How to Percolate Coffee
Percolating coffee involves brewing it in a particular style of pot. This pot, known as a percolator, heats water in its lower section. The heated water then flows through a tube to the top of the pot where it drips down through coffee grounds and returns to the pot's lower chamber. This process continues until you decide the coffee is done to your liking. At this point, remove the pot from the heat. It's easy to over-brew coffee when you use a percolator, so this method is not as foolproof as others are. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Completely disassemble the percolator. Examine the stem; it should have a line or some other indication to let you know where the bottom of the basket will rest.
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Put the stem into the percolator. Add water to below the line you observed on the stem. This prevents the water from actually touching the basket of coffee. You do not need to come close to the line; if you only wish to make one cup of coffee, put only one cup of water into the pot.
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Put the basket into the percolator, making sure it rests snugly in its position on the stem. Add anywhere from 1 heaping tsp. to 1 tbsp. of coffee grounds to the basket for each cup of water in the pot. Use a coarse grind for this. If you use a fine grind, the grounds will leak through the basket and end up in your coffee.
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Put on the lid, and then brew your coffee. Depending on the type of percolator you are using, you may do this by simply plugging the percolator into an outlet and turning it on, or you may need to put the percolator on the stove over low heat.
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Remove the percolator from the stove when the coffee is brewed to your liking. You can estimate the coffee's strength by observing its color through the percolator's glass dome. Remove the percolator from the heat or turn it off when the coffee is strong enough for your taste. Some electric percolators turn off automatically when the coffee is done.
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Remove the percolator's lid carefully to avoid burning yourself with the steam. Lift the stem and basket straight up out of the pot and set them aside. Pour your coffee and enjoy.
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