When growing up, I remember my sister and me making coffee for our parents in the aluminum percolator pot. I remember many times hearing my dad say, “This coffee is terrible!” or my mom say, “Don’t let the coffee run over.” Making coffee when you didn’t even drink it was no fun. How were we supposed to know when it was done? We didn’t even know how it tasted! We would fill the pot with water to the line marked inside the pot. Sometimes we were more accurate at filling to the line than other times. We measured out an amount of coffee grounds to put in the aluminum basket with the hole in the middle, depending on how much water was put in the pot. The basket fit over a rod that stood in the middle of the pot. Then there was a lid to put over the basket to keep the coffee grounds in and another lid to cover the entire pot. We had to wait until it started to “perk” in the pot, making several trips back and forth to the stove to watch the glass globe on the lid. Once we saw the water start popping up into the globe, we knew it would soon start turning a brownish color. We had to make sure the fire wasn’t up too high or the coffee would come out the spout all over the stove, even if it wasn’t done. What a mess! Once we decided the color in the globe was dark enough to really be coffee, we would pour a little into a cup and take a look at it and make a decision by the color. If we were in a hurry, I am sure they got some very weak coffee. “Yep, this looks done. Pour them a cup and we can go do our own thing.” Another scenario was forgetting the coffee pot was on and just walking away from the stove and the pot boils over (I am still very well versed in forgetting there is something on the stove).
Then those Corning ware coffeepots were invented. The ones you plugged into the wall. Yes, now that is much easier. I remember the white pot with the blue flowers or some sort of design on the outside. Someone finally invented a good coffee pot. We were in heaven!
Next I remember the electric pots that have a water reservoir. Fill the reservoir with water, lift a lid and put the coffee grounds in the plastic basket and put the glass pot underneath it. Turn on the switch and the water heated, poured over the coffee grounds and then came out into the glass pot when it was done. Making coffee got easier but you could still get bad coffee if you didn’t put the right amount of coffee in the basket. I have had disasters with these pots too by not placing the pot correctly under the basket and the coffee flows all over the place, not in the pot.
I bought Ken a Keurig coffee system for Christmas. It makes great coffee and is the easiest so far. I am not going to say that this is the best coffee pot because I thought we had the best a couple times before. Who knows what will be invented next? With this pot you buy K-cups, coffee enclosed in small plastic cups similar to the little creamer containers you get at restaurants. You put your water in a reservoir on the side of the machine, turn on the power and let it heat. When the lights turn blue you lift a handle and insert the k-cup into the slot. When you push the handle down, there is a little needle that pierces the K-cup to allow the water to run through it. The light starts to flash and you choose whether you want a small cup (making the coffee stronger) or a large cup (to fill a larger cup or to make the coffee weaker). The machine heats the water, lets it stream over the K-cup unseen, then the coffee comes out into my coffee cup. When it is done, you hear a little hiss from the steam and the coffee stops coming out. Coffee done. One cup at a time. Very simple and lots of flavors to choose from. But finding the right type and brew of coffee in K-cups is a trial and error thing. You may have to try many different flavors before you find the one that suits your taste.
Friends of ours, Bill and Kathie, use the aluminum percolator pot like I used when I was a kid at their cabin in PA and we had the pleasure of having the “best coffee in the world” out of their pot while visiting there. We couldn’t get over how good that coffee was and it was made in a pot that was so very old. Kathie has begged Bill to let her get another type of pot but he refuses. “Why would we get another pot when this one makes the best coffee in the world?” I thought he was just joking when he would talk about this pot until I tasted their coffee. It was great. Kathie has a knack for making some good coffee. No the BEST coffee. I didn’t think I would ever taste such good coffee again in my life.
Last year Bill and Kathie brought us the best coffee pot we have ever had in our life. Kathie searched on the internet until she found just the right one for us. It looks like the one they have in their cabin; an aluminum percolator pot that was personalized by Bill with the words, “Jan & Ken’s Good Coffee” painted in hunter green on the front of the pot. The pot they have in their cabin is also personalized in hunter green saying something like “The best coffee in the world” or “Bill and Kathie’s Best Coffee.”
We love using this pot on the weekends. During the week we don’t take the time to use it because we are hurrying to get things done to get to work. I just took a sip of coffee from this pot. While I was writing this blog, the coffee pot behind me was heating, and then boiling the water, then I could hear it start to hiss a little, then it was brewing, sounding something like a train whistle. I could smell the aroma of the coffee filling the camper. Ken watched it (as I forgot about that part again) and when it was done he brought me a steaming hot cup. My first sip was so hot I couldn’t taste the coffee. The newer coffee pots don’t make coffee this hot. I know better than to drink it too fast but I do enjoy the heat. My coffee stays hot longer and I don’t end up drinking cold coffee. Mmmmmm...Now this is coffee, darn good coffee. No I think it is the Best coffee (besides Bill and Kathie’s coffee).
This pot is now so valuable that we will need to include it in our wills. No matter what type camper we have or where we are camping, this pot will be going with us. This pot is so valuable that Ken now says, “If there is a disaster, I’ll go back in and get the pot first!” As long as I know where I stand, I am good. Ken jokes that when we get company, he hides this pot so it is not “taken” by an envious friend or family member. They don’t make things like they used to but I am glad Kathie took the time to find this pot for us. Thank you again, Kathie and Bill, for a gift that will be used for many years and generations to come.
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