Classic Stainless Steel Yosemite 12-Cup Coffee Percolator

[UPDATE: After two years of daily use, it continues to flawlessly percolate incredibly delicious, hot coffee. But the little screw-in rings around the plastic top finally began to break down, so I ordered a couple glass replacement tops (they come in a two-pack): 2 pack Fitz-All Replacement Percolator Top, Small (2) Works great. Looks a little different as the top is a little bigger and you can't use the black ring around the base (it won't fit under the glass), but I don't have to worry about plastic in the brew.] I've had this pot for close to a year now (purchased Feb 2014), and just have to write a review. After my last drip coffee maker broke after only two years (because they're all made in China now out of cheap junk), I decided to try once again to find a better, more affordable way to brew an excellent, smooth, delicious and HOT cup of coffee. I've tried them all, drip, press, pour over (including the popular Japanese Hario), Italian stovetop Bialetti, none of them make it the way I like it, and most of them deliver lukewarm coffee by the time you get it to your lips - and I hate microwaved coffee, tastes awful. The only thing I haven't tried is a Keurig type single-serve machine, as they're expensive and will just break in time, same problem as drip. And then I came across this little wonder on Amazon, read the astonishingly good reviews and decided to risk giving it a try. I mean, $20 isn't a lot to risk. And WOW. I remember my folks percolating coffee when I was growing up, they used an electric percolator at home and a stovetop percolator for camping, but I assumed that was an inferior way to make coffee given all the fancy gadgets on the market now. Was I ever wrong! It not only makes good, hot, smooth coffee, the smoothest coffee any maker can make. It brings out flavor nuances I didn't even know coffee had, makes cheap grocery store coffee taste wonderful - and for the first time in my life, I'm experimenting with all kinds of coffee beans from all over the world, and finding out why everyone raves about rainforest shade-grown coffee so much, especially organic. I mean, I've tried it before, I just didn't think it tasted that much better for the price. But it turns out that percolating coffee at a low temperature (simmering, percolating is NOT boiling) for just the right amount of time (5-7 minutes, once it starts percing) keeps the water just hot enough, and saturates the grinds so thoroughly, that every bit of flavor is extracted along with the coffee sugars that shade-grown coffee produces, with not a hint of bitterness (cheap coffee is grown fast in the sun, and doesn't have time to develop the full flavors or sugars). It gives the coffee not only flavor and depth, but subtle sweetness. And talk about flavor! Depending on what you're drinking, where it was grown and how it was roasted, you'll taste earthy notes, sweet notes, smoky notes, chocolate notes, fruit notes, caramel notes, nutty notes - it's every bit as fun as tasting different wines or handcrafted beers! But like I said, it makes even cheap coffee taste really good, and it even tastes delicious black - I've always loaded up my coffee with cream or milk, because black coffee has always tasted horrible to me. Not anymore! I enjoy it both ways now. I've gotten into it so much, I've even started measuring grounds by the gram on a digital food scale, instead of just scooping it out - the difference in grams really affects the flavor, and you can fine-tune the amount to get it just how you like it. And I've found that different beans and roasts need different amounts to taste the best, some more, some less. And the coffee is HOT. I make a full pot, and pour it into a good-quality Thermos carafe (I use a Thermos Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Carafe, 51-Ounce ), keeps it hot and fresh-tasting for hours. No more lukewarm coffee, or burned coffee from sitting on the drip machine plate. And if the power goes out, I can make coffee outside on the gas grill, or take it camping with me. The great thing about a stovetop brewer instead of electric (I considered both) is you can experiment with temperature, length of percing and amount of grounds to get the coffee to taste just how YOU want it to. I've really had fun experimenting, and find that rainforest coffee can be perced longer (because more sugars and less acids), whereas cheap coffee in a can (sun-grown, full of acids and few sugars) should be perced less, or the acids start to come out. A few practical notes: first, read the instructions. It comes with great instructions for brewing different amounts and strengths and other helpful tips. It takes longer to brew a pot than drip machines, about 20 minutes for a full pot, 15 to bring it to perc temperature (enough to grab a quick shower) and 5-7 percing. And you can't set it on a timer so it's ready when you wake up. It also takes a little extra washing up each day, between the pot itself and the thermos carafe, and it needs to be hand-dried on the outside to keep up the nice shine (or you get dried water spots on it). For coffee this good, it's worth it! And it's nice to know you have CLEAN parts each day (instead of mold or bacteria that can build up in drip machines). But very busy people might not like that part of it so much, and sometimes I use a press or something else for a quick cup on super busy days when I have to get up and out really early and don't have time to wait for the pot to brew or wash it up after. Or I just get up a little earlier, I hate to miss my percolated coffee... Experiment to find out how long it takes to reach a good steady, percolating for the amount you want to brew - and then USE A TIMER. If you forget to turn it down once it starts percing, it will overheat and boil and produce a horrible, nasty tasting brew. NEVER boil the grounds! Heat on medium-high heat, not high, to avoid boiling, and turn it down low or medium-low for percing. It works great on gas or electric stoves. I have a ceramic top electric, set it right on the burner (no trivet needed), heat it on 8 (out of 10) and perc it on 2.8. You can perc it hotter, up to 4 or 5 maybe, it just depends on how you like it to taste. I find that the lowest temperature to keep it percolating regularly brings out the smoothest, sweetest, mellowest flavor, which is how I like it. People who like a stronger, punchier cup can use more grounds at hotter temps. Experiment! Some have complained about the clear plastic top deforming with the heat. I keep mine a little loose as plastic expands with heat, and have had no problems. But you can also buy glass replacement tops through Amazon. You don't have to use a filter, but I do (just a regular drip basket filter, which I poke down over the stem in the basket), as I use a lot of pre-ground coffee which is made for drip machines and finer than percolator grind, hard to find and a little coarser, a little of which can get into the brew, though not much. The paper also helps filter out the oils which can contribute to heart disease. I just dump it all into my composter each day (coffee grounds are great for the garden, btw). If the spring that supports the basket on the stem ever wears out, you can buy a replacement for that, too. Someone complained in an older review that the handle broke off because glued. Either the manufacturer changed it or the reviewer was talking about a different percolator, because this handle appears to be screwed and riveted on. In fact the whole unit appears well made and solid. Over time, coffee oils will build up on the inside, including inside the stem and inside a couple of curled narrow lips inside the pot (one at the top and one at the bottom, due to how the pot is constructed), staining it and which can affect flavor. The way to get rid of them is to perc a pot using dishwasher powder instead of grounds - scours it clean, and leaves it looking like new. I've done this twice now in the nine months I've had it, and it works great. In all, I'm amazed this humble little pot can produce such a fantastic brew. Turns out they really knew what they were doing in the "old days," and they did it better! No more newfangled coffee gadgets for me, filling up landfills as they break, just delicious, smooth, incredibly tasty HOT coffee from a pot that should last a lifetime.

Skeptical at first… We like our coffee hot and to stay hot during the morning. This is something that our drip coffee makers have not been able to do over the years because of their temperatures or automatic shut-off features. We also have well water which has a slight mineral content that has eventually destroyed every coffee maker that we have owned by slowing the drip process to the point that it takes an hour to brew a 12 cup pot of coffee. So, in searching for a new coffee maker I came across this stove model percolator. It has all metal internal parts that are easily disassembled and cleaned. The metal straw-like tube that sends the hot water to the coffee grounds is large enough not to become clogged by well water minerals—and can be easily cleaned with a pipe cleaner bristle brush. All other parts a just as easy to take apart and rinse of or hand wash. The percolator is nice stainless steel and after washing/rinsing we just dry it and let it sit on our stove next to the teapots. It looks good on the stove. We were mostly worried that without using a paper filter that the regular ground coffee from the can might cause the grounds to get into the coffee during brewing. However, we have found that this is not the case. Our coffee of choice is Yuban which looks to be the same grind size as Maxwell House, Folgers, or most other canned coffee we have tried in the past. We did have to ply with the mix a bit. We usually use two level 1/4 cup scoops for a 12 cup pot of automatic coffee pot coffee. This wasn’t enough for the percolator pot. Increasing it to two heaping mega-scoops seemed to do the trick. So probably adding a third scoop would be enough. ***So the percolator will cause you to use a bit more coffee per pot. The coffee basket has small enough holes that it doesn’t seep through. So no additional paper coffee filters needed—which is a plus. For a 12 cup pot of coffee we just fill the pot to the 12 cup line with COLD tap water. The pot has various raised/indented fill line markings that can be seen on both the inside and outside of the pot. Put your coffee in the basket, put the basket lid on, put baskets on the straw tube with base, and put the lid on the pot. Put the pot on the stove. We put the pot on one of our stoves small burners which is the exact size as the coffee pot. I have tried different temperature settings. I find that on a burner setting of 7/10 the coffee will start percolating in about 20 minutes and by the 30 minute mark the coffee is perfect. Boiling hot and not bitter or chalky tasting at all. We just turn the burner off and let the pot sit on the burner and continue to percolate until it stops on its own. The pot stays hot on the burner for quite a long time (a few hours) like a teapot. Our overall thoughts on this coffee percolator are all positive. We really don’t have anything negative to say about it. It’s all stainless steel (except for the plastic handle and plastic pot lid). You can see when its starting/stopping to percolate, easy to assemble, simple to clean, don’t need any additional filters—unless you use some type of ultra-fine ground coffee, and the coffee tastes better and is significantly hotter than the plastic coffee makers that we continuously have to replace. So if we want fancy bougie high society foamy flavored Breakfast at Tiffany’s hockey puck type coffee we will use our pomp & circumstance Breville iPhone screen looking coffee computer machine with the premium grind beans and filtered water. But if I’m just making scoops of coffee from a can to get through the morning and actually make good black coffee, then this is my pick. Overall 5 stars…we love our percolator and we get a little counter space back by getting rid of the old coffee pot.

Makes great coffee and it's hot. That's what I wanted. Drip coffee maker coffee is not hot enough when done. You should not be able to drink fresh brewed coffee right after it's done. If you can it's not hot enough. That's why I got a perculator. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Looks beautiful on the stove. Takes up much less space in my kitchen. Excellent coffee maker for the money. If you like good coffee this is what you want plus a coffee grinder. I love it.

This coffee maker is a classy and classic product, taking us back to the days when coffee was made on the stove in a percolator. This product allows you to do that again. This review, which may be a bit lengthy, considers two questions: How good is the product, and how good is the coffee? These questions, while related, are different, but both are important to a decision on buying this coffee maker. The appearance of the percolator is outstanding. It's shiny and classy in a beautiful retro way; it *looks* like a percolator and doesn't try to be sleek and modern. It was modern in its long-ago day, and that look is replicated in this model. You'll certainly want to keep the shine and the beauty of the metal construction with careful and thorough cleaning after each use. The unit is sturdy. There is no worry about fragile glass carafes, non-immersible electrical parts, and so on. While I don't recommend dropping the unit, it will survive an average dropping incident --- those glass carafes would be history but not this percolator. The metal sides, top, and bottom are relatively thick, giving the unit surprising heft. It's made to fit exactly on a small gas or electric range burner. I don't think there is much risk of the bottom burning through with use; it seems heavy enough to last for a really long time. There are a couple of minor construction drawbacks (hence the four star, rather than five star rating). There is a spring that fits over the interior shaft that might deform with time, and certainly can be lost down a sink drain, so do take care with that particular part. The handle is attached with a screw that might work loose and need tightening, and over time this might be a problem as it is with so many pots and pans. Finally, the "perk" top on the lid is plastic and not especially attractive; it is a screw fit and I think it will wear with time and become loose. Fortunately, there is a nice after-market glass top that shows up on the Amazon product page, and it's well worth buying to replace the plastic top. The add-on glass top has the added advantage of improving the "retro" look and charm of the unit. As noted above, everything can be banged around the kitchen (within reason) and immersed in soapy water. While the unit has a lot of parts compared to a drip machine, and will take longer to clean, you at least *can* get it completely spiffy-and-like-new clean, whereas nearly all drip machines are really hard to keep fully clean, what with all the angles and nooks and crannies in the area of the basket. So, given that I'm convinced that as percolators go, this one is a gem: well-made, durable, attractive, and inexpensive, how good is the coffee? All the retro charm in the world won't matter if your cup of joe isn't satisfactory. And here's where it gets interesting. My research, and I did quite a bit before buying this unit, tells me that there are schools of thought about perked coffee. Some coffee fans think it's the worst thing you can ever do to coffee. Some think it's just great and that they've rediscovered a long lost secret (lost since about 1970, anyhow, when drip machines came on the scene and pushed percolators mostly out of the picture). General thought about drip coffee is decidedly middle of the road: drip coffee seems mostly viewed as good to good enough, but the high-end fans have a French press, do cold extraction, and engage in all manner of exotic coffee production methods in search of the perfect cup. I grew up on perked coffee (I prefer the spellings "percolator" and "perked"); the smell of coffee perking was a familiar morning sensation when I was a tiny lad in the 1950s. But I've used a drip machine most of my adult life, and I'm learning just how to make good perked coffee. This is taking a little time, and I'm coming to the conclusion that perked coffee may or may not be better than drip, but it is without any doubt different. 1. Perked coffee is much more work to make, and with a stove top unit, you really can't do this unattended. No clocks or timers, no automatic cycles. The upside of this, though, is that you have complete control over the process. 2. Perked coffee has a denser, fuller texture than drip, due to the water being cycled multiple times through the grounds instead of in a single pass. If you don't like this texture, you might think the coffee is muddy, compared with the relatively clear and smooth texture of drip coffee. If you do like the perked texture, you'll think that drip coffee is thin. It's a matter of taste. 3. There's more chance for error with perked coffee (as per point 1 above) and a chance for completely ruining the brew if you let the coffee boil. The risks with a drip machine are far less. 4. The percolator has more parts to clean, but at least you can clean them all and thoroughly (see earlier paragraphs). 5. Perked coffee comes out piping hot, and in the Yosemite unit, it stays hot for a long time. Compare with the significantly cooler coffee produced by many drip machines, and the wimpy warming plates on the cheaper units. What's my bottom line? I'll state it here, but don't expect the same results, because a lot is a matter of individual taste and habits. If you are a long-time drip coffee drinker, you probably won't like perked coffee unless you give it a substantial trial period and become accustomed to its differences. I like perked coffee for the hotness of the brew and the fullness of the extraction. For me, it's a better overall experience than drip coffee. I also think less expensive, everyday sorts of coffee are brewed to better advantage in a percolator, again because of the full extraction. (For anyone else in Hawaii or familiar with Hawaiian coffee, my idea of everyday kine coffee is something like Lion Classic, and da fancy kine coffee is 100% Kona.) While I have yet to use any of my 100% Kona coffee in the percolator, I expect that such less full-bodied coffees, with more delicate flavors, won't do as well in the percolator. Percolators are, if you will, a little on the violent side, and are not kind to sensitive coffees. So, to summarize: 1. I brew "everyday" coffees in the percolator on mornings when I am not pressed for time. 2. I brew "high end" coffees, such as 100% Kona, in the drip machine, and I also use the drip machine when I am short on time. I hope this review is useful and welcome further discussion and dialog.

I seen this pot on a blog and decided to check it out. I had a percolator style pot years ago, but I could not remember how it performed nor tasted. I am currently using an old Mr. Coffee drip machine. I have used Keurig and a coffee Ninja. The Keurig while very convenient, I could never find a coffee I liked. Also so many of the pods had a funny taste to me. The Ninja came up with the clean me now light problem. A real PITA and also a POS machine for the price. Clean me now please only to return in a week or two again. It is a known problem and if you doubt me, Google it. I gave both to the local Goodwill. So I decided to read some of the reviews here and then decide. Well after reading so many positive reviews, I decided I had to have one. Now all I needed to do was decide which one to order; the 8 cup or the 12 cup. The majority of the time, I am brewing a pot for just me. However on the weekends, I tend to make a bigger pot as my son will join me in drinking coffee. Reading through the description here I found where it states a cup is 4 oz. My Mr. Coffee manual has a cup as 5 oz. and I normally make 8 cups. So I did the math: 5 oz. x 8 = 40 oz. So 4 oz. x 10 = 40 oz. So I thought it best to order the 12 cup for a bit of room for the weekends. After using this pot a couple of times, I realized that I have a lot more coffee than my Mr. Coffee. So I decided to use an actual measuring cup to find out the truth. What I concluded is the Farberware cup is a 6 oz. cup and when I fill it to the 6 cup marking on the wall I have about 36 oz. for 6 cups. On the first few days I was making a bit more coffee than I normally do, and making it a bit too weak for me also. I measured the amount my favorite mug holds and it came to 12 oz. This pot when I make 6 cups will give me 3 good mugs of coffee. That is my intake for a normal morning of coffee. I now fill to the 6 cup mark and add 6 good scoops (tablespoons) of my coffee. I have been adding a scant amount of salt to the basket as one reviewer suggested. She claims it helps to offset the acidity. I can't swear to that, but I can swear that after using this pot for a week now, I will not be going back. The coffee is the best tasting I have made in my house. The smell in the morning is oh so delightful. I will say the coffee I use never tasted this good in my Mr. Coffee. I have a couple of brands and all taste better in the Farberware. The only drawback is the time needed to make a pot. I am retired so it doesn't bother me. If you are a worker bee, you will probably not want to spend the extra time. My 6 cup brew takes about 9-10 minutes to start the perk (boil) cycle. I then turn the dial to 3 and set the timer for 7 minutes. I turn it to the lowest setting when the timer goes off. I normally wait a few minutes before I pour the first cup too. I leave my burner on warm. I know this is getting lengthy but I also must say this; If you are like me, trying to decide between the 8 cup or the 12 cup, then here is a tip. If you read closely, you will notice the 8 cup comes with a plastic knob and the 12 cup comes with glass. I can attest to the 12 cup being glass. I can not attest to the 8 cup being plastic, however the descriptions validate my findings too. So if you decide to purchase the 8 cup and then buy the glass knob, you will be at the cost for the 12 cup pot anyway. Add to that if you compare the dimensions of the two closely, you will not find much of a size difference in the two pots. I would have chose the 8 cup if it had the glass knob. I hope this reviews helps to clarify these points for others out there. I will close by saying that I am very happy with my Farberware 12 cup percolator. I have put a cover over the Mr. Coffee for now. I will not be going back to the weak and lukewarm drip coffee any time soon. Signed; Spoiled in PA

This is what a percolator is supposed to look like. It's well crafted and study, unlike the pot It's replacing that I bought early this year.It's Faberware, a quality name. It's a bigger pot. It takes a little longer get to get to the perk stage, but works fine. The knob isn't going to keep falling out, unlike my old pot. If you are looking for a 12 cup or something smaller, this is the one to buy. Well worth the money spent....Oh, the coffee came out fabulous!

Great buy. Cooks coffee like my grandma taught me to. Hold 12 cups, easy to clear, great tasting coffee from a great coffee pot. Can't beat the price either.

Update 06-13-2025 I've realized an additional "problem." Nothing major, just a little inconvenient. Unlike my previous coffee pots which have a simple opening at the top. On this one, the wall curves in and under, creating a sort of lip. This "lip" catches water which makes it a little difficult to rinse any retained grounds out. This also results in retained water when the pot is "upside down" on a towel or drying rack. When you come back and the other parts are dry, turning this pot back to "right side up" brings the water (and grounds) back to the bottom of the pot Not a huge problem but it is an inconvenience, taking a star off when combined with the "one hole" issue noted below. The "one hole" also makes it a bit more difficult to get residual grounds out. If it weren't too late to return, I'd return it and purchase something with a slightly different design - probably a flip top like this - [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BF3J96J?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2]. The other pots in my picture have multiple holes and either a thin lip or none. The advantage, for me, with the smaller ones is that I can slosh some water in them, dump them and go. Its more work with this bigger one. The first two photos are of this item. The last three photos are of my old/smaller pots. All three make about the same quality of coffee. Incidentally, a search of my orders for "coffee pot" does not bring up this item. It does bring up my other coffee pot related orders. If I search for "percolator," all of my coffee pot related purchases show up. This may be important to the manufacturer or other sellers regarding exposure. Not being sure how the search algorithm works, I can't say for sure. Update 06-04-2025 I've used it several times now and really like the smoothness of the coffee it makes. Great percolator Would definately buy again. There is a very small downside. Not enough downgrade my initial five star rating but a little thing just the same. Previous percolators, including my smaller one, have multiple little holes to let the coffee out through the pour spout. This one has a single hole about lined up lower along the pour spout. The problem is (albeit a small one) is that when you are pouring the last cup, some of the coffee "slides around" the single hole and when returning to level, some of that coffee runs out. Its a small amount but, if you aren't expecting it, you may miss the cup. Its a very little thing but I'd rather it had multiple holes spread across the width of the pour spout. That, in no way, detracts from the great pot of coffee that you can make with it. It works as its supposed to. I needed a larger pot and this fits the bill. One of my main criteria for this purchase was that it would work on an induction cooktop - which it does. I had and returned a smaller version a few years ago because it leaked at the glass (plastic?) knob. This model has the addition of a plastic ring which seems to have corrected any leaking. Easy to set up, easy to use and easy to clean. I plan to have and use it for many years to come.

Good product, working and looking great!

Bought this coffee percolator everything was fine until the knob on the lid shattered while percolating, the shop did not have a replacement knob so offered me half price refund i agreed then i went searching for a knob to fit little known to me the only place i can get them is in US which cost $6 + $50 postage absolute joke, coffee pot as been sitting in my pantry since, if you do buy one of these make sure you know where you can obtain a lid knob locally because it will shatter trust me, very disappointed customer

Fantastic pot

Es práctica y hace muy rico el café

Si me gustó