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perculator coffee pot?

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Old May 26, 2006 | 12:31 PM
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perculator coffee pot?

ok,i bought a camping coffee pot at walmart.and it is the perculator type. i thought I would try it on the stove before I took it camping this weekend. well,it doesn't work or I am doing something wrong. I put the coffee in the top part like I was supposed to,and let it cook so long the water was boiling and then some after that. pour it out,and what happens? plain hot water what did I do wrong or is something wrong with the coffee pot? I put water up to the bottom of the thing where the coffee goes. sorry for the lame post,but I enjoy my coffee in the morning when out camping
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 01:02 PM
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You have to let it perc until you can see the color in the water. The top part of the lid probably has a glass top so you can see the water when its percking. The idea is that the water boils, runs UP the tube in the center of the pot, comes out the top and falls down in the coffe lid, through the coffee grinds, and then out the holes, back into the water. There really isnt anything that can be WRONG with it, unless its missing parts. Its going to have to boil for a few minutes to get decent strength of coffee.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 01:55 PM
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Percolators are out of favor these days, as it was found that reheating coffee changes the flavor. That's what a perc-style unit does - reheats the coffee over and over again.

Still remember the percolator bubbling on the kitchen counter when I was a kid. It sure makes a neat sound; kinda soothing.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 02:02 PM
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Thats fine, but when you are camping, it is the BEST coffe you will have. Of course, if you are a starbucks coffee person, it wont taste good, but then again, those people dont go camping either. I prefer the taste to standard drip, but thats just me.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 02:16 PM
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You did use the stem that goes from the bottom up into the basket? I think the basket is suspended on the stem so you wouldn't be able to use the coffee basket without the stem, but not sure. Figured I'd ask.

If it was boiling, it should have been perking. The heated water boils up through the stem, into the plastic cap on the lid, and down over the top of the basket.
 

Last edited by olfordsnstone; May 26, 2006 at 02:41 PM.
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Old May 26, 2006 | 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by ag-ford-4x4
Thats fine, but when you are camping, it is the BEST coffe you will have. Of course, if you are a starbucks coffee person, it wont taste good, but then again, those people dont go camping either. I prefer the taste to standard drip, but thats just me.
When I'm camping in my travel trailor I like my perculator. When I'm packing into the back country, I prefer cowboy coffee. Just dump some grounds into a pot of boiling water for a while. then splash some cold water on the surface, and the grounds all sink to the bottom. MMmmmmmm Mmmmm Good.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 02:34 PM
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Wait a minute...... I am a Starbucks kind of guy. But I love coffee out of the percolator on the camp stove. Did you use enough coffee in it? I use more in the percolator than in the dripper at home (about 1/8" from the top). Seattle's Best in the percolator- nice dark grind.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by cjben
ok,i bought a camping coffee pot at walmart.and it is the perculator type. i thought I would try it on the stove before I took it camping this weekend. well,it doesn't work or I am doing something wrong. I put the coffee in the top part like I was supposed to,and let it cook so long the water was boiling and then some after that. pour it out,and what happens? plain hot water what did I do wrong or is something wrong with the coffee pot? I put water up to the bottom of the thing where the coffee goes. sorry for the lame post,but I enjoy my coffee in the morning when out camping
I believe that's too much water. Is it a Coleman? I fill mine about 1/2 way with water and it takes about 5 or 6 minutes after it starts to boil before you have coffee. No post about coffee is lame!
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 03:09 PM
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I use one of the blue camp coffee pots too, but it takes more than 5 minutes to get coffee the way I like it. Takes more like 20-30 minutes of perking. Don't fill it with so much water that it touchs the basket and you did put the basket cover on, right? The flat lid with holes in it? And it did perk right? Need to hear the water hitting the top of the lid.
 

Last edited by scole250; May 26, 2006 at 03:25 PM.
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Old May 26, 2006 | 06:50 PM
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Actually it should start to gently perk before it boils. That's when you start turning down the heat, a little at a time, just enough to keep perking but not to boil over. Using a propane camp stove is easy this way.
The perkulator I use is the one my parents had from the fifties. I still use it on all my camp outs. When my son goes camping with out me it comes out of the camp supplies, it stays with me, sentimental I guess.
 

Last edited by mike93; May 26, 2006 at 06:55 PM.
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Old May 26, 2006 | 07:14 PM
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Since you are camping, fix camp coffee. Take the guts out of the perculator and throw it in the garbage. Fill the pot with 2/3s water. Put on the camp fire and get it to a boil. Take a single handfull of coffee grounds and throw it in the pot. Put a stick over the top of the pot so that it won't boil over. Let it boil about 5 minutes. Take the pot off of the fire and take a small amount of cool water and pour just around the edges of the inside of the pot. That will put the grounds at the bottom of the pot. Have a cup of the best coffee known to man. Perculators, now there's a womans tool.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 07:26 PM
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One other camp coffee trick from an old Scoutmaster... After the coffee has boiled take it off the stove/fire and stick a flaming stick out of the wood fire into the coffee, stir a few times. The activated charcoal on the wood takes any bitterness out of the coffee and also settles the grounds. -Try it!

Instead of raw ground coffee you can also use those pre-made coffee filters containing coffee like giant tea bags. Just throw in one or two or three depending on how you like your coffee. The flaming stick trick still works.
 

Last edited by Torque1st; May 26, 2006 at 07:31 PM.
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Old May 26, 2006 | 07:29 PM
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I just use the Folgers coffee singles when I camp. You can't screw them up. Pretty much idiot proof.
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 07:30 PM
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Yeah, those kinds of things...
 
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Old May 26, 2006 | 07:38 PM
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I still like the cowboy coffee. Or as Flash called it, camp coffee.

Torque, I'm gonna try the charcoal stick idea when I hike the High Sierras with my kid this summer. Although when I'm up at 9000 feet camped next to a small lake, cookin up some fresh caught breakfast trout on the fire, that bitter taste aint so bad.
 
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