Brewing Coffee With a Stovetop Percolator
We have an ice storm on the way. If you have ever experienced a winter storm, you know the value of a good cup of coffee. But, what do you do if you lose power? If you don’t have a generator to connect to, that coffee maker just taunts you from the counter. Having a stovetop percolator and knowing how to brew a pot will come to the rescue!
How to brew coffee with a stovetop percolator
- Fill your pot with cold water to just below the basket level, some pots will have fill lines.
- Add your coffee grounds to the basket just as you would with a drip coffee maker. For 8 cups, we use 3 ½ heaping tablespoons of ground coffee. But this is to your taste and may require some experimenting.
- Secure the basket in place inside your coffee pot and put the lid on.
- Set your stovetop burner to medium heat and watch for the water begin to bubble through the glass knob on top of the lid. Don’t allow it to bubble too hard, this will make bitter coffee. Adjust the heat if needed.
- Allow the coffee to brew for 6-8 minutes, depending on your taste preference. You can watch the coffee darken as it bubbles in the knob to gauge the strength.
- Once the brew looks right, remove it from the heat and allow it to sit for a minute to cool down and settle.
There you have it, you have brewed a pot of coffee on your stovetop!
What if you don’t have a gas stove?
You can use a stovetop percolator on an outdoor grill with a burner or on a camp stove. If you are really in a pinch, you can always channel your inner Ingalls and brew a pot over a fire in the backyard or in your fireplace, if you have one!
Where to find a stove top percolator
Stove top percolators can be found in the camping section at Walmart and in sporting goods stores. If you’re looking for a vintage percolator, they are readily available at antique stores.
Happy brewing!
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Ha, I love this! I’ve been using a percolator almost exclusively for about 10 years now, because I have limited electricity and no stove. I use mostly my camp stove burner outside when it’s not too windy, and I have made coffee over a fire too. In the winter I like to use a woodstove and since my percolator has a rim on the bottom and doesn’t sit flat against the woodstove, I bought a half inch thick round piece of metal that fits inside the rim. I just keep that on my woodstove and place the percolator on it when I want to make coffee. It’s not ideal, it takes forever to get it to boil, so I often make coffee at night and keep it in a thermos overnight to have something hot first thing in the morning. Sometimes I just end up making cowboy coffee.
Sounds like you have a good system worked out! We figure out how to make it happen..ha! We too have used one for years. They really do make the best coffee and if you have a heat source, you can make coffee! 🙂