Presto Stainless-Steel Electric Coffee Percolator, 12-Cups

Excelente cafetera. Fácil de usar y fácil de servir. A diferencia de las cafeteras de “vaso” o jarra de vidrio, este tipo de cafetera sí calienta el café como se debe además de dar un mejor sabor al manejar temperaturas más altas. Así es como deberían ser todas las cafeteras, ya que además no hay riesgo de que se te rompa o quiebre tan fácilmente. Por otro lado, puedes usarla sin filtro, lo que la hace además una opción más ecológica y barata a largo plazo.

We have tried several coffeemakers since starting our family (it takes a lot of coffee to fuel our two-working-parents-with-a-new-house-and-two-children-under-two household) and this, my friends, is THE BEST. To understand my rating you may need to know what we were looking for to begin with, and how this machine satisfied our criteria.

What we wanted
1) First, we needed hot coffee and fast!
2) Coffee must taste good
3) NO plastic – at least where the nearly boiling hot water comes into contact with it
4) Ease of use – KISS rule applies here, as we’re operating on very little sleep these days

How it performed

1) This pot knocks this out of the park. It only takes about 6-8 minutes to brew 6 cups. It is HOT and it stays hot for a long time (actually, it will stay hot as long as you have the machine plugged into the outlet, which is a really nice feature when we’re home on the weekends). A couple of our other machines actually took longer to brew coffee as we encountered filter problems and other issues. Side note – we keep a huge Brita filter of water in our fridge, and use it for coffee so we don’t need all the extra filtering of other machines.

2) The taste of coffee will be affected by many factors, not the least of which is the quality of your selected beans, the roast, how freshly ground it is, and using COLD water to begin, however even with the best coffees our previous coffee makers left something to be desired. This machine consistently makes delicious coffee. Seriously, it is such a pleasure to drink.

3) This one is really important. As we increased the amount of coffee we drink, we realized that pretty much all other machines involve plastic parts somewhere in the brew process, despite having metal baskets and the like. That means there is a pretty good chance some unhealthful substances could be leaching into the water, and into the coffee. We use steel and glass with our other beverages and for our children’s drinks – but had ignored the almost 16 oz of coffee a day we were consuming! This entire machine, with the exception of the base and handle, is steel. All that boiling hot water comes in contact with is metal. I suspect that also has something to do with how well it performs on the flavor scale.

4) Again, home run. This machine isn’t any more labor intensive to use than a Mr. Coffee or a Cuisinart. In fact, it might be simpler since you don’t have to pour water from a carafe into some silly little hole somewhere on the machine, risking spilling water all over the counter. Fill the carafe with cold water. Fill the basket with grounds. Insert bar, basket, and lids. Plug it in. Pour your cereal, hug your kids, pack your lunch, whatever you fancy. 8 minutes later you’re pouring a delicious, hot mug of joe. We have a grinder and only buy whole bean coffee. Sometimes we grind the coffee the night before to save time, but plenty of mornings we have grind it just before making the coffee. Still a simple and quick process..even when we are exhausted.

Additionally, you can make small amounts of coffee without needing a special setting. The coffee isn’t any weaker as a result, unlike other machines. I think this has to do with how hot this machine gets the water prior to brewing. It isn’t heating up along the way, like some other machines. So the first few cups are just as good as the rest. You can, however, make a big full pot, which is nice for us because our parents come to visit often and all drink coffee too. And the whole big pot is piping hot. That brings me to a negative aspect of this machine. If you brew a pot, and want another, you have to wait until the pot cools. I’ve been raving about how hot it makes coffee, and that it’s made of metal. Well, it becomes a dangerously hot piece of metal. Clean up is easy with this machine too. We compost our grounds so it is as simple as dumping the basket into our compost container, and rinsing out the parts. Something to be mindful of, though, is ensuring that you UNPLUG the machine before you leave. Best case scenario, you return to hot coffee in the evening, if that’s your thing, but I’m afraid of causing an electrical fire so our post-coffee routine is simply unplugging it before leaving for work. Again, it is usually too hot to clean right away so we do this in the evening.

You’ll notice some features we weren’t looking for, and which this product does not have:

1) Brew interrupt for pouring a cup while it is still brewing. We aren’t that impatient. We have plenty to do while we wait for the full pot to brew. But some folks may not like that.

2) Clock – we have that on our stove…and our phones…and our toaster oven…and our wall. We’re good with clocks

3) Programmable brewing – again, not necessary for us as we find using this machine to be quick and easy. We did enjoy this feature on other products (waking up to coffee brewing for you is so nice!) but the trade off for no plastic parts was worth it to us. Plus, my husband is so sweet about getting up first and making the coffee, so not much has changed for me in this way 😉

Well, this is the longest review I have ever written, but I know how people are about their coffee…because I am one of those people. I hope this review helps. We’ve had this machine for 6 months, it’s going strong, it looks cool on the counter, it’s easy to use and it makes one darn good cup of coffee.

I was looking for an easy to use stainless steel coffee maker. This is much easier to use than French press or pour over for me. Decent price. Good size! I could make enough to drink on all day if I wanted. The coffee stays super hot! I love the black matte color. Super sleek looking. This is easy to clean too. I don’t use the filters, so there’s a bit of grounds in the last cup, but I’d rather that than using filters. This coffee maker is easy to use and makes a great cup of coffee!!

My family has owned this percolator for 6 years now, purchased right here on Amazon in 2010, and I’m about to buy another one for work.

This pot has consistently delivered the best tasting coffee – better than all restaurants we frequent, better than friends and family’s coffee… just awesomely, amazingly good. I’ve had a couple of minor maintenance issues over the years (see below) but they were super easily overcome, and in general this has been a super-reliable and very inexpensive appliance. Honestly, this has to have been one of my most favorite appliance purchases ever. And all for less than $40. Take THAT, you overpriced, overly featured drip machines that make lousy coffee!! 😉

*TIPS*

With this, and any other stainless percolator, there are some basic guidelines to follow that aren’t necessarily in the manual:

1. DO NOT use a paper filter. Ever. Use the metal basket ONLY. The holes are tiny enough to allow the coffee through, but to keep 99.9% of the gains in. Using the metal basket without a paper filter allows the flavor oils that naturally exist in the coffee bean to STAY in the coffee and contribute to its amazing and full flavor. If you use a paper filter, you’ll lose the oils and get an “over-extracted” flavor that’s more bitter than bold… so don’t use a paper filter, follow the instructions, and you’re GOLDEN – perfect coffee every time. Yes, you’ll get a couple of grains in the last cup without a paper filter… whoop-de-do, just don’t drink the very last few drops of the very last cup – problem solved. 😉

2. Cleaning the pot: Make sure it’s clear of any build-up, but don’t scrub the interior… allow the percolator to become seasoned. It’s hot enough to prevent any bacterial issues, just like a wok or a cookie sheet. So let that puppy get seasoned, it’s perfectly safe AND more delicious over time! The key place for build up is the receiving “hole” at the bottom of the pot for the metal tube. That can build up coffee debris pretty quick, and if you don’t clear it, it will keep the metal tube from seating properly and you won’t be able to brew properly, if at all. You only need to scrape away the excess with a fingernail, and you’re good to go. The outside of the pot, however, feel free to scrub and make super shiny. It’s really a nice looking piece when cleaned!

3. Cleaning the basket: The basket’s tiny holes can get plugged up over a month or so of daily use. There’s two ways to deal with this: chemically (cleaners) or with a wire brush. I prefer the wire brush route and just tap the bottom of the basket, which instantly clears the holes and allows you to keep the years of perfect seasoning intact. Wire brush FTW.

4. When assembling the pot in order to brew coffee, if you don’t get the metal tube lined up with the receiving hole in the bottom of the pot, you’ll get a misfire where you’ll get a weak pot of coffee (at best), if not a mere pot of hot water. To ensure this doesn’t happen, once the metal tube is aligned with the receiving hole, twist it left and right like you’re trying to gently screw it in. It doesn’t actually screw in… the twisting movement simply forces it to pop into the hole if it isn’t in the hole already. Best. Trick. Ever.

5. Don’t overfill the basket with coffee – the closer you are to the top of the tube, the more likely to get grains in the bottom of the pot. However, don’t underfill or you’ll get weak coffee. Follow the instructions, and you should be fine.

6. It’s OK to let the coffee sit plugged in and ready to go for a long time as a FULL pot. If you’re going to be leaving less than half a pot for more than an hour, UNPLUG IT, the coffee can burn if it sits long enough, just like ANY coffee pot. However, I’ve let a full pot sit for 4 or 5 hours, plugged in, and it’s still not bad at all. Obviously, the fresher the better – just don’t let it sit plugged in with very little coffee left, or your coffee will be understandably less delicious than you were expecting.

7. MAINTENANCE: I’ve had to replace the wire/plug once because using it thousands of times caused it to develop a minor short. Any plug/wire off the shelf that fits will do… it’s just a straight up, no frills, 2 prong AC cable. Easy-peasy. I’ve also seen the screws holding on the bottom decay over time as they’re not made of rust-resistant metal, sadly. However, a quick trip to your local hardware store will get you brand new ones; just bring the old ones with and ask the hardware guy for help. I replaced the bottom screws about 2 years ago when they got too rusty, so I got 4 years out of mine. You might be able to forestall the rusty screws issue by covering the holes with hot glue to prevent water from getting up in there when you wash the outside. That’d probably work perfectly, but I haven’t actually tried it.

Finally, stop reading reviews, buy this pot, and enjoy your awesome coffee!!!