Presto 02822 6-Cup Stainless-Steel Coffee Percolator

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 owned a newfangled coffeemaker one cup at a time but realized quickly coffee is not same taste.i like mine strong.im one person household so dont need a 12 cup.this 6 cup fits me just right and its quick ,hot,strong.just how I like it

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.