Presto 02822 6-Cup Stainless-Steel Coffee Percolator

I’ve been having fun with this little guy and really like it. It brews in just a few minutes and keeps the coffee hot without boiling for a long time. And the coffee has a fuller flavor than drip. Some tips are: 1. Use a percolator grind. That’s bigger than drip and smaller than French press if you grind your own, or about 3/4 of the way to coarsest. If you buy packaged ground coffee, you’ll need to use a paper filter as the grounds (which are meant for drip) are too small for the metal mesh and a lot more slip through and continue to stew in the coffee after perking making the coffee bitter; you’ll also lose some of the oils that give perked coffee its full flavor. I think not using a filter sets is apart from a drip method. 2. The cup size says “about 5 ounces” but that’s deceptive. The 6 cup mark lets you fill it with 28 ounces of water, or 4.66 ounces before brewing. That’s already small but you lose some water to the grounds. Filling the water to the 2 cup mark and 3 tablespoons of grounds produced 9 fluid ounces of coffee, or 2 4.5 ounce cups. To get 2 12 ounce mugs,, I filled it a bit over the 4 cup mark with 5 tablespoons grounds and got just under 18 fluid ounces for 2 9-ounce fills. This was perfect for adding cream and sugar. 3. It’s about the same size to store in my cabinet as my OXO single cup drip maker, and that does not include the box of filters or a kettle for heating water. For someone struggling with small spaces, this little guy is perfect. So I’d recommend this pot for someone who wants to brew at most 3 smaller/2 larger mugs of coffee or a small mug and a small to go container for the road or who is going true retro with smaller cups and saucers. If you want a percolator for larger amounts, buy the bigger version. Plus the pot has to cool between uses to brew properly so brewing multiple pots doesn’t work well. Get a long skinny brush to clean out the inside of the stem and the spout every few uses. I’m old enough to remember that it was the rancid buildup in a percolator that turned people towards tepid Mr. Coffee.

Recently I was looking for a totally plastic-free way to make more than one cup of coffee at a time. Currently, there are no automatic coffee makers available that fit this stringent requirement. Most plastic-free setups are single-cup pour-over or require stovetop use, and I’ve got those already. Enter this tiny electric percolator. I already own a couple of larger vintage percolators and use them from time to time to make quantities of coffee when needed. However, some or all of those percolator parts are aluminum. I own a steel stovetop percolator, but for daily use, I wanted something I could fill, turn on, and let do its thing without me having to hover or add water or monitor it. This is a great percolator for one or two people who might use 12-15-oz to-go mugs. The total amount of water at the “6 cups” level is about 26 ounces after brewing (I know; it’s weird coffee math). Coffee snobs and people who make profits off of selling more coffee beans for wasteful brewing processes (I am looking at you, cold brew) will tell you that percolated coffee is horrible because the same water perks though the same grounds a few times and the oils aren’t “extracted” from the brew. Don’t listen to them. Perked coffee tastes better than anything else I’ve had, even those fancy, $6, coffee shop “pour over” brews. I like bitter and cloudy. It makes me feel alive! Maybe it’s because I am a child of the seventies and I was raised on percolator (and boiled/cowboy) coffee, but percolator brew tastes richer and more full-bodied, and, most importantly, it can be much more economical to make. One level tablespoon per cup seems to work with almost any grind. “Percolator” grind is coarser than drip, which might waste more beans, but you also won’t get grinds in the bottom of the pot or your cup if that really bothers you. What with coffee being a tropical, imported bean from which we are losing trees and carbon sequestering, making an economical pot of coffee should be a priority, and not wasting precious, imported beans seems logical. Not to mention the aforementioned quest to go plastic-free as possible for morning beverage-making. You can get paper filters that fit these percolators, and this machine comes with a few of those. That paper bit will filter and capture some of the oils and grounds that make percolator coffee objectionable to some people. The filter basket works just fine, though, without them. Most commercial grinders at stores still have a “percolator” setting, and you can grind beans at home slightly more coarsely if needed. I find that a regular, pre-ground drip grind works fine in this pot, though. I know. I am utterly barbaric! Cleanup of this pot is easy and the innards can be machine-washed. I expect this thing will still be perking long after I am gone, assuming we still have a viable power grid in the 2100s. If not, my ancestors can use my stovetop percolator over an open fire. Assuming they can get the beans, that is. Enjoy your coffee while we still have access to it, fellow Westerners!

I really have trouble with reading others reviews because it's so subjective. You have to read the poor ratings and compare them with the overly hyped ones that sound like the manufacture paid someone to write it. But I can assure you I'm not paid, but am extremely happy with my choice of this wonderful coffee pot. It's the best perked coffee I've had since I was a kid and used our old fashioned percolator on the stove every morning. I loved watching the coffee in the glass top. So when choosing this particular one, I wanted one that was not so big since it's just my wife and I but big enough. This one is perfect, gives us both two cups of coffee and makes it in five minutes, so if you had company, it would still do the job. I have to say however that they include filters which to me makes no sense in a percolator, but trust me it's like stuffing paper bags into a tiny tin with some grounds in the bottom. And the filters they provide make no sense, good luck trying to make to make them fit. You can't keep the lid on, it's ridiculous. I've used it without filters like I did when I was a kid, and unless you use a finely ground coffee I get no grounds in the bottom at all. But if I do use something where some does get into the coffee, in sinks to the bottom and doesn't come out in your cup ever, unless you fill your cup with every drop in the bottom of the pot, but who does that anyway? So if you're concerned about the coffee grounds with this pot, don't worry, you'll never have any in your cup, the holes in the strainer are very small, and most important, if you use filters, you lose the oils that make coffee taste smooth, which is what filters do... filters. It look nice on the counter, and it's not huge like the large one that also is a nice coffee pot. I chose the one without the glass viewing top because they tend to leak and break, and this one does not...but you can hear it perking and the smell of fresh perked coffee is the best. I'll never use the pod type again, you'll see how much better your coffee tastes when it's fresh perked. The only down side I have is you have to be careful when cleaning it that it's not submerged or a lot of water drips down the side and could leak into the pot base. It's not that water can't run a little down the side, but if you were to submerge the pot you'd short it out and probably have problems, but that's true with all electric coffee pots. It also doesn't have an automatic shut off, which to me makes no sense, how hard would it have been to add that, and I do worry that if I forget to shut it off when I leave and there's only a tad of coffee in the bottom....well, you get the picture. But to be honest, I bought this coffee pot for two of us or just me since it makes two to six cups and both levels tastes as good. So I unplug it as soon as were done with our coffee because after it's brewed it's extra hot, and will stay that way unplugged for at least an hour. So regardless, I would buy this pot again any day. Hope this helps in your decision. Oh by the way, they recommend a level table spoon per cup, but for me it is a tad strong unless you like it that way. Five table spoons for six cups is perfect like you get in a nice restaurant, and about a table spoon and a half or less for two cups. Just my preference, you can experience on your own. Hope this helps with your decision. Presto also had a very good reputation and stands behind their products....service after the sale is the most important to me.

Love the pot so far. The 4 instead of 5 stars is because the “cups” measurement is just wrong. Maybe for a little girls tea set cups it’s accurate but not a typical American coffee mug. I fill the pot to the top of the #4 cup marker each morning and I get 1 1/2 coffee cups of coffee. The smaller pot is great for one or two people who want a cup or cup and a half each, but it’s definitely not going to yield 6 cups of coffee. Pro tip, I’ve discovered you don’t need the filters and the best ratio of coffee=~1 tablespoons per cup using the pots scale. In other words I put 4 tablespoons of ground coffee in the grounds holder and fill it to just at the #4 line in the pot and the coffee is perfect. Cheers

Presto & percolator companies at large do not tell you the benefits of modern percolators. 1 - They double as kettles. This particular model stops running immediately after hitting boiling temp, perfect for tea and other coffee brewing methods. 2 - This means your coffee gets made at a near-boiling temp, which is recommended by most coffee lovers, vs. cheap machines maxing out at 175. 3 - With no filter needed, they are super easy to clean. 4 - This gives me quality coffee at 1/4 of the price of something like the OXO brewer at $200. Personally, I like the taste of this better. I didn't care for the overly clean almost "chemically" taste of that coffee, you might as well have tea at that point. That machine is no longer used. Long story short, I've tried all sorts of brew methods, from Mr. Coffee to V60's. Only thing I haven't tried is the Aeropress. This delivers a cup closest to a French Press, which also happens to be the tasiest way of brewing (to me). I use medium ground coffee (both Dunkin' brand and better whole beans from the local Black Hills Coffee Company), and don't use any paper filters. I don't have an issue with this, so I'm not sure why it would be a requirement other than a little ground/sludge in the bottom of your percolator. I have ground the whole bean a little coarser, but being a French Press lover some sluge/grounds really don't bother me, I've come to appreciate them. It's probably 90% as good tasting, which is more than good enough for me in the morning. I plug this in, and the light comes on while I'm doing other things. I do have simpler tastes. I can definitely tell a difference between whole bean & pre-ground coffee. I'll still drink both without issues. So for me, this is fine. If your tastes are more descerning, then you'll be spending a heck of a lot more for something better.

We have purchased three of these coffee pots. All have the same problem in that we love the pot but it will not produce consistent results. Sometimes it makes excellent coffee and other times it is so weak that it is almost clear. There is nothing you can do to produce drinkable coffee every time. Our only solution has been to check the results after each pot is brewed. If it is too weak, then pour one cup of coffee. Carefully remove the top cap and the grounds cover. Slowly pour the freshly brewed cup of coffee into the top of the grounds and let it drain through into the pot. Replace the covers. Test. You'll find that you now have an excellent pot of coffee! It's a bit crude and inconvenient and you need to be careful to use a towel or other protective item to prevent possible burns. However, this will solve your problem.

I love this little guy. I use regular grounded coffee and u don’t really need a filter. Coffee comes out great, tho I would not say it provides 6 cups unless you are using china coffee cups. I get about 2 nice size ones and that’s all I need. Takes about 10 minutes and ur coffee is ready.

I have been a satisfied user of Prestos 12 cup coffee percolator for decades; so when I needed to purchase this smaller cup model I figured it was a no brainer. Unfortunately; I was wrong. It was the smaller verion; absolutely. And it was perfect For making smaller amounts as I had planned. However, what I did not plan on was finding that the coffee maker had changed the composition of the metal lock nut down inside the vessel; and therein lies the reason for the poor rating. This important piece which is inside the vessel and which is always in contact with the water and the subsequent coffee you will be making; is not stainless steel but is instead made of some type of inferior metal composition now. Why is this important? Because, when it is heated... It turns black and it discharges some type of residual particulate which continuously contaminates the water inside the vessel. I noticed it the first time I used the coffee maker and rinsed out the contents. There it was, big as life; the metal had begun to turn black in areas and when I wiped the inside dry with a clean cloth to further inspect this; black residue was all over the cloth. I then decided to fill the coffee maker with fresh water and this time not putting any coffee bean grounds inside the vessel as usual. It would just be clear water alone. I plugged it in and it heated the water as usual. When it was finished; I inspected the water. To my horror; there was a residue floating in the water. So, I rinsed it out again, wiped the interior dry and inspected the lick nut and my clean cloth. The locknut was blacker; having turned even more black and there was even more black residue on my cloth. I repeated this five more times. Everytine there was a black residue floating in the clean water after heating and the metal turned blacker. I dont like metal residue in my coffee. And so I emailed the company but never received a reply... As of yet. I wouldnt use this coffee maker again. Something has changed in the metal used for the vessel and its inferior and concerning... So beware.