Coffee is an essential beverage for many people. It boosts our alertness in the morning and afternoons when we are feeling dull.
Taking coffee from different cafes is never enough for a coffeeholic. We always need to brew a mug or two at home to get our caffeine fix.
However, it’s hard to brew a good cup of coffee without using an automatic coffee maker. A popular coffee maker in homes and offices is a percolator.
While many of us think all it takes to brew percolator coffee is to scoop grounds in it, add water and wait for a hot brew, that’s not the case.
Although it seems to work sometimes, it is essential to measure your grounds when making coffee to get the best tasting brew.
But how do you determine the right amount of coffee grounds to use when making percolator coffee? Let’s find out.
What is Percolator Coffee?
You may not be familiar with percolator coffee and are wondering what it is. A coffee percolator is a coffee maker with 2 separate chambers. These chambers are situated one on top of the other.
Percolators can brew coffee anywhere. You can use them on a stovetop or a fire outside.
When brewing percolator coffee, grounds are scooped into the upper chamber while the lower one is filled with water.
Once you heat up the percolator, the water is pushed into the upper chamber containing coffee grounds. That process continues as you heat up the bottom of the percolator pot.
Continuously drowning the coffee grounds with hot water encourages the extraction of a strong and aromatic brew. You can make percolator coffee as strong or as weak as you like.
The strength of percolator coffee will depend on how long you boil the water in it. Since water is repeatedly passed over the coffee grounds during percolation, it’s easy to over-extract your coffee. That may also occur if you don’t measure the coffee grounds you use for brewing.
The best way to make a nice carafe of percolator coffee is by measuring your grounds and timing how long you brew the coffee.
Therefore, the first place to start when learning how to use a percolator is knowing the amount of grounds to use for a perfect brew.
How to Measure Coffee Grounds for Percolator Coffee
The ideal coffee grounds to use in a percolator are light roasts. Coffee made using light roast coffee beans is light and high in caffeine. It is usually characterized by pleasant notes such as fruity, floral, or spicy notes depending on the coffee beans you use.
Light roast coffee is mellow and low in acidity. Colombian beans make excellent light roasts.
Dark or medium roasts may result in a brew that’s too strong because the percolator keeps passing water over the grounds.
Ensure you use coarse coffee grounds for the same reason. It will keep them from falling through the upper chamber into the hot water and contaminating your brew.
You can use a conical burr grinder to ensure your grounds are uniform in size. Grinding your beans before brewing coffee is the best way to prepare a fresh and flavourful, and aromatic cup of coffee. Also ensure you use fresh coffee beans to make your coffee for the tastiest brew.
You can measure grounds for percolator coffee brewing using a tablespoon. One tablespoon of coffee grounds is enough to brew a cup of bold, flavorful coffee. That translates to about 12 gms of coffee grounds per 200 ml of water.
If you prefer weak coffee, use a teaspoon to measure your coffee grounds. A teaspoon is enough to make a cup of mild but flavorful coffee. That’s 6 gms of coffee grounds for every 100 ml of water.
Now that you know how to measure coffee grounds when making percolator coffee, here’s how to brew it. Note that you can increase or decrease the coffee grounds to water ratio depending on how strong or weak you like your coffee.
How to Brew Coffee Using a Stovetop Percolator
Ingredients
- Coarse coffee grounds
- Table spoon
- Water
Procedure
- Clean your stove top percolator using warm soapy water to remove any traces of leftover coffee.
- Pour water into the percolator reservoir, taking care not to exceed the maximum water level mark.
- Scoop coffee grounds into the percolator’s upper chamber and secure the lid.
- Heat the percolator on a stove or fire over medium heat for as long as possible. Once the water is hot and boiling gently, reduce the heat and allow the water to simmer. Avoid heating the water until it releases steam because it will result in a bitter brew without any flavor.
- Remove the percolator from the fire once the coffee is to your liking and place it on a percolator holder.
- Throw away the coffee grounds and let the coffee settle to ensure any grounds in it drop to the bottom of the percolator pot.
- Serve your coffee and enjoy.
Brewing coffee using an electric percolator is even easier. Add water to your percolator depending on how many mugs of coffee you need. Scoop in the required grounds and plug the percolator into the power outlet.
Percolate the coffee for as long as you like depending on how strong you want it. Electric percolators have sensors that ensure your coffee is brewed just right. Once it’s ready, remove the spent coffee grounds and serve your coffee.
Conclusion
That’s information on how much coffee grounds to use in a percolator. If you own a percolator, try our instructions on brewing percolator coffee and see how it goes. You may have been brewing coffee the wrong way all this while.
If you don’t own a percolator and would like to try one, there are several great percolators you can buy. They are great for brewing coffee for a group of people. Some examples are the 12 – cup electric Presto Percolator and Farberware’s stovetop 8 – cup percolator.
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