Coleman 14-Cup Stove-Top Percolator - Product Review

At our house, we like coffee. Bad coffee is like bad food. Neither should ever be consumed. And yet we turned on the drip coffee maker day after day and accepted the sludge that it produced. Argh.

So I went on a search for a great homemade cup of coffee. I tried different brands of coffee, and reached the same conclusions we've reached before. Maxwell House tastes like old cardboard. Folgers smells pretty good when you first open the can, but it has little flavor and the aroma is gone five minutes after it has been opened. Starbucks varies according to the kind of bean and roast, and I never remember which ones I like. (Apologies to the barista in the family.) Dunkin Donuts was the favorite coffee in US taste tests at one time, and we really do like it. But for price and flavor, we usually go with Eight O'Clock whole beans, and I mix half French roast and half Colombian. That is the coffee I based my tests on. I also used reverse-osmosis filtered water for all coffee.

I borrowed an almost new Mr. Coffee coffeemaker, and used my own filtered water in it. Why does Mr. Coffee always seem to burn the coffee? I don't know how it ever became such a big seller, except that the Mr. Coffee machines that cost $250 are probably better than the $69 ones. I don't know anyone who has a $250 coffeemaker.

I had one of those free Gevalia coffee makers. The Gevalia coffee causes major headaches at our house, so we don't drink it. My freebie Gevalia coffeemaker was worth exactly what it cost, because it quit working shortly after it was plugged in. I knew of some other Gevalia coffeemakers lurking in some other kitchens, so I tried them out. One of them also didn't work anymore, and the other worked but made weak coffee. I doubled the coffee in the basket, and it still wasn't great. I also tried a Sunbeam and a Cuisinart 4-cup, neither of which produced anything to brag about.

So I thought about this. A French press makes good coffee, but they are way too hard to clean out, and they only make a couple of cups at a time. I need at least a thermosful. I decided that a percolator was the answer. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new Sunbeam stainless steel electric percolator. (It was the only percolator they had.) Man, was I primed for some good coffee! Washed it out, set it up, and plugged it in. The next thing I knew the counter top was flooded with water and the GFI circuit was blown. Apparently there was a flawed seal between the heating element and the coffeepot reservoir. I opted for a refund, even though MaryLou at Wal-Mart asked me if I wouldn't rather exchange it for an identical one.

So a-shopping I did go on the Internet. All those pricey coffeemakers on the flashy Web sites were way out of my league, and I ended up at Amazon. Eureka! Made by a company that has been a personal trusted friend for decades. Coleman. I ordered it, the beautiful speckled blue enamel 14-cup stove-top percolator.
I couldn't wait for it to arrive.

It is perfect. Makes great coffee every time. Nothing to plug in. Nothing to wear out. Nothing to break...(wait, somebody dropped the lid and cracked the glass knob, but I have a new one ordered).
It's portable, and it will work with any heat source, including a wood stove or campfire!

My beautiful speckled blue enamel 14-cup stove top percolator takes a little longer than that old electric drip thing, but then it is making me two additional cups. Small inconvenience for a great cup of coffee.
And there's something friendly about that glurping percolator noise.