Any percolator fans out there?

[cycluxe]

Bought myself a little Christmas present yesterday: A vintage Farberware Superfast electric perk! Not only does the Superfast live up to its name, the coffee (Wegmans French roast) is rich and full-bodied. Its 4-cup capacity is perfect for a bachelor (spinster) like myself.

Previously I used a stovetop Corning Ware perk for many years, until the metal collar came unwelded. It made good coffee but I had to watch it, and at six in the morning I didn't want to. Then came a Melitta Java Perk, which made decent coffee but just didn't hold up under daily use.

So are there any other percolator devotees out there in Appliance Land?

 

[tennblondie78]

I have my mother's Corning Ware 10 cup electric perk and I love it, too. If I feel like more than one cup of coffee on the weekend, I'll fill it to the 4 cup mark and use it instead of the Keurig. The electrics are nice because you don't have to watch them.

 

[danemodsandy]

Another Superfast User Here!

I use a 12-cup Farberware Superfast, which is plugged into the timed convenience outlet of my vintage GE range each night, so that coffee's ready when I get up.

My favored daily-driver coffee is Chase & Sanborn, which my grandparents used to drink back in the '50s. I would drink Eight O'Clock BOKAR on occasion if it was still available, which it isn't.

I have been through every type of coffee maker, all the way up to expensive mill and drip machines, plus every kind of coffee bean (up to and including Jamaica Blue Mountain), and I've come back to a perc as the most satisfying brew for me.

I have several Superfasts as spares, in case anything happens to the one I'm using.

 

[pulltostart]

My Mother is a devoted percolator user.  Recently she began to complain that the one she had didn't keep the coffee warm (I believe the condition was user error, but...) so I found a Corning Ware 10-cup electric percolator (Cornflower pattern) on CL and bought it for her.  She claims it works fine.

 

lawrence

 

[andic29]

My mother also has the corningware percolator with the blue flowers. It used to be my grandmothers. She doesn't use it all that often but I really do love the smell when she does. I can't stand the taste of coffee but I love to smell it.

 

[turquoisedude]

I don't think you can beat perked coffee - especially freshly-ground 8 O'Clock Bokar!  I have a *few* coffee perks in the collection including the 4 and 8 cup Faberware SuperFast models, but my daily driver is a GE P410A 'pot belly' perk.

 

[danemodsandy]

Paul:

You are torturing me, LOL!

BOKAR is available in Canada, but not here in the U.S. where it is made.

To our Canadian friends: You are welcome here any time. Please bring BOKAR.

 

[rp2813]

I have a couple of second generation Corningware Electromatic percolators (early '60s -- after they integrated the spout with the metal collar) with the jewel shaped indicator lamp.  I like their slight difference in shape to the later ones, being wider at the bottom and a little shorter (though not evident in the attached picture), and the larger glass insert in the lid.  They also don't require the proprietary power cord like the later ones do.  A standard percolator cord will work.

 

I never use them.  I just like them, and feel the Electromatic belongs in the hall of fame for innovative MCM design.  If I were somehow forced to use a percolator, I'd want the carafe to be pyroceram instead of metal (I know, I know, the brewing components are metal), and the immersibility for cleaning is a major plus.

 

The only application I imagine for one of these is to keep water hot for guests who prefer tea.  I don't know anyone who drinks tea exclusively, so in storage they remain.

 

 

 

[maytog77]

Rp2813

I have a 10cup corning ware, jsut like yours, but with one small diffrance. I dont know if mine is older or more new than yours. The only other I have is a red Poly Perk. I would also love a nice old GE from the 60's like the one in this ad, to match my deluxe Toast-R-Oven (yes the exact one also in the add)

 

[whirlaway]

Bokar!!!!!! Wonderful!

As a kid I worked thru high school at the A&P,we had grinders at the foot of all checkout counters!I luved to grind that coffee for customers.I think a perc is the only good coffee maker there is,but you have to keep it clean.I use a 1956 Sunbeam or a 55 cory stainless model with the gold base and fake rattan handle,its a great coffee maker and use carnation milk in my coffee and natural sugar,it is like a treat every cup.Ohhh I have a few of those Mirro I luv Lucy pots also they make real good coffee and they are fully automatic!!!!!

 

[bigalsf]

I, too, really like percolated coffee. For me it has a richer taste than drip. I use a Farberware from the mid-60's (I think). It is an 8 cup model with a long spout and a "Ready" light. It keeps coffee really hot. My daily coffee is Chock Full O'Nuts. I think it makes a great cup of good basic coffee, perfect for the morning (IMHO). OK, true, it's also what I grew up with in New York.

So happy to see there are other fans of percolator coffee!

 

[petek]

Numerous perc collectors on here me being one of them. They must all be busy. I've probably got a couple of dozen but haven't used any in awhile. Oddly the one I've run across the most in thrift stores is the little Westinghouse spoutless shown in picture 6 below.. found another one last week. Seconded by those glass Proctor Silex's but not often the lighted ones.

 

[norgeway]

I hate coffee..

But love to smell it, I use a percolator to make iced tea, and I have probably 45 or 50 of them..

 

[polkanut]

Hans,

I use a percolator to make iced tea also!

 

Ralph,

Another nice vintage perc that is immersible are Presto's.  When I use mine it goes in the dw without any problems at all.

 

[philr]

Sandy, what Paul didn't say is that he has to travel to another province to get 8 O'Clock Bokar coffee! It's not available around here either!

 

 

I currently, have a small Faberware Superfast, a newer model without the glass top, a tall GE with the rotary knob that's not submersible,  a GE pot belly, Proctor Silex lighted and non-lighted versions and a few more...

 

<span style="font-size: 16.3636360168457px;">Pete, you have some nice percolators! I see you have quite a few Westinghouse. I'd like to find the model in the pictures below but I haven't found one yet...</span>

 

 

 

[danemodsandy]

PhilR

When you say a "newer" Superfast, do you mean an American-made one, or one made in China?

If it's Chinese, keep an eye out for one of the American-made units. The Chinese copy sold under the Farberware name in recent years is not known for the same longevity that older American-made units were famed for.

Interesting that BOKAR is not available in Quebec, either! I'd like to win the lottery and buy the brand, the rights and the blend formula. There's a nice business there for someone with the moxie to actually advertise the stuff.

 

[philr]

Sandy, it's not that new! It's probably the same age as I am but I don't like to think things from the mid-1970s are old!

 

 

[danemodsandy]

Not Old!

"I don't like to think things from the mid-1970s are old!"

I agree completely - things from that time are not old. Including me!

 

[petek]

Phil, have you checked Metro grocery stores? They're the ones that carry it round here. They bought up all the old A&P's stores

 

[rp2813]

Jason, your Corning Electromatic is the next model after mine.  A little taller and tapered in toward the bottom.

 

Pete, I've heard the Jet-O-Mats are good percolators.  The thing I find strange about them is that their indicator lamp lights during the brewing process and then goes out when the coffee is ready. 

 

Some time ago I found a ('60s?) GE percolator that had a squashed oval shape.  It looked very sophisticated.  I had to get it just for its looks, and found a home for it with another AW member.  I was never going to really use it.

 

[petek]

I should bring up the Jet O Matic and try it again. It's quite noisy as I recall which is probably how it got its name.

 

[philr]

Pete, I'd have to look again at Metro, it's Paul (who used to work for Metro, SuperC, A&P and Food Basics) that told me he just finds it just at Food Basics, I've been buying coffee there with him a few times. I should be in Ottawa in a few days to help my sister and her husband to move back to Canada and I'll probably buy some coffee while there!

Sandy, here are a few pictures of some percolators that I have. I have not looked at any information on the production dates. The P-400A on the right is in fact the lower half and handle from a P-400A and the upper part and heating element is from a newer stainless steel P-410. I have another original P-400A.

The model number of the Faberware seems to be 134 VT.

 

[polkanut]

Ralph,

I can tell you that the oval GE pot you found is from the latter 1960's because my mom got one as a wedding gift in 1967.  Also, my Presto Super Speed does the same with its indicator light as your Jet-O-Matic.

 

[vacosaurus]

I have a ''Lewis '' stainless steel I think six cup stove top percolator made in Walled lake michigan that I have been using to make iced coffee. Using 8 o'clock coffee. I am curious to how old it might be but I have not found much info on it. We also have a Keurig. How do you use a coffee percolator to make iced tea? Bill

 

[a440]

@ Hans

I am with you as I have not had coffee in years. I am a tea drinker.
I have quite a few Peculators that I have thought about using for tea.
What type of tea are you using? I would love to try.
Thanks!
Brent

 

[stan]

I don't know what brand this is..maybe someone here dose

Or knows how old this thing is...But it make delicious coffee!
You kind of have to make sure the grind is not too course or to fine, and that the heat creates a slow but steady perk.. About 12 min.
So if your willing to wait...
I think it likes a mix of Colombian and French roast ?

 

[stan]

Oh

And part of an eggshell thrown in seems to do something for it too, don't know why?

 

[classiccaprice]

I own 4. A Westinghouse no spout and an early 50's Sunbeam like Petex posted. I also have a glass Pyrex like the one in the link and this 100 year old Manning Bowman (newest date on it is 1914). Still works!

 

[polkanut]

Stan,

Here's a link as to why people put eggshells in coffee grounds.  It's to help balance the pH, and smooth out the flavor if using cheaper grades of coffee.

http://www.perfectcoffeemakers.com/Why_Do_People_Put_Egg_Shells_In_Brewing_Coffee.html

 

[danemodsandy]

Yup!

It's the calcium in eggshells that tones down the acidity of coffee and makes the brew seem smoother. Much like a calcium antacid (Tums).