The percolator is a brewing device that repeatedly cycles building water through ground coffee to extract a brew. This traditional brewing method was popular before the rise of modern coffee makers, such as the drip coffee machine.
The percolator has become unpopular because, quite frankly, better coffee can be made more easily using modern equipment. With that said, the percolator is capable of brewing great-tasting coffee if you know how to use it.
Learn how to brew a decent cup of Joe using a coffee percolator in this brew guide.
Percolator Brewing Specs:
- Brew Time: 10–15 minutes
- Coffee/Water Ratio: 1:12
- Grind: Medium-coarse
- Water Temperature: 208ºF (98ºC)
- Recommended Coffee: DaLat Coffee, Saigon OG Coffee
Percolator Brewing Summary
- Grind the coffee.
- Add water to the percolator.
- Add the coffee grounds.
- Heat the water and brew.
- Pour and serve the coffee.
What You Need to Brew Coffee With a Percolator
You don’t need much in the way of ingredients or equipment to brew coffee with a percolator.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Tools Needed
- Coffee Percolator — These brewers are available in a range of sizes from 2–12 cups. Stovetop percolators and electric percolators with heating elements are also available.
- Coffee Grinder — The best percolator coffee is made using freshly ground coffee. The medium-coarse grind size required for the percolator can be achieved by a burr or blade grinder.
- Coffee Measure — A coffee measure or weighing scale allows you to accurately measure coffee. This allows you to create coffee with the same qualities every time you use your percolator.
- Coffee Cup — Use your favorite coffee mug to serve percolator coffee.
Ingredients
- High-Quality Coffee — Opt for a high-quality whole-bean coffee. If you don’t want to grind your own beans, make sure to purchase a high-quality, fresh, pre-ground coffee.
- Water — Use fresh, filtered water in your percolator. Filtered water makes the cleanest brew and also prevents mineral buildup in your percolator.
- Milk (Optional) — Add a dash of milk to create a creamy coffee.
- Sugar (Optional) — Add sugar or syrup if you want to sweeten your percolator coffee.
Coffee Recommendations: Percolator Coffee
Most people opt for an arabica coffee or a blend to make percolator coffee. You can also use robusta beans. The type of coffee you choose depends on your personal taste. What’s important is the quality and freshness of the coffee.
It’s best to opt for whole-bean coffee that you can grind fresh just before brewing. Freshly ground coffee produces the most complex and balanced brew. If you don’t want to grind coffee beans yourself, make sure to opt for fresh, high-quality pre-ground coffee.
If you want a smooth, naturally sweet coffee with a mild caffeine content, opt for a 100% arabica coffee such as DaLat.
If you prefer bold, dark, rich brews, opt for a 100% robusta coffee such as authentic HaNoi blend or strong BanMe Coffee.
If you want the best of both beans, opt for an arabica and robusta blend such as Saigon OG. Blends produce a balanced cup of coffee that’s smooth, sweet, dark, and bold.
Step-by-Step Brewing Instructions: Percolator Coffee
Making coffee with a percolator is relatively easy, but it’s a bit more involved than brewing coffee with an automatic drip brewer or French press.
Here’s how to make percolator coffee, step-by-step:
1. Measure and Grind the Coffee
First, you’ll need to measure and grind your coffee beans. The percolator requires a medium-coarse grind size — similar in consistency to sea salt or kosher salt.
The amount of coffee you’ll need depends on how big your percolator is and how many servings you wish to brew.
Use the table below to work out how much coffee you should use:
|
Percolator Size |
Servings |
Coffee |
Water |
|
3 Cups — 12 oz (350 mL) |
1 serving |
17 g (2–3 tbsp) |
7.5 oz (220 mL) |
|
4 Cups — 17 oz (500 mg) |
2 servings |
27 g (4–5 tbsp) |
12 oz (350 mL) |
|
8 Cups — 34 oz (1000 mL) |
4 servings |
54 g (8–10 tbsp) |
22 oz (650 mL) |
|
12 Cups — 51 oz (1500 mL) |
6 servings |
80 g (12–15 tbsp) |
34 oz (1000 mL) |
2. Prepare the Percolator
Fill the water reservoir of your percolator with the desired amount of water. Then, add your ground coffee to the filter basket and disperse the grounds evenly.
Note: Some percolators require a paper filter. If you have a filter percolator, wet the filter with hot water before adding the coffee to remove any impurities.
Once you’ve added the water and coffee, place the lid on your brewer, ensuring a tight seal.
3. Brew the Coffee
Place your percolator over medium heat on your stove, or if you have an electric percolator, place it on its base and turn it on.
Heat your percolator until you hear the water begin to boil. Turn the heat to low once you hear it start to simmer — the idea is to keep the water hot but not boiling. Overheating the percolator can lead to a burnt-tasting, over-extracted brew.
Continue to heat the percolator for five to 10 minutes.
The amount of time you leave the brewer percolating will affect the taste of the final extraction. Leave the percolator on the heat for too long, and you’ll over-extract the coffee. Leave it on for too short a time, and you’ll under-extract the coffee.
The key to a good percolator coffee is timing. Experiment with the brewing time until you find the level of extraction that suits your taste.
4. Remove the Percolator From the Heat
Once you’re happy with your brew, remove the percolator from the heat.
Open the lid and carefully remove the filter basket. Discard the spent coffee grounds and leave the finished brew to settle.
5. Pour and Serve
After waiting for three to five minutes for the fine grounds in the percolator to settle, gently pour the brew into your favorite coffee mug.
Add sugar and milk to taste (optional) and enjoy your coffee.
Tips for Brewing Coffee With a Percolator
Although brewing coffee with a percolator is relatively simple, crafting the perfect cup comes with some nuances. There are a few simple tips you can use when brewing coffee with a percolator to ensure you craft the best quality cup of coffee every time.
Follow these tips when brewing coffee with a percolator:
1. Fine Tune Your Grind Size
The grind size plays a critical role in how the water extracts the flavors, aromas, and oils from the coffee in a percolator. In a percolator, the coffee is essentially brewed several times as the water cycles through the grounds. Achieving the correct grind size is essential to avoid over or under-extraction.
Too fine a grind can clog the filter basket, resulting in over-extraction and a silty mouthfeel. Too coarse a grind can lead to under-extracted, weak, thin coffee.
A medium-coarse grind is needed to achieve optimal extraction from a percolator. The quality of the grind also affects extraction. If your grinder produces an inconsistent grind where some grounds are fine, and others are overly coarse, it will cause problems. Invest in a burr grinder for precise control over grind size and consistent quality.
2. Use Filtered Water
Although the quality of the coffee beans is the most important aspect of making a good brew, water is second on the list.
Your brew is 98% water, and its quality directly affects the taste of your coffee. Tap water can contain minerals and impurities that can negatively impact the flavor of your brew and damage your percolator over time.
Always use fresh, filtered water in your percolator to ensure a clean and neutral base for your brew and preserve your percolator’s inner workings.
3. Preheat Your Water
Consider preheating your water before adding the coffee. Heating the water before brewing can reduce the chances of over-extracting the coffee.
By heating the water before adding the coffee it reduces the amount of cycles needed to extract the brew. This will shorten the amount of time the coffee is exposed to heat and water — reducing the chance of scorching as well as over-extraction.
To preheat the water before you brew, add water to the percolator (without the basket) and heat it on the stove. Once the water begins to boil, lower the heat, add the coffee to the basket, and place it into the percolator, making sure not to burn your hand. Then, the percolator can be brewed over low heat for three to five minutes (instead of five to 10).
4. Monitor the Extraction Time
The strength of your coffee is determined by how long the water cycles through the grounds. Over-extraction from cycling the percolator for too long causes bitterness. Under-extraction by removing the percolator from the heat too soon results in weak, sour coffee.
Brew your coffee for five to 10 minutes (less if you preheat the water first), depending on your taste preference. If you’ve never used a percolator before, start with an 8-minute brew time and adjust slightly for a stronger or weaker coffee, depending on your taste.
While brewing coffee with your percolator listen out for a notable sound change. As the coffee cycles through the grounds, the bubbling should slow down toward the end of the brewing process. If you can identify this subtle but noticeable change, you’ll be able to stop the brewing process at the perfect time.
5. Adjust the Coffee-to-Water Ratio
The “right” coffee-to-water ratio for percolator coffee is 1:12. However, this ratio isn’t the be-all end-all of percolator coffee. Adjust your coffee-to-water ratio depending on your taste, the type of bean you use, and how long you plan on brewing.
Percolators naturally produce bold, dark coffee, so finding the balance that matches your preference is key. Reduce the coffee-to-water ratio if you prefer a weaker brew and increase it if you prefer a strong, dark, concentrated brew.
You may also want to increase the ratio when using arabica coffees to improve the depth of flavor. Reducing the coffee-to-water ratio for robusta may be necessary to mellow out the intense, dark, bitter flavors of the beans.
Always use a coffee measure or weighing scale to precisely measure your coffee. This way, once you find the perfect ratio for your taste, you can replicate it time after time.
6. Use High-Quality Coffee
The quality of the coffee you use in your percolator is one of the biggest factors that can affect the quality of your brew. Poor-quality coffee beans make a poor-quality brew.
Avoid using old, stale beans or pre-ground coffee. If your coffee smells sour, musky, or is overly dry, it may be best to buy a new bag.
Opt for high-quality whole-bean coffee and grind it fresh before brewing. This will create the best-tasting brew with the most complex flavor profile. If you don't want to grind coffee beans yourself, make sure to purchase recently ground coffee from a reputable supplier that packages its grounds in vacuum-sealed bags.
7. Clean and Maintain Your Percolator
Regular cleaning and maintenance of your percolator is essential. Allowing coffee oils and minerals from heavy water to build up in your percolator will affect its performance. A poorly maintained machine produces poor-quality coffee.
Make sure to clean your percolator after each use using hot water and a mild detergent. Pay attention to the filter basket and water spout, making sure to remove any coffee residues.
FAQs: Making Percolator Coffee
Do you want to find out more about percolator coffee and other similar brewing methods?
Check out the answers to the FAQs below:
1. What is a Percolator?
A percolator is a stovetop brewing device that continuously cycles boiling water through coffee grounds to extract a brew. The length of time the percolator is left on the heat affects how many cycles the water takes through the coffee — the longer the percolator is boiled, the stronger the brew.
2. How Much Caffeine is in a Cup of Percolator Coffee?
The amount of caffeine in a cup of percolator coffee depends on the type of coffee used, the coffee-to-water ratio, and the extraction time set. An average 8 oz (240 mL) cup of percolator coffee can contain anywhere from 60 to 200 mg of caffeine.
3. Is a Moka Pot the Same as a Percolator?
The moka pot is similar to a percolator. However, instead of cycling hot water through ground coffee the moka pot forces hot water up through finely ground coffee once. The moka pot produces an espresso-like brew that's strong, concentrated, and bold. The percolator produces a milder brew with espresso-like qualities. However, it's not as concentrated and more closely resembles drip coffee.
4. Does a Percolator Make Espresso?
No. The percolator makes a strong, dark brew with similar qualities to espresso coffee but it's more similar to a strong cup of drip coffee.
5. Can You Add Milk to Percolator Coffee?
Yes. You can add milk to percolator coffee to mellow out the rich, dark taste of the coffee. You can even froth warmed milk with a whisk and combine it with a strong cup of percolator coffee to create a beverage similar to a latte.
6. What’s the Best Coffee for a Percolator?
The best coffee for a percolator should be high-quality and freshly ground. Opting for a whole-bean coffee is important. The type of coffee you use comes down to personal preference.
Arabica offers a smooth, sweet brew with a low caffeine hit. Robusta offers a dark, bold brew with a strong caffeine hit. Blends offer a balance of both arabica and robusta with a mild to strong caffeine hit.
7. Can You Make Iced Coffee With a Percolator?
Yes. The percolator is an excellent tool for making iced coffee. Simply brew a strong, concentrated cup of coffee, cool it, pour it over ice, and add milk and sugar to taste.
8. Can You Make Cold Brew With a Percolator?
No. You cannot make cold-brew coffee with a percolator. This coffee maker relies on boiling water to extract coffee. If you want to make cold brew, a French press is the perfect coffee maker.
9. What’s the Difference Between a Percolator and a French Press?
A percolator is a stovetop (or standalone electric) brewer that works by cycling freshly boiled water through ground coffee. The French press is an immersion brewer that works by pouring hot water over ground coffee and steeping it for four or five minutes before straining.
10. What’s the Best Grind Size for Percolator Coffee?
The best grind size for the percolator is medium-coarse. The grinds should be consistently ground and share a similar look and feel to coarse table salt or sand. A burr grinder creates the most consistent grind size but a blade grinder can also achieve a medium-coarse grind.
