If You're Still Using This Old-School Coffee Maker, Your Morning Brew Is Likely Terrible

As someone who has enjoyed a cup of joe (or three) nearly every morning of my adult life, I've tried just about every brewing approach in existence. From using the tried-and-true Mr. Coffee drip machine, patiently employing the pour-over method, getting the most out of a French press, and eventually splurging on a Keurig machine for a convenient morning perk, I've never been one to complain about what ends up in my mug. Yet, according to Matt Woodburn-Simmonds, a former barista and founder of Home Coffee Expert, that might not have been the case had I gone a bit more old school and used a percolator.

All the brewing techniques I mentioned have their own nuances, but they share a commonality of being able to routinely produce a quality cup of coffee. Woodburn-Simmonds indicated the same can't be said for percolators. "Percolators use boiling water and pass it over the grounds multiple times to brew," he told us. "This usually results in over-extraction of the coffee grounds, giving a very bitter flavor to the brew."

You don't see these old-school gadgets around much these days, primarily because so many superior devices are now available. "Home coffee makers have gotten much better in terms of convenience and flavor, which has resulted in people moving away from the percolator," Woodburn-Simmonds added. "The automatic drip machine and now espresso machines make much better quality coffee with ease, and some are even cheaper than a percolator."

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds makes a strong case for using any coffee maker other than an old-school percolator. That said, he doesn't recommend tossing them in the trash. They might produce a bitter, burnt-tasting product (which could be improved with even the simplest homemade creamer), but they can come in handy in a pinch. "Percolators can be good when you need to make a large batch of coffee and don't have electricity," Woodburn-Simmonds said. Whether you're using a "camp stove or in an RV, you can use it on the stovetop and brew a batch of coffee for six to eight people with minimal effort. The quality of that coffee will just be a little dubious."

Still, using a percolator doesn't necessarily mean accepting that your java will be terrible. Woodburn-Simmonds had some advice for upgrading the taste of percolator coffee, though it is a chore. "If you grind [your coffee beans] nice and coarse and ensure that the water is only just bubbling through, basically trying to avoid the water being too hot, and then keep checking the flavor periodically until it's perfect, you can get a decent cup," he said. However, while this works in an emergency, there isn't much point to perfecting this technique as a daily ritual. Woodburn-Simmonds adds, "Timing how long that takes should give you a replicable process to make something pretty good with a percolator, but it's a lot more effort than most coffee methods for not a lot of gain."