Perculatin' !

Today I was browsing through the new Thrift Store in Somers Point and I came across a glass Pyrex Percolator from many moons ago. It was in tip-top shape and I decided that it had to come home with me. I know, I know. We have a drip, the Bialetti and now TWO french presses {one small glass, and one large stainless steel}...but I've never had percolated coffee. In the shop it was listed for $6.50, but lucky me it was %50 off housewares today...a steal at only $3.25!! Just a side note: there are ELECTRIC and STOVETOP percolator's...I purchased a stovetop. When I arrived home I searched online for some information about my new coffee maker. Turns out they run for $50 or more!! That's quite a savings of 46 bucks and 75 cents!! Anyways, this is some quality information that I found out about Percolator's, and I thought that I would spread the wealth with you, my fellow coffee-fiend's!

~Parts of a Percolator ~

A coffee percolator consists of five parts. There is the percolator coffee pot, into which you put your coffee. There is the stem, a hollow metal tube that fits into the bottom of the pot. In non-electric percolators, it has a flat, round bottom. There is the filter basket, which slides onto the tube and holds the ground coffee. There is the filter basket cover, a round perforated lid that fits on top of the filter basket and makes sure that the water showers the entire basket of coffee evenly. Finally, there is the coffee pot lid, which often has a glass bubble in it.

~ How a Percolator Works ~

The basic principle relies on air bubbles that form in boiling water at the bottom of the pot and their natural rising action. The base of the Pump Stem tube is designed to concentrate this flow of bubbles toward the tube opening. The tube is smaller in diameter than bubbles, so that each snugly-fitting bubble that passes through the tube will carry a bit of water above it along its upward journey.

As these continuous jets of water reach the top of the Pump Stem, they discharge onto the Spreader Cover, which helps disperse the water over the grounds underneath in a more uniform manner, and also keeps grounds from splashing up.

Repeatedly, the infusion will boil upwards and filter through the grounds back down into the pot. Each time the water filters through the grounds, it moves more of the oils into the infusion, making it stronger. Too much time on the stove can make a pot of coffee bitter, and too little time can make it weak.