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There are many ways to make a cup of coffee at home. While most people wonder what is an easy way how to grind coffee for percolator, some prefer to go straight for an instant coffee mix to avoid the effort.
But real coffee lovers take their time to grind their favorite coffee beans and brew it to make a cup of coffee with their preferred taste.
One of the most common ways to make coffee is by using ground coffee beans in a percolator.
While using a percolator is considered a traditional coffee brewing method, this method is effective and is loved by many.
If you are curious about grinding coffee for a percolator and how it works, you have come to the right age.
Read on to learn more!
How Does a Coffee Percolator Work?
Coffee percolators work by allowing boiling water to rise through a tube of a perforated chamber.
The hot water filters through the ground coffee beans and flows back to the lower chamber, and the cycle continues.
This results in a very strong and tasty coffee as you get a double brewed coffee.
Timing is crucial when making coffee with a percolator, as it determines how perfect your coffee will be.
You can easily know if your coffee is ready by looking at the brew's color since it constantly changes as the percolation continues.
Though this method is considered a traditional way of making coffee, many people still use it.
Why Does the Coffee Grind Size Matter for Percolator?
When making coffee with a percolator, the coffee grind size matters a lot, and there are various reasons for that.
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It’s important to understand that the extraction rate, flow rate, and contact time will vary depending on the coffee grind size.
The extraction rate is usually high when the coffee beans are finely ground since they have a large surface area.
If you want to brew your coffee for higher contact time, you will have to grind the beans very finely to increase the surface area. But make sure that you don’t overdo it as you might end up with over-extracted coffee.
If you grind the coffee beans too coarsely, the contact time will be short. This will result in very weak coffee.
Therefore, you should ensure that you grind the coffee beans to the right fineness to avoid weak or over-extracted(bitter) coffee.
Why Burr Grinder is Better than Blade Grinder for Percolator Coffee
If you ask any coffee lover about burr and blade grinders, they will tell you that a burr grinder is far better than blade grinders.
When it comes to grind size and flavor, burr grinders deliver the best results, provided you set the mill to grind to the right fineness.
However, burr mills are more expensive than blade grinders. But their quality and consistency outweigh the price.
When using a burr coffee grinder, the best grind setting for percolator is the medium coarse fineness.
Medium coarse fineness is also the best grind for a stovetop percolator. Too small grounds may dissolve in your coffee or lead to more bitterness.
How to Grind Coffee for a Percolator
Brewing coffee with a percolator takes longer than other brewing methods. This means that your coffee may get bitter if the coffee beans were not ground for percolator brewing.
Grinding coffee for percolator requires a coarse grind, which is the best grind size for percolator coffee.
Though you can use any coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans, a coarse grinder offers the most consistent grind you need percolator.
The good thing with a burr grinder is that it will stop grinding when it has ground the coffee beans to the specified fineness level.
The type of roast of the coffee beans used is also a crucial factor to consider when making coffee with a percolator.
A darker roast may produce a burned flavor or too bitter coffee brew, while a light one may not give much flavor as desired.
Hence, medium roasted coffee beans are the best as they tend to taste better with no bitterness.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Grind Coffee for Electric Percolator
Percolators have long-brewing processes and coarser filters and thus require coarsely ground coffee.
You don't want a bitter-tasting coffee, so you should have the best coarse coffee grinders with you.
The recommended coarse coffee grinder is the burr grinder. It’s quite pricey but worth as it allows you to grind the coffee beans to your preferred coarseness. Blade grinders may give inconsistently sized granules.
Once you have the burr grinder, open the hopper and fill it with coffee beans up to the hopper’s maximum level and close it.
Burr grinders come with a quantity of selector. You can use it to select the amount of coffee beans you want to grind. Since you are grinding the coffee for the percolator, adjust the fineness selector to medium coarse.
When you connect the burr grinder to electricity, turn on the mill and let it grind the coffee beans until it halts. The coffee grinder will stop when the specified fineness is achieved.
What is the Best Grind for Percolator Coffee?
It is essential always to grind coffee to the right grind size as it affects the quality and taste of the percolator coffee you get.
The grind size is also crucial because not all grinds can be sieved by the percolator filter basket.
Unlike other traditional coffee makers, the percolator cannot filter too fine particles. If you have too fine particles, many grind particles will find their way into your coffee, which will make it concentrated and bitter.
A coarse grind will result in a clean and well-filtered coffee. However, if the ground is too coarse, the coffee will not be very tasty. The ideal grind for a quality percolator coffee should be medium.
A fine grind will be over-extracted while coarsely ground coffee may be under-extracted.
Depending on the amount of roasted coffee beans available, you can adjust the ground's size to ensure you get a good tasting percolator coffee.
If you have less roasted coffee beans, you can make a finer grind to increase your beverage concentration. But if you have enough roasted coffee beans, then a fairly, coarse grind will be okay.
What Grind of Coffee is the Best for Percolator?
Usually, coffee must be dried, roasted, and ground before it is ready for brewing.
Not all sizes of the ground will be fit to be used in the percolator. Moreover, the ground size also affects the flavor of the brewed coffee.
Keep in mind that finely ground coffee will be over-extracted and this will result in very bitter coffee. Too coarsely ground coffee will result in less tasty coffee as it will be less extracted.
The filtering basket of the percolator is coarse as compared to the traditional coffee brewers.
A medium coarsely ground coffee will be the best for the coffee percolator because they cannot go through the filters. On the other hand, a fine grind will go through the filter and then into the coffee.
While grinding coffee for the percolator, ensure it is very coarse to have a clean, tasty coffee.
Brewing coffee through percolation will extract the full flavor from the ground coffee. If your coffee is darkly roasted, you may end up with bitter-tasting coffee, and you don't want that.
If you will be roasting the coffee beans yourself, ensure they are medium roast.
Can You Use Fine Grind Coffee in a Percolator?
You can use fine grind coffee in a percolator depending on the amount of coffee beans you have. However, this is not recommended.
Much of the fine ground will go through the filter of the percolator and into your final coffee. This is because of the course filters in the percolator, as discussed above.
The percolator will usually over-extract fine coffee, and this may result in concentrated and bitter coffee. Similarly, when the coffee is too coarse, the percolator will under-extract it and result in a less concentrated coffee.
Usually, a medium ground will work fine for the percolator. You may opt to make a finer coffee grind when you want concentrated coffee, but you have fewer coffee beans.