If you are serious about the taste and fragrance of your coffee, a coffee percolator will be a valuable addition to your kitchen.
These devices can transform your entire coffee-making experience and ensure your coffee is as delicious as it gets.
However, when using a percolator, everything boils down to how correctly you time the process.
So, how to know when a percolator is done?
How to Know When A Percolator Has Produced the Perfect Cup of Coffee?
How long you let a percolator brew will determine the flavor and intensity of the coffee. Most percolators produce coffee with a mild flavor in six minutes. If you wait for eight minutes, the coffee will be rich and dark. Instead of going by the time, you can also recognize if a percolator is done by monitoring the bubbles.
7 Things to Look for When Using a Coffee Percolator
New electric percolators automatically shut down and stop perking when the coffee is ready.
This saves you from guesswork.
However, if you prefer the traditional stovetop variety, you can still get a perfect cup of coffee by timing it right.
Look for these different factors that will help you identify if your coffee is ready to serve.
1. Watch the Bubbles
Stovetop percolators have two chambers—a lower chamber for the water and an upper chamber that holds coffee beans.
When you heat the water, it passes through a tube over the coffee beans, and the liquid drips back into the bottom of the pot.
This process repeats and results in a fragrant and rich brew.
Now, most percolators have a clear or transparent top where you can see the water bubbles rise and fall.
With a little practice, you will be able to identify when your coffee is ready by observing the color of the bubbles.
Initially, the bubbles will be plain water. However, they change color as the percolation progresses.
Their color will deepen over time as the water gets infused with coffee.
You can identify whether the coffee is mild or strong by looking at the color of the bubbles.
Depending on how strong you like your coffee, you can stop the percolator when the bubbles achieve the desired shade of brown.
2. Wait Till the Perking Sound Stops
When brewing coffee in a percolator, a few extra minutes can change the outcome drastically.
Slightly overshooting the time will result in a stronger brew.
It can even make the coffee bitter if you exceed more than a few extra minutes.
Coffee percolators produce a sputtering sound called “the perk” during percolation.
This sound slowly reduces and disappears as time progresses.
With some practice, you can correctly identify when the perking stops.
When the perking stops, it means the coffee is ready.
You should take the percolator off the heat at this time.
However, if you are unsure of when the perking sound disappears, it’s safer to rely on a timer.
3. Set a Timer
Watching the bubbles in a percolator is enjoyable.
However, the real benefit is that it allows you to achieve the perfect intensity of flavor.
But you must first get used to your percolator to recognize when the color is just right.
If you are still learning, it’s better to rely on a timer to get your timing right.
Most stovetop percolators make coffee ready in six to eight minutes.
So, you can set your timer for six to eight minutes, depending on whether you like your brew mild or strong.
Brewing for six minutes results in delicious coffee.
Leave it on for up to eight minutes, and the flavor and aroma will intensify.
Start the timer only after the water in the percolator starts boiling.
If you start it as soon as you place the percolator on the stove, your timing will be off.
Hence, your coffee will not be as flavorful as you like.
Alternatively, you can boil the water ahead of time and start the percolator with boiled water directly.
In this case, turn on the timer as soon as you start the percolator.
4. Don’t Leave the Percolator on For More than Eight Minutes
We said earlier that the ideal time for percolation is six to eight minutes after the water boils.
We don’t recommend leaving the percolator on for any longer than eight minutes.
Take the percolator off the heat as soon as the coffee is done to avoid over-percolation.
If you leave it on the heat for much longer, the coffee will end up being bitter.
Too much heat will release the bitterness of the coffee beans and ruin your coffee.
Overheating will also mask the subtle flavors of the brew, and it will lose its appeal.
If you aren’t familiar with a percolator, we suggest starting with medium or light-roast coffee beans.
Dark roasts can make coffee overly bitter even if you slightly overshoot the timing.
You will also find that the flavors intensify rapidly, allowing little room for error.
You will be better off with a light or medium roast since they are more forgiving.
5. Adjust the Water Temperature
Just like time, temperature is another factor to account for when using a percolator.
The right temperature will ensure that the brew turns out well.
If the heat is too high or too low, it will affect the brewing process.
So, your coffee will not turn out as expected.
When using a percolator, the water should neither be too hot nor cold. Too much heat will result in over-extraction.
Meanwhile, if the water isn’t warm enough, the coffee beans will not release all their flavors.
The ideal heat for a percolator to operate is medium heat. Wait till the water comes to a rolling boil.
Then, reduce the heat and let the water simmer.
The water should gently simmer throughout the percolation process and not boil too rapidly.
This will allow it to extract the flavors slowly and gently from the coffee beans.
An easy way to ensure that your percolator is operating at the right temperature is to look at the spout.
No steam should come out of the percolator.
If you notice any steam, it means that the temperature is too high and the water is boiling too rapidly.
Immediately reduce the heat to prevent over-extraction.
6. Allow the Coffee to Rest Before Serving
A short resting period after the percolation process brings out the best flavors of coffee.
So it’s not advisable to serve the coffee right away after removing the percolator from the heat.
Once you take the percolator off the heat, remove the coffee grounds from the basket.
The percolator will be very hot at this time.
So be careful while handling it. Always use mittens while opening it to remove the coffee basket.
Allow the coffee to sit for a few minutes.
If any grounds have made their way into the coffee, this brief resting period will allow them to settle to the bottom.
So there will be no ground bits in your coffee when you pour it into a cup.
Related Reading: Various Ways to Clean Electric Percolators | How Does a Percolator Know When To Stop?
7. Electric Percolators Need No Supervision
An electric percolator solves all the concerns associated with stovetop percolators.
These appliances have an automatic shut-down feature.
This means the device will automatically shut off and stop brewing once the water reaches the desired temperature.
Since electric percolators stop on their own, there is no guesswork involved.
They will always stop operating at the exact same time. So you will always end up with a consistent brew.
Some of them even come with a keep warm feature that keeps the brew warm after completion.
However, these appliances are much costlier than their stovetop counterparts.
