I got a percolator for Christmas

[Lott's Bandana]

I shall be saving $2 - $3 per year on filters now!



I really like the burbling on the top while my morning nectar brews. I also like that it is HOT when I pour it. Hear that Herr Coffee?

[ouwasp]

I was about to criticize how long a perc takes to brew vs the drip types... then I realized how much I'm enjoying my Christmas present: A Stir Crazy popcorn popper. Much more effort and time involved compared to tossing a packet into the microwave, but a very pleasurable thing to do.

[hawaii 5-0]

I love the flovour of fresh perked coffee.

I also love popcorn. Nice presents, both of you. I got gift cards from Home Depot and Amazon.

[Lott's Bandana]

Funny, I got a OR air popper as well.


The perc doesn't seem to take much longer than my Herr Coffee. Probably does but I'm biased towards my Xmas present now.

[achiro]

I was about to criticize how long a perc takes to brew vs the drip types... then I realized how much I'm enjoying my Christmas present: A Stir Crazy popcorn popper. Much more effort and time involved compared to tossing a packet into the microwave, but a very pleasurable thing to do.
We got a stir crazy as well. Makes some really good popcorn. I can't stand microwave popcorn.
Also, I love perc coffee but we have an electric range and it sucks trying to do it tht way.

[ouwasp]

I'm enjoying some good popcorn right now as I watch Hell on Wheels. Popped it in some sort of hot pepper oil my wife found. Mmm, mmm, good!

[hawaii 5-0]

I've been using standard cheepo vegetable oil and it really doesn't do the corn any favors.

5-0

[ouwasp]

I've been using standard cheepo vegetable oil and it really doesn't do the corn any favors.

5-0

I remember a news story from yrs ago about the do-gooders convincing some movie theaters to halt the use of coconut oil in popcorn production; not good for your health somehow. But the taste was great. So I was looking for some coconut oil the other day... all I could find was a sort of heavy paste/oil meant for baking. The quest continues...

[achiro]

I remember a news story from yrs ago about the do-gooders convincing some movie theaters to halt the use of coconut oil in popcorn production; not good for your health somehow. But the taste was great. So I was looking for some coconut oil the other day... all I could find was a sort of heavy paste/oil meant for baking. The quest continues...Coconut oil is actually very good for you. Not sure why they wouldn't have wanted it.
Atwoods sells it specifically for popcorn. I'm sure some health food stores sell it as well.

[Jacie]

I switched (back) to a percolator 15 years ago when I moved to my current location. My well water is clean, cold and pure as the driven snow but it has a lot of calcium. Went through several drip coffee makers in a year. They clog up and no amount of C-L-R or any cleaning agent I found would prevent it. My perkie cleans easily and never clogs, there isn't any part of it to clog that I can't get to. And I enjoy the sound it makes . . .

[delhalew]

Been using a press for a year now. It's great, unless you need to brew for a bunch of folks. The other caveat is, I need a burr grinder, rather than my blade grinder, to eliminate particles in my coffee. It tastes great.

[Taxman71]

Been wanting to try a press for years, but switched from grind-and-brew to the Keurig K-Cup about a year ago. Seems no need for a press anymore.

[C&CDean]

Been using a press for a year now. It's great, unless you need to brew for a bunch of folks. The other caveat is, I need a burr grinder, rather than my blade grinder, to eliminate particles in my coffee. It tastes great.

So you're not only a beer geek, you're a coffee geek too? Geek.

[ouwasp]

Coconut oil is actually very good for you. Not sure why they wouldn't have wanted it.
Atwoods sells it specifically for popcorn. I'm sure some health food stores sell it as well.

Got some coconut oil at the Atwoods in Claremore yesterday.... the popcorn it helped cook was First-Rate! Great smell, great taste! Thanks achiro....

[Lott's Bandana]

We got a stir crazy as well. Makes some really good popcorn. I can't stand microwave popcorn.
Also, I love perc coffee but we have an electric range and it sucks trying to do it tht way.

My GE perc has a plug. But no timed shut-off...I left in on yesterday. Oops.

[delhalew]

So you're not only a beer geek, you're a coffee geek too? Geek.

I try to geek out on all the good things in life.

I've entertained the idea of roasting my own beans. If I ever have more personal time, I'll get a goat for unpasteurized milk so I can make my own cheese. Yeah, I'm a huge geek.

[Breadburner]

If you have never had your tea-bag percolated you have not lived.....!!!!

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Been using a press for a year now. It's great, unless you need to brew for a bunch of folks. The other caveat is, I need a burr grinder, rather than my blade grinder, to eliminate particles in my coffee. It tastes great.

Welcome to me-town, now apparently population 2.

I still quest for the greatest cup of coffee I've ever had, and what I don't understand is not what, but how. It was the coffee from every corner store in Germany and it was black, rich, and almost made me cream my pants with every sip. And I haven't had a cup like it since we got back.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Lott's Bandana]

Welcome to me-town, now apparently population 2.

I still quest for the greatest cup of coffee I've ever had, and what I don't understand is not what, but how. It was the coffee from every corner store in Germany and it was black, rich, and almost made me cream my pants with every sip. And I haven't had a cup like it since we got back.

Anyone have any ideas?

Have you done a Google search to find out what it was?

I found Martzipanstollen that way and bought the last 3 cakes available in the United States last holiday season.

It seems your Deutchebrew could be discovered that way, as well as a distributor?

[SoonerStud615]

I am a huge fan of the french press. I have also recently begun brewing in this bad boy. Super good brew!

http://cdn.poketo.com/shop/image/cache/data/homeware/hario5-460x460.jpg

[delhalew]

Welcome to me-town, now apparently population 2.

I still quest for the greatest cup of coffee I've ever had, and what I don't understand is not what, but how. It was the coffee from every corner store in Germany and it was black, rich, and almost made me cream my pants with every sip. And I haven't had a cup like it since we got back.

Anyone have any ideas?

It seems possible you could be questing simply for the right roast on the right bean. Were do you get your beans?

I order five lb bags of this, but I may not be chasing anything as elusive as your German brew.

http://www.coffeeam.com/colsupbuc.html

[Tulsa_Fireman]

I'm pretty sure it's not the roast or bean. It HAS to be the method.

What was consistent was the color, the oil sheen across the top, the body, arguably some of the strongest coffee I've had withOUT the eventual spiral into bitterness. It's hard to explain, but it was almost thick. So much body, so much flavor. Almost as if it was evaporated coffee, but again, not bitter. I'd even go as far as saying it was pretty dang mellow on the palate.

The kicker is that this style was the standard. If you ordered a straight-up black coffee in any corner shop or newspaper stand, it was this opaque ebon gold. This was working man's coffee in Germany, not from some select foo-foo shop. And while each different store had different flavors within the coffee itself, the finished product was that consistent cup of awesome. So it's a method that can be reproduced for the hundreds of cups that hit the street every day over there and it's not french pressed. Been doing that myself and it's not quite there. Have covered a few different roasts with no luck in the press at different strengths and DEFINITELY not close in the automatic. The only thing I know that's left is percolating and a pour-over. And while a good strong cup, my rookie used to work in a coffee shop and I've had a bastardized attempt at the pour-over and it wasn't there either.

Describe your finished product in your percolator. If you loaded it up strong and let it gin for awhile. That fit any of the descriptions so far?

[Lott's Bandana]

I definitely notice a more complex and robust brew when I first pour it fresh after percolating. A beautiful color, smell, taste. After it sits for about :30 mins, it loses its translucency and becomes quite dark.
However, I am using Folger's Black Silk, which has a nice deepness to it, but probably isn't Continental enough for what you describe.

It seems the perc, combined with the proper beans, may get close to what you are looking for...but without having sipped in Germania, I really can't say.

[Lott's Bandana]

Just returned from a trip to Germany, and my husband and I both noticed how good their coffee was. (We both drink it with cream, but no sugar) Everywhere we went, it had the same rich delicious taste, strong but very smooth, with no bitterness at all. Also, it was consistently the same taste everywhere we went. We have never had coffee that tasted that way anywhere else. Does anyone know what exactly makes it that way? Is it the type of coffee beans that are used, the type of brewing machine, or something else? We would love to duplicate the same taste at home (we live in the US).


I've taken German coffee home more than once (live in Belgium), various brands. It tasted just like my own coffee.
My conclusion is that it is their water. Water in Germany is very soft with low alkaline and very little chlorine. Water in Belgium is hard and has a totally different taste. I never drink tap water in Belgium, I do drink it in Germany.



I think it is the packaged cream they use that makes the coffee so delicious. I, too, have purchased coffee beans in Germany and then brewed them at home and the coffee tastes just like Folgers then. But the last time I went, I bought a package of their cream (*doesn't have to be refrigerated until opened) that I saw at every hotel I stayed at, and THAT made the difference, even in Folgers. I think it is in a (mainly) blue box and it is in every grocery store I went in over there.



Wow, so many different responses! I expected as much though. Thanks to everyone for their input. (Could have done without the tirade between Skye and Paul tho) Actually, my husband and I are true appreciators of coffee, albeit novices, so we do own an expresso machine (we only use for expresso tho, not our regular coffee - that we brew with a regular drip machine), we grind our beans fresh every morning (don't roast yet, but thinking about it), and we have tried different type beans from all over the world. And there are a lot of different coffees that we enjoy - we love the coffee in New Orleans, and in France and Italy. However, the coffee in Germany is distinctly different - at least where we were staying, in the Heidelberg area. Like I said, it had a very rich yet smooth taste, with absolutely no bitterness to it, with a very subtle but distinct unique taste that I have not tasted anywhere else. I guess we will have to experiment around to get that same taste. Will try the German creamer first - does anyone know if it can be ordered online? If that doesn't do it, then we may invest in the type of vacuum brewing machine they use there - again, anybody know if it can be ordered online? Also, may need to try the beans from Zimbabwe or Uzbekistan (???). It may very well be a combination of different things also. If it turns out to be the water, and plain distilled water doesn't do the trick, then I guess we'll just have to wait until our next trip to Germany to get that same taste!



As a San Franciscan living in Germany the past year and a half I can vouch for the cream you are chatting about...it is Condensed Milk! Lives on the shelf until you open it and is smooth, rich and creamy. Can be purchased with various fat content. We use the 7.5% fat and it's fine. The coffee we prefer is Movenpick (like the creamy, rich ice cream by the same maker/hotel chain owner). We use a typical Krups drip machine and tap water. Make it on the stronger side, add the condensed milk, a bit of sugar and enjoy. Guten Appetit!


http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/why-is-german-coffee-so-good.cfm

[delhalew]

That sounds a lot like my brew. Thick, oily sheen, seldom bitter.

Pro tip...you are more likely to get bitterness from using less coffee, due to increased extraction. I a grinder full for what amounts to maybe 4 cups of coffee. I never let it steep past 4 minutes. I only drink black coffee, and it's never bitter unless I get busy, and leave it longer than 4 minutes.

Also, my water is fairly hard. My parents water makes great coffee, and it is so hard it's opaque.

[hawaii 5-0]

Y'all are makin' me powerful thirsty for a cuppa Joe.

5-0

[cleller]

I have a drip outfit. Sometimes it takes me two hours to go through the batch. Can coffee sit that long in a percolator?

The corn poppers and coconut oil have me contemplating a trip to Atwoods. I do need chicken feed, though.