Percolator coffee has the potential to be incredible when high-quality, flavorful beans are used. 

Brewing coffee using a percolator allows for water to continuously pass through the coffee grounds, resulting in an intense flavor. 

Below are our four top picks, each diversifying what you thought possible from a cup of percolator coffee.

1. SaiGon OG Coffee

Cafely SaiGon OG dark roast coffee is a unique blend of robusta, arabica, and peaberry, offering layers of intensity alongside a smooth and rich finish. 

SaiGon OG is a bestseller and one of the finest coffee blends for percolators since the lively blend ensures no flavor is lost during percolation. Every last sip is bold, balanced, and dynamic, providing a comforting yet powerful boost to your day. 

2. DaNang Coffee

Medium-dark roast, full body, and low acidity make Cafely DaNang a hit with percolator coffee. Earthy notes of hazelnut, sweet maple syrup, and invigorating citrus give this arabica and robusta blend a delightful lightness. 

Smooth arabica calms robusta’s intensity, with a 50/50 blend, so the result is a balanced brew, delicately flavored and brought to life in the percolator.

3. DaLat Coffee

Brought to you from the coffee estates in the mountains of Vietnam, Cafely DaLat is a delicious example of dark roast Vietnamese arabica. 

Higher in strength and flavor than Brazilian arabica, Vietnamese arabica enhances percolator coffee with vibrant notes of caramel and fruit. Da Lat makes a smooth brew, with whispers of floral flavors and fruity undertones with every cup. 

4. BanMe Coffee

Cafely BanMe contains 100% peaberry robusta for a bold brew with an intense caffeine hit. 

Made from shade-grown peaberry beans, BanMe is exquisitely full-bodied, infusing your percolator coffee with notes of dark cherry, chocolate, and spicy pepper. This strong brew is the answer if you’ve been craving a coffee with a punch for your percolator.

How to Find the Best Coffee for a Percolator

With a percolator, you’re more likely to run into problems while brewing than when choosing coffee beans. But still, you’re more likely to enjoy the cup of coffee if it has a smooth taste and subtle flavors you enjoy. 

Follow these tips to help you find the perfect coffee for your percolator:

1. Selecting the Grind Size

If there’s one thing percolator coffee is known for, it’s strength. As hot water consistently rises and drops through the beans, flavors, and oils are extracted and concentrated, which gives the coffee a strong, deep flavor. 

However, the taste can easily become too much if the beans are over-extracted, making it imperative that the grinds are the right size. 

Freshly ground beans provide the best flavor, but they need to be coarse or medium-coarse ground for a successful, balanced extraction. Using finely ground beans can lead to bitterness and the grounds falling through the basket.

2. Selecting the Roast Level

Different coffee can have various roast levels, and this can affect your percolator coffee flavor, acidity, and balance. 

Roast-types include:

• Light
• Medium
• Medium-dark
• Dark

Light roast beans produce a softer cup of coffee with an acidic edge, while medium roast coffee is a popular choice for its balanced, sweet, aromatic nature.

Medium-dark or dark is the best coffee for percolators as the strong flavors break through the delicate brewing process. The chocolatey infusion of dark roast coffee is ideal, where only a hint of bitterness remains and warm notes take over.

3. Selecting the Bean Type: Arabica or Robusta

Choosing between arabica or robusta beans to make the best coffee in your percolator boils down to personal preference. 

Intense, bold blends like Cafely SaiGon OG offer an unparalleled taste, thanks to the blend of arabica, robusta, and peaberry. But if your eyes are set on brewing a strong coffee able to get you through a Monday morning, the BanMe 100% peaberry is the answer.

Arabica beans also make a pleasant percolator coffee, bringing a light floral edge and a softer finish compared to pure robusta beans. For this, Cafely Da Lat is the best choice for its fruity notes and sweet, caramel undertones that counter any bitterness.

Robusta and arabica beans are both suitable for brewing coffee in a percolator, but they are quite different:

4. Selecting the Origin

Coffee bean origin has a big impact on flavor. Coffee is grown around the world in varying climates, soils, and altitudes. These environmental differences have a lasting impression on your beans. 

Coffee grown at high altitudes tends to be more acidic with fruity flavors, while low-altitude growing results in less acidic beans with a full-bodied taste.

Soil is another important consideration, as it varies across the globe. Loamy (sand and clay) soils enliven coffee beans with aromatic flavors while volcanic soils bring a deep earthiness. 

At higher altitudes, coffee beans are harder, denser, and smaller but have better acidity, aroma, and flavor compared to low-elevation beans [2].

Brewing Techniques: Making Perfect Coffee With a Percolator

A fine understanding of the percolator brewing method helps make the best coffee. By using quality coffee and the correct grind size, you’ll have a delicious brew ready in less than 10 minutes.

Follow these steps to make the perfect brew:

Step 1: Add Water to the Percolator

First, fill the percolator reservoir up with water to the “fill line.”

Top tip: cleaning your percolator after each use helps eliminate any residue of coffee or grounds. Make sure your percolator is clean before adding the serving of water you need into the reservoir. 

Step 2: Introduce the Coffee

Use a filter to minimize the risk of any debris entering your cup after brewing. Grind your beans to medium-coarse or coarse grind and add the correct amount to the filter. Stick to using one tablespoon for every 8 oz of water, and you’ll have a balanced cup of coffee.

Step 3: Start Brewing

After putting the sections of the percolator back together, place it on the stove on medium heat. The water should be hot enough to extract all the glorious flavors and oils from the coffee but not boiling — this can scald the beans. 

Percolator coffee takes 7-10 minutes to brew, and as soon as you hear the gentle sound of bubbling, turn the heat to low for the remaining time.

Step 4: Let the Coffee Sit

Once the brewing process is complete, remove the percolator from the stove and set it aside for a few minutes. This allows any coffee grounds to sink to the bottom, lowering the chance of any grounds ending up in your cup.

Mistakes to Avoid: Achieving the Perfect Cup of Percolator Coffee

Percolating coffee isn’t a complicated process, but there’s still plenty to think about! Simple mistakes to avoid making when brewing percolator coffee include:

• Using the wrong grind size
• Choosing poor-quality coffee
• Allowing the water to get too hot
• Brewing with a percolator that hasn’t been cleaned
• Using too much or too little coffee

Sticking to quality coffee and a steady process when percolating will help keep things flavorful and aromatic when the time comes to serve your brew. Cafely coffee beans are available in whole and ground form and are organically grown in smaller batches to retain quality from bean to cup.

Pairing Percolator Coffee With Food

Classically, coffee pairs well with rich foods like chocolate, pastries, and cheese, but what about percolator coffee? 

This coffee is recognized for its strong flavor and intensity, but this depends on the beans you use. To enhance your coffee experience, enjoy a dark-roast brew alongside milk chocolate to bring a hint of sweetness, or salty meat to offset any bitterness. 

Frosted pastries and donuts are a sensational match to a steaming cup of percolator coffee, where fragrant spices like cinnamon or sweet vanilla elevate the coffee taste. Savory crepes are an inviting alternative to sweet foods, with fillings of cheese and salty meat preferable alongside a strong brew.

Related: Can I Drink Coffee While Fasting?

How to Care for Your Percolator for Consistently Good Coffee

Regular maintenance and correct care will help you get the most out of your coffee percolator. Cleaning should be done after every use, but a deep clean is only needed once a month. 

Follow these simple steps to clean your percolator correctly:

• Step 1: Take equal parts of white (distilled) vinegar and water and pour them together in a bowl. Add the mixture to the percolator and turn on the heat.
• Step 2: Heat the percolator on the stove and when you begin to hear bubbling, turn the heat from medium to low.
• Step 3: Once the process is complete, take the percolator off the heat and allow the liquid to cool. 
• Step 4: Pour out the mixture and rinse the percolator. You may need to use a soft bristle brush on additional tough stains. 

This method is also effective for descaling your percolator, and taking care to repeat this process each month will keep your coffee maker in better condition for longer.

Avoid using strong, chemical cleaners in your percolator as these can leave residues behind that may affect the taste of your coffee. Stick to products like vinegar, baking soda, and water which do a great job without leaving anything behind. 

FAQs: The Best Coffee for Percolators

Are you still asking yourself questions about the best coffee for percolators? 

Here’s our list of FAQs so you can get answers from the pros.

1. What is the Best Grind Size for a Percolator?

Coarsely ground coffee resembling the texture of sea salt is the best size for a percolator. This leads to even extraction and a balanced cup. 

2. Can I Use Robusta Beans in a Percolator?

Robusta beans are ideal for use in a percolator as they provide a strong flavor with a rich body. Using robusta beans is the perfect way to get your strong morning hit of coffee.

3. How Can I Avoid Bitter Percolator Coffee?

Avoid bitterness in your percolator brew by using fresh coffee beans, the correct coarse grind, and the proper brewing technique to ensure even extraction. 

4. What Makes a Good Coffee Blend for a Percolator?

Choosing beans with a balance of strength, flavor, and body makes for a delicious percolator coffee. These blends often use a combination of robusta and arabica beans for overall balance and flavor.

Related: Why is Vietnamese Coffee so Strong?

5. How Often Should I Clean My Percolator?

Cleaning your coffee percolator should be done after each use, and a thorough cleaning once a month. 

Related: How to Use a Coffee Maker?

6. What is the Ideal Water Temperature for a Percolator?

Between 195°F and 205°F (90°C to 96°C) is the ideal water temperature for a percolator. This is warm enough to extract key flavors and components from the beans but isn’t hot enough to scald them and ruin your cup.

7. Can I Use Pre-Ground Coffee for a Percolator?

Freshly ground beans work best for percolators as they are packed with flavor but ground coffee can also be used. Just make sure the grind is coarse enough, or the coffee will be bitter. 

8. How Can I Improve the Flavor of my Percolator Coffee?

Upgrade your percolator coffee using fresh beans, the proper grind, and maintaining any equipment to ensure plenty more brews in the future! 

If the coffee is too strong, use less coffee or more water next time. If it tastes too bitter, shorten the brew time and make sure the coffee grind is correct. If the coffee is too weak, add more coffee or try extending the brewing time. 

Related: How to Make Coffee Creamer at Home

9. What Are the Benefits of Using a Percolator?

Coffee percolators are easy to use and produce rich, full-bodied coffee to put a spring back in your step with under 10 minutes of brewing time. 

10. Can I Use Any Type of Coffee in a Percolator?

Any type of coffee can be used in a percolator, but coarsely ground, medium to dark roasts are typically preferred for consistent results.

References

1. Caracostea, L. M., Sîrbu, R., & Buşuricu, F. (2021). Determination of Caffeine Content in Arabica and Robusta Green Coffee of Indian Origin. 4(1), 67–77. Retrieved on July 4 2024 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355976692_Determination_of_Caffeine_Content_in_Arabica_and_Robusta_Green_Coffee_of_Indian_Origin
2. Tassew, A. A., Yadessa, G. B., Bote, A. D., & Obso, T. K. (2021). Influence of location, elevation gradients, processing methods, and soil quality on the physical and cup quality of coffee in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve of SW Ethiopia. Heliyon, 7(8), e07790. Retrieved on July 4 2024 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021018934