Brewing Coffee

[airedale]

I am a coffee drinker, I am not talking cups, I am talking pots. For years I brewed coffee with Bunn coffee makers, they have always worked great for me and I have worn a couple of them out. A few years ago after my last Bunn died I decided to get fancy and purchased one of those Ninja Coffee Bars that will do just about anything one can do with coffee. No complaints with the Ninja other than it's price, the coffee was good and brewed fast. Well the other day the Ninja craps out, sooo on top of my Heartland cookstove for decoration purposes sat a vintage Revere Ware  8 cup percolator coffee pot and I decide I am going to make a pot of coffee with it. I am not a stranger to the old style percolator, I grew up watching one made by Revere on the stovetop at home make coffee for my parents. My Dad worked at and retired from Rome Manufacturing home of Revere Cook ware, I worked there myself for a short time after getting out of school and I have down through the years collected a complete set of Revere Ware copper bottom cookware made in Rome NY including that 8 cup percolator.

So back to the coffee, I make a pot with the old copper bottom and have to say that it is some of the best coffee I have ever tasted, I have been using it every day since. The only downside it is a little slower to brew a pot. Some old school vintage stuff like walnut and steel firearms, Woolrich hunting clothes Bean Maine hunting boots and Revere Ware cookware just can not be beat.

Al

Edited January 1, 2023 by airedale

[suburbanfarmer]

There is a saying: old is gold. Must have some truth to it  

[sbuff]

Well my first pair of bean hunting boots lasted 22 years if I recall before moving onto my 2nd . Well as for coffee , man I was a coffee pot guy myself but since using kcups that's my choice now a days 

[New York Hillbilly]

2 hours ago, airedale said:

My Dad worked at and retired from Rome Manufacturing home of Revere Cook ware, I worked there myself for a short time after getting out of school and I have down through the years collected a complete set of Revere Ware copper bottom cookware made in Rome NY including that 8 cup percolator.

Very cool! As a young man, I was a State certified welder, pipe fitter, and worked on commercial and residential boilers, heating systems, and basically anything HVAC related. I spent a lot of time in Revere Copper and Brass, Rome Cable, Pettibone, Remington Arms, shoe factories, and every other factory setting across NY, preparing, maintaining or prepping for insurance inspection. I shared many laughs with the folks working at these places! 

Edited January 1, 2023 by New York Hillbilly

[Nytracker]

Had one of those pots myself . Gave it to my dad as he liked the coffee  so much . The shame of it is Corning sold all the consumer products  devision back in 98. Since then we have been owned by 5 different investment  company's.  With each change they have tried to do more with less and cut quality. The powers to be have merged and sold many smaller companies  forming a conglomerate of household goods . For the most part its the Corell dish ware that kept them afloat for 25 years. Unfortunately a lot of quality products have been lost along the way  

[Merlot]

Mom had all that Revere pots and pans back in the day. Great product. I'm guessing not so much anymore. 

[Farflung]

My uncle and cousin worked at Revere. Got to use their seconds store. Still use a bunch of the  pots and pans plus one of their fry pans. Virtually indestructible. 

As far as the coffee, I make it in our household as it is directed in the book in the bible

You know the book. He brews.

[Pygmy]

On 1/1/2023 at 9:15 AM, suburbanfarmer said:

There is a saying: old is gold. Must have some truth to it  

I must be worth a fortune....

[airedale]

 

[bugsNbows]

I don’t drink coffee… but I love the smell of it brewing. My mom used to have one of those old percolators. She drank coffee and smoked all day.

[left field]

I have made coffee with a percolator, french press, drip brewer, single pour over, chemex, aeropress and nespresso. And with everything from shitty grocery store beans to very expensive shade-grown single-origin freshly ground beans.

This is the best cup of coffee I've ever had at home.

Brewing Great Cowboy Coffee

Add water to your pot and bring it to a boil.

Once the water’s boiling, remove the pot from your fire and let it sit for 30 seconds. This will lower the water temperature to 200°F — the perfect temperature for brewing coffee.

Add 2 tablespoons of finely ground coffee for every 8 ounces of water. (You may want to measure how much water your pot holds and how much coffee a spoon you bring holds before going camping so you can measure accurately.)

Stir the grounds into the water.

Let the brew sit for 2 minutes and stir again.

Let the coffee sit for 2 more minutes.

After a total of 4 minutes of brewing, sprinkle a little cold water on the grounds. Yes, this actually does help them settle to the bottom.

Slowly pour the coffee, so the grounds remain on the bottom of the pot.

[phade]

We’re a K-Cup family due to convenience factor. I prefer French press when I have time. One thing that is no fun with K-Cups is the lack of ability to smell the coffee pre-use. Something to be said for that!

[left field]

I forgot to add moccamaster to the above list.

48 minutes ago, phade said:

We’re a K-Cup family due to convenience factor. I prefer French press when I have time. One thing that is no fun with K-Cups is the lack of ability to smell the coffee pre-use. Something to be said for that!

Yes, there's something important about the full sense experience. However, due to their market dominance, Nespresso buys and produces pretty damned good coffee. I had a built-in Miele Nespresso machine in my apt which was the bane of my existence. Previous owner had put it in to the tune of $2200, but Miele stopped making it five years before I bought. They were happy to fix it though every time it broke down. And it broke down a lot. Since it was built in and I didn't have anything to put in that spot, I just kept fixing it.

Happy to see that one go.

There's a roastery around to corner from my Mexican place and I'm enjoying some nice  mountain-grown coffee every day.

Good thread, Al. 

[LET EM GROW]

Percolator is where its at.. But my Bunn is still treating me well. And i love my coffee. I would like to spend more time with a percolator some day and get it right.. Each time i use it its too strong, but so flavorful! 

[Five Seasons]

once you go fresh ground, you'll never go back. We like to have ours go off on a timer in the morning and grinding every day is a pain, so we invested in the unit below. It has a whole bean hopper that grinds then brews on demand or timer.

  Not cheap, but worth every penny. We are also BRCC monthly subscribers. Great coffee shipped to the door and it supports our vets. Also highly recommend. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VGGVQCI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/

[airedale]

19 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

And i love my coffee. I would like to spend more time with a percolator some day and get it right.

I found it is all in the time the coffee was actually perked, after being conditioned to today's coffee makers that automatically time everything in the brew process has to be tossed. The perk experts say once the pot is brought up to a steady perk to let things continue at a medium heat and for about 7 minutes gets the brew about right. 

My favorite coffee these days is McDonalds McCafe

Al

[airedale]

Old School all the way, the old Revere Ware copper bottom coffee pot percolating on the woodstove which is also heating my house.

Al

[Robby]

Awesome set-up Airedale!!!

I drink only two cups of coffee a day, sometimes three. I use one of those drip cones and three scoops of coffee using one of those old Chock full-o-nuts measures.

Robby

[airedale]

7 hours ago, Robby said:

I drink only two cups of coffee a day, sometimes three

Through the course of a day I knock off two of those pots easily LOL.

Al

[hueyjazz]

My dad was a quirky engineer who had five sons.  Among topics we were educated on was coffee.  Coffee because as a young engineering student one of his projects was to design the perfect coffee machine without regard to expense.  I got a lecture.  :-) 

Water boils at 212 degrees F at sea level

Perfect temperature to brew coffee is between 195-205 F.

To serve, 155-175 and to drink 120-140  

If you ever worked at a decent restaurant, you really pay attention to coffee.  A bad serving of coffee will destroy the finest meal.  There's a reason why Bunn machines are at every restaurant.  They are very dependable, consistent and a standard for suppliers.  But beans and water play a big part too for them.

Percolators can make a great cup of coffee, but their operation must be closely monitor as they are always recycling coffee through grounds to make it stronger.   They also vary more in operation with change in elevation.  Plus, they suffer from the same issue with most coffee makers.  You don't want to overcook your made coffee on the burner.  With that being said mom's old Corning Ware percolator is in my kitchen

[fasteddie]

I use to drink several cups of coffee per day but cut way back . My wife bought me a K-Cup Coffee Machine several years ago and I love it . So far , Green Mountain Coffee is the BEST !

[Daveboone]

I have to have my coffee...but limit to only two cups in the a.m. I certainly am no "connoisseur", and have never been in a Starbucks, etc. I usually have my generic coffee maker ready to go in the a.m. as I walk by it, but it died a few weeks ago. I am now using my Revere Ware coffee pot, and am in no hurry to replace the coffee maker. It is a ten cup job, and really should down size it. 

[GreeneHunter]

Usually I get up before the Wifey so I'll just do a K Cup and after I drink that make a Pot !

[airedale]

The old Cookstove came in handy last night, power went out about 2am and just came back on 11am. Kept warm and perked a couple of pots of coffee. Still fired up the generator so I could watch some TV.

Al