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As someone of Italian extraction, it's a Bialetti stovetop moka pot or it's nothing for me! I just wish they made a stainless steel model as the aluminium is a PITA to clean and keep from tarnishing...and obviously not dishwasher safe. On that note does anyone have any tips or products to restore tarnished aluminium?
 
Water and Coffee..

<span style="font-family: verdana, geneva; font-size: 12pt;">I agree it's just water and coffee but in my opinion there is one more component and that's the process.  Poorly done that water and coffee can yield a really bad cup.  But you are right.  At the end of the day it's all a matter of personal taste.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: verdana, geneva; font-size: 12pt;">I've been using my Drip for the past few weeks because it's fast and easy.  But when I watched the video and saw that look on Kevin's face when he took a sip of the cup out of that old percolator I was reminded how much I like the taste of percolator coffee.  I thought it was time to get mine out and the past couple of mornings that's what I've been using.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: verdana, geneva; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you Kevin for the video.</span>
 
I have a Zero Water Filter since they had to Sanitize the Domestic water tank in town.

Tap water now smells and tastes like Clorox on Tap.

What a difference that made in the Morning Cups of Joe that end up on my keyboard after Nate's Dissertations. LOL

I have a Krups as my Daily Driver that must be 9-10 years old. My Others are a Universal Coffeematic, Melitta, and a Pyrex Perk in which I haven't used the Pyrex in Decades.

I like my coffee Strong and drink it Black.

The Beans are Ground to order in a Vintage KitchenAid Burr Grinder.
 
Found a GE Cafe Royale PA30 machine, $55 + $20 postage. I decided to make something of a "low-ball" offer of about $40, and to my surprise, the seller happily allowed it.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Vintage-General-Electric-Cafe-Royale-Percolator-Model-PA30-/201527279554?

It will need a good cleaning by the looks of things, but I guess that isn't much of a concern.

Agreed from above that coffee is a lot about the coffee itself and the water.
Persoanlly find that dark roasts generally don't have much in the way of nice flavor, always taste burnt in a plunger (and its hard to get plunger coffee wrong!).
Espresso machines as used by coffee shops seem to overextract, so a black coffee when going out is just not viable. I feel again as though overextraction is an issue, many places I've seen use a dark roast and it tastes burnt and very bitter - guess this coffee is best suited for various milk-based incantations where the two balance one-another or something complicated like that.

Will consider trying some different coffees now that I'm in the city, but the thundercloud over my head makes me steer for my old standby... Too many bad experiences, wasted money and caffeine headaches. LOL (<- although it wasn't at the time).
 
Zero Water Filter

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: 12pt;">I have one too and find the same thing.  Our water seems to be over chlorinated or over something.  You can smell it.  I got the Zero Water filter years ago when I couldn't get my Pizza dough to rise using tap water (and you don't want to be around this Italian when he doesn't get his pizza!!).  When I went to the filtered water it was just fine.  Not sure what killed the yeast but I figured it wasn't something I wanted to drink.  :)</span>

 

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: 12pt;">Washer: Congrats on your purchase.  It looks like a nice pot.  </span>
 
Cleaning aluminium

It depends on how bad the tarnish is. As coffee is acidic, generally speaking, you shouldn't have too much trouble unless, of course, the poor thing's been through the dishwasher.

I have a stainless steel Bialetti I bought in Verona about 30 years ago. My aluminium makers I keep shiny with ketchup.

If, however, things are really dreadful, do the same as one does to restore an aluminium pot - lots of videos on Youtube about the process.

Basically, you clean everything with a stainless steel soap pad. Once you're clean, you can buff with an abrasive to remove the oxidation. Smokers toothpaste works really well on the bad stuff, a soft-scrub product for ceramic range tops is a step up from that. Rouge and a buffing wheel up from that, emery and a buffing wheel the absolute furthest I'd go.

But - clean first, try toothpaste. Finish with ketchup. You'll be surprised.
 
Hey Chach.

The Chlorine is so out of control, I am changing my filter every 14-20 days.

The water starts to taste like lemons when the filter needs changing.

If your Pizza Dough wouldn't rise, my bet is the chlorine is killing the yeast or God knows what else.
 
I use a French press daily but, surprisingly, the best coffee I've made hands down was in the old fashioned graniteware campfire pot: pour in the water, put in the grounds, and boil. Pour some cold water down the spout to settle the grounds and enjoy. I make it on my stove but have made it over a campfire as well.

I don't make it that way very much for two reasons: the pot is big, about 1/2 gallon, and I don't need that much in the morning (it is not as good if you try to make a small batch in it); and it is messier to clean up. But, unless you are the unlucky one to pour that last cup - no grounds in the cup if you settle them with the cold water.

I have a Sunbeam just like the one to the left of your Farberware perc. It is from 1957/58 and was salvaged out of a home after hurricane Andrew in 1992 and sold to me by the family in a garage sale.

I bought a Regal Polyperc in 1987 when I was in the army to use in the barracks. I carried that thing around for several years and used it in college before it finally quit on me.
 
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