffee maker is the Toddy cold brew system. DH and I even prefer it to French press and Chemex (our other favorites), and it's a lot easier. We used to buy only premium coffees but now we can get a decent cup even from mass market brands (although in that case we generally stick to Colombian). With respect to appearance, it is a simple lightweight plastic cylinder with a well for its filter and a rubber stopper. Ours lives in the back of a cabinet for the many days between batches. Plus whatever container/pitcher you like to hold the concentrate (their system comes with one, but you don't have to use it). Extraction is a time-temperature trade-off, with different components extracting at different rates. Instead of subjecting the coffee to hot water for a few minutes, you extract it (a half to a whole pound at a time) in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. This makes a concentrate that you keep in the fridge and mix as needed with hot water. Cold extraction is better at holding onto the volatile flavor components (after all, we mostly "taste" with our noses). The heated-just-before-drinking coffee actually tastes as good as good as freshly-ground beans smell. Cold extraction also seems to be a lot slower at extracting the bitter flavors. And using the shorter period supposedly reduces the acid for those that are bothered (I'm not, so I can't say from actual experience). I like my coffee rather hot, and my instant hot is hot enough to make a good cup with the refrigerated concentrate.

Lucybear05: "I am READY for a damn good machine." For those who are voting, my response may be voted least helpful by the panel, but here goes: 1. Espresso is espresso is sumptin' special. Everything about real espresso (not the machines that call themselves espresso machines) is esoteric and touches your hour-and-a-half to make one cup of coffee nerve. Yes, for espresso afficianados, the grinder is more important than the espresso machines -- and they are right. A great "God shot" [a term of art in the trade] is a thing of beauty and a true experience. But I get the impression that you are not ready to join a cult. And real espresso is a cult thing. 2. The Italians, who invented espresso and still more-or-less own the brand, tend to drink s more-or-less espresso-like beverage several times daily. It is made in what often is called a "moka pot,'" of which Bialetti is the exemplar, but Viv Vegano brand pots may be the better choice. But a moka pot, a stovetop appliance, is not at all automatic, and a moka pot makes only a few cups at a time. 3. For completely non-espresso coffee, if the comparison is taste, the best coffee, hands-down, is vacuum pot, or vacpot, coffee. No drip coffee (even Technivorm) comes close. Again, however, vacpots are pretty much manual in operation. The best vacuum pots in the world are the British Cona vacpots, and the coffee that they make can make angels sing. They are not cheap (see link below), and the hand-blown glass can break (expensive!) if you mishandle the components. A Japanese company, Hario, makes an almost-as-good vacpot, but currently you can get them in the United States only through a Vancouver, British Columbia, importer, Rayfish Enterprises, dba Avenue18.ca. Check out the www.Avenue18.ca website when you have the chance; vacpots there are called "syphons. " 3a. For entertaining, a vacpot is a show-stopper. Your guests will be entranced; it will be the talk of the evening. Trust me: we have "wowed" dinner guests with our vacpot dozens of times, and the bonus is, after they say WOW! they are treated to the best coffee they ever have tasted in their lives. After the first two or three times making vacpot coffee (manually) so that you know what youu are doing, it really is no more work than making fully automatic drip coffee: viz.: we have been brewing a full vacpot of coffee every morning at breakfast time in our home for the last 13 or 14 years, and the routine is no more onerous or time-consuming than it was when we used an electric drip coffee maker. 4. For an electric drip coffee maker, two things are important: (a) the temperature of the water at the time it says "hello" to the ground coffee beans, and (b) how much of the water sees -- and how long it lingers on -- the unspent coffee before the water drips through to the collecting pot. Secondary (but still important): (c) you want the coffee to be collected in an insulated carafe rather than in an uninsulated carafe atop a hotplate that burns the just-brewed coffee. The Technivorms, endorsed by other responders, are the best drip coffee makers in criteria (a) and (c). The reason why vacpots are better than drip coffee makers is that they are even better than Technivorms in the (a) criterion: typically, the water hits the ground coffee at 205°; and vacpots are much better than any drip coffee maker in the (b) criterion: basically all of the water gets up to the ground coffee at the same time. and then it sits there -- all of the water on all of the coffee -- until it is sucked (yes, sucked) down into the carafe two or three minutes later. So. You will get a Technivorm. But now you know that you could have got a vacuum pot and have tasted better coffee -- with the bonus of a WOW! factor for your guests. [smile] Here is a link that might be useful: Some vacuum pot options

Hi Jessi, My top secret email address is ********@*******.*** (I'll send it to you later) As far as hijacking a coffee thread with a coffee question- Ahhh, yer just being overly sensitive... Clover!! I am eccentric and I tend to spend money that I don't have, but even I can't justify 11 thousand dollars for a pressurized french press. Don't get me wrong, if someone gave me one, I'd move my wifes clothes out of the house to make room for it, but nobody has offered me their Clover. Blue Bottle Coffee: I haven't tried it. It gets good reviews. Organic is a good thing in any food product but it doesn't make a bean great if grown in inferior soil, under lousy sun conditions, or grown at a compromised elevation. I've had some pretty lousy organics and some that are very nice. I suspect that Blue Bottle is a mix of excellent growing conditions, plus the fantastic bonus of organic, and some pretty whiz bang marketing. They appear to be the new kid on the block. I'll buy some when I see it- as long as it's not pre-ground and no older than 10 days from roasting. When I first got into the coffee biz I was pretty adventuresome trying hundreds of beans to detirmine what I wanted to sell. After landing one that was perfect for the espresso flavor that made me dance (but only if prepared perfectly- otherwise mediocre) and still very very good from a French Press or Technivorm, I slowed down my tasting endeavors. I'll still try a new bean from time to time but no longer in the business I tend to stick to what I already love so as not to be disappointed. I've been drinking the same roast from the same roaster for 15 years now. What a boring guy I've become... I sure miss this place. I barely have the energy or time now to quickly scan the posts twice a week. michaelp Here is a link that might be useful: Clover

I would strongly recommend installing a sediment filter, and preferably also a charcoal filter for any plumbed appliances. Not only does it make the water taste better, but it also extends the lifetime of the appliance. When you ask your plumber to run all the pipes, this is an easy additional job. You can even have the filters in a location outside of the kitchen, where it is easier to service (e.g. in your garage). We have our beverage center, CSO, and potfiller on the filter. The sink is unfiltered. Works great for how we use out kitchen. I understand the controversy about potfillers. It works really well for us, and I am so happy we decided for it. But I can also understand that, depending on kitchen layout, it might not always make sense for other households. If you have hard water, things get a little more complicated. Resin-based water softeners are probably fine, but you need to regularly change or refresh the cartridge. On the other hand, reverse-osmosis is problematic, even if it might be easier to service. Several appliance manufacturers explicitly tell you that RO water will damage the plumbed appliance. Also, there is some worry about health issues with longtime consumption of RO water; and I have read several coffee lovers complaining that coffee made with RO doesn't taste quite right.