Features:

  • 500-watt classic stainless-steel percolator brews from 2 to 6 cups of coffee
  • Circulates hot water through grounds, creating that familiar percolating sound
  • Ready-to-serve indicator light; detachable cord; drip-free spout for graceful serving
  • Automatic keep-warm mode; cool-touch knob and handle; stay-cool bottom
  • Measures approximately 7-1/2 by 4 by 10 inches; 1-year limited warranty. Please note: Coffee percolator will brew six -5 ounce cups (standard coffee cup)
I went back to the original and still the best - a percolator

After owning a Cuisnart Grind and Brew, a Bunn NHB Drip Coffee Maker and a Bunn My Cafe (single cup), and a french press, I went back to the original and still the best - a percolator. This type of coffee maker paired with an electric bean grinder is the best cup of coffee you can make at home in my opinion. I like the design, and no frills operation of this percolator. The only thing I would say is be sure to pick the correct size for your needs... this is a 32 oz coffee maker which makes 6 cups, just be aware that a "cup" of coffee is based on a 5 oz size. Most mugs that you would use at home are much larger. With this coffee maker, you can basically make enough for 2 big mugs of coffee, and that is all. This is, however specified in the description and the directions - it's just something to be aware of.

Presto Fresh Perked In All Stainless Steel

We love our smooth, flavorful decaf, Presto fresh perked in all stainless steel. The Melitta center hole punched disc coffee filters are a dream. Presto percolators really do make better coffee. After almost four months of daily morning perks, we can honestly say, "Presto percolators make better coffee." Each cup begs to be sipped. So rich and smooth, with the perfect amount of bitter. We have tried 5 or 6 different brands of whole been coffee, some organic and others conventional. While fresh ground bean make the best coffee, the Presto perked a reasonable cup using even mediocre bean, some 6-7 days after grind. The Presto holds coffee hot, while maintaining a fresh taste, even as long as 70-90 minutes. This occurred when we mistakingly forgot that the coffee was brewed, and after 90 minutes "on hold" our coffee tasted as wonderful as our usual fresh pot. We use center punched disc filters because we like to grind our coffee slightly finer than a typical perk grind, which is a ratio 2/3 traditional perk grind to 1/3 traditional drip grind. The disc filters prevent finer coffee granules migrating into the pot below. Overall, after nearly four months of daily, and sometimes two or three pots per day, coffee perking, we are in love with our Presto. Presto makes the best coffee, compared to any other coffee method (drip or french press) we've tried. Presto beat our Cuisinart drip maker from the very first pot. Absolutely no fair comparison there. If you love really great coffee, only the kind you can seem to find at the very best, small back alley, non-commercial, non-chain, gourmet coffee shop, with the old rusty sign and cracked tile floor, then you'll absolutely love Presto perked coffee in the comfort of your own kitchen. Buy it. You'll love it, just like we do.

good, strong cuppa joe

Something about the taste and sound of a percolator. Haven't used one in years and got to drink a bunch of perc coffee on vacation. Bought this when I got back home. Works best without filters - get the right grind and get used to a little grind in the bottom of the cup. Knocking the basket against the bottom of the sink upside down usually serves to unclog the tiny holes from any coffee that may have lodged. I add some ice to the water before brewing to make the coffee stronger (cycles through the grinds more as it only stops heating when a thermostatic switch kicks off the heater coil. Best if consumed soon after brewing stops. Just like a drip, the longer it sits and is heated, the likelier the coffee will taste burnt or bitter. Great tool if you like coffee that is strong and that tastes like coffee.

Makes a Coffee Snob Happy

I enjoy coffee, the whole process of coffee. Over the years I have tried just about every kind of brewing method from French pressing, to drip, to Turkish. When the last drip maker we had, (I believe it was our fourth in 10 years,) gave us its last drop, I very happily placed the Chinese plastic exactly where it belonged and sought out once again to find a satisfactory coffee maker. This Presto makes a very good cup of coffee. I've experimented with different grinds and find one that is just a bit coarser than a regular drip, not as coarse as a press, works best. The coffee is brewed at around 200 Fahrenheit, a perfect temperature in my opinion. I use the Melitta 628354 3-1/2'' Disc Coffee Filter you can find at Amazon. The clean up is stupid-easy, too. Against all better judgment and just to get a baseline, I kept the Presto plugged in for 6 six hours and was pleasantly surprised that the coffee stayed perfectly hot and only lost a bit of flavor. I recommend a high quality insulated steel or glass carafe to keep your coffee warm if you like to drink a pot through the day like I do. Don't misunderstand me, I am not at all pleased with this unit being made in the People's Republic, the ONLY thing that made me consider it was that it is all stainless. My hot coffee never touches plastic, even good old American-made plastic. And no, I'm not some tree-hugging, all natural-touting vegan that would tell anyone else why they shouldn't embrace the evils of plastic; but if I have the choice between steel or plastic to make coffee, there really is not contest. Over all, I've been very happy with this unit and recommend it. And Presto, if Maytag can make a refrigerator in the US, maybe you can make a percolator here, too...just saying.

Tips for a genuinely amazing cup of a 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!!!

HOT coffee, solidly built, and great price!

We have had this percolator for a few months. We switched from a keurig after or teen boys started drinking coffee. We suddenly needed a full pot (or 2) every day. We were never happy with the temperature of the coffee out of the keurig either. If you took coffeee on the go it was cold in 5 minutes. After researching drip makers and looking at them at stores, I was not happy with the quality of them. They are all made of cheap flimsy plastic and are over $100! My husband and I discussed our good memories of percolators brewing as kids. Our grandparents used them. I had a small 6 cup stove top version and we experimented with it first. We loved the coffee! My 16 year old insisted we get a percolator. I got this model because of all the great reviews. For nostalgia sake I wanted one that had a clear knob on the top to see it bubble, but no other model had the volume of positive review this one had. It is easy to use, and makes great tasting, HOT, coffee. I use the wrap over filters and use the grocery store grinder on the electric PERC setting to get a more coarse ground coffee. Love it!

A great, reliable percolator that keeps your coffee hot but not burned; DON'T wash with dishwasher detergent, though

I bought this exact same percolator about ten years ago and made the mistake of following somebody's advice to wash it by putting dishwasher detergent in it and running it through a perk cycle. This served to pit the metal piece on the bottom that the percolator spindle seats down into, and metal started flaking off into the coffee. I stopped using it because I was afraid of being poisoned and was thinking I'd try to find the parts to replace that piece at some point. I finally broke down and just bought another pot. It's the exact same pot I had before, and it works exactly the same way. I read somewhere that percolators burn your coffee, so this time I took pains to measure the temperature of the water both immediately after perking and after it has sat there for a while. As soon as I was able to remove the lid after perking, meaning the water had cooled somewhat, my reading was 188 degrees F, and then it hovered around 186 thereafter. This seems about right to me, because I figure the water is probably perking through the grounds at a little higher temp but not by much. The coffee sites recommend to brew from 195 to 205 degrees F, so that's pretty darned close for something you don't have to do anything to. I did invest in a package of those disk-shaped coffee filters, and I have no trouble whatsoever with coffee grounds in my coffee. The first few pots of coffee I made in it (after washing the pot out first as instructed, of course) didn't taste very good—then it dawned on me that maybe it was the bleached filters. I put the screen from my little-used 32-oz. French press into the basket instead (fits perfectly!), and the taste problem disappeared so that must have been it. We make 8 cups (which is actually 40 oz. of water, not 64 oz.), and that's just right for the two of us to have two full mugs of coffee in the morning. Using the "1 coffee scoop for 2 cups" method, with "one for the pot" on top of that, the coffee strength is just right for us. (I use a 1/8-cup scoop, which is 1 oz. or 2 level tablespoons.) After we finish our coffee, I immediately dump the grounds and rinse out the pot, then leave it unassembled to dry out during the day. At night, I prepare the next morning's pot, which is on a timer so it'll be ready when we wake up. But it doesn't take long to perk a pot; figure about one minute per cup.

If you're like me and love coffee why must we rush something ...

If you're like me and love coffee why must we rush something that gives us so much enjoyment. I grew tired of Automatic drip coffee, used different brands over the years and though ready when I awoke in the morning I was not enjoying that first sip. Dissatisfied with my lukewarm cup of joe I decided to harken back the days of ole when one would take time to make coffee. To my surprise the Presto 12 cup did just that. I loved hearing that percolator and to my delight was a piping hot cup of coffee that I longed for that was brewed to perfection. I've had now for a week and tested with an instant read thermometer the temp of the coffee as I pour. 203 degrees. I found using the 1-4 cup coffee filter fits perfectly into the basket which is a must to absorb the 2 types of diterpenes found in coffee. The substances are trapped by the filters that can be responsible for elevated cholesterol levels. Wonderful coffee maker and highly recommend.

Good value at this price point.

A good workhorse. We have used this 4 or 5 times a week for the last 9+ months and neither my wife nor I have any serious complaints. Heats up quickly and brews a good pot of coffee. A glass knob on the top of the lid to view the coffee color would be fun, but not really needed since it shuts off perking automatically. Keeps coffee hot until unplugged. Glad to have this one after 20 years of drip makers.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

Hallelujah! I love this coffee maker! It's so simple & no frills, but it makes a great cup of coffee. Why did they move away from these in the first place? Our first coffee maker was a Keurig that quickly became insufficient for our needs. We then graduated to a 12 cup drip coffee maker. It had a clock, a timer, strength settings, etc, but the results were inconsistent despite our having the ratio down to a science. When it died less than two years later, I decided to try a percolator. Boy am I glad I did. It's SO easy to assemble, clean, and brew coffee. I love that it's stainless steel, that your coffee stays hot for as long as you'd like, and that it looks stylish on the counter. Oh, and you can also use it to brew tea! Bonus! It was a perfect purchase & we couldn't be happier. If you want to simplify your coffee routine, definitely give this brewer a try. This baby is a gem.

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