What to Buy Coffee, Tea & Espresso The 4 Best Coffee Percolators, According to Our Tests Brew a bolder, more robust cup with these electric and stovetop models. By Greg Baker Updated on January 24, 2024 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Our Favorite The Tests Factors to Consider FAQ Other Percolators We Tested What Didn't Make the List Our Expertise We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Food & Wine / Amazon In an age where boutique beans, home grinders, bean storage methods, and intricate brewing systems exist, it’s easy to give a percolator the side eye. But percolators still have a place in this world. According to Jesse Raub, coffee expert and former commerce writer at Serious Eats, it’s often nostalgic. “Some people who grew up drinking percolator coffee want that kind of a flavor profile,” he says, adding that the temperature of percolator-derived coffee tends toward more bitter and sour flavor notes because of the boiling involved in the process. Percolated coffee, however, isn’t intrinsically lousy. When we tested 20 electric and stovetop percolators, we found ourselves describing the coffee as bolder and more robust than the same beans brewed through more contemporary methods. One of the more common uses for a percolator these days is outdoor activities like camping. Yes, there are alternatives, like the moka pot, but from experience, I can say that the moka pot is a terrible piece of camp equipment because it’s hard to locate a cup close enough to the fire to catch the coffee without getting far too hot. A percolator will just sit on the fire, doing its thing, with no additional cup finagleing necessary. I keep one in my camp cooking box. While it may only see the sun every couple of years, there are no components that will wear out in storage, so it’s a safe, reliable bet for my morning camp coffee. Taking the low-tech features of percolators indoors, they’re handy when you need to brew coffee in quantity for family or group gatherings. They’re great backup coffee makers, too. If you have a gas stove and lose power, which is a semi-frequent occurrence during storms where I live, that percolator can be your caffeine-delivery best friend. So, now that we’ve defended the humble percolator what’s the best model for you? Is electric better or stovetop? Large format or traditional? Keep reading and see our test results to help you make that decision. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Elite Gourmet Classic Stovetop Coffee Percolator at Amazon ($28) Jump to Review Best Electric: Farberware 12-Cup Percolator at Amazon ($77) Jump to Review Best Value: Cook N Home 8-Cup Coffee Percolator at Amazon ($25) Jump to Review Best Large: Farberware Yosemite Coffee Percolator at Amazon ($38) Jump to Review Best Overall Elite Gourmet Classic Stovetop Coffee Percolator Amazon View On Amazon $28 View On Home Depot $23 View On Sears.com Pros It’s a sturdy, compact percolator that brews a full-flavored cup of coffee. Cons The plastic handle can get hot, so use caution and keep a towel or oven mitt at hand. The Classic Stovetop from Elite Gourmet lives up to its name. The easily recognizable design evokes images of percolators of old. This sturdily-constructed model brewed 8 cups at once in about 15 minutes on a gas stovetop, yielding a 170°F finished cup. The plastic handle didn’t present any issues with heat; although, if we were using this on a camping trip, we’d be cautious with it around an open flame. This model outperformed a drip coffee maker in terms of fully developed flavor, with no discernible grounds in the cup. It’s entirely dishwasher safe, making it easy to clean, and its small form makes storage a non-issue. Capacity: 8 cups | Weight: 2 pounds | Brew Time: 15 minutes Food & Wine / Petra Sharkas Food & Wine / Petra Sharkas Food & Wine / Petra Sharkas Best Electric Farberware 12-Cup Percolator Amazon View On Amazon $77 View On Wayfair $80 View On Walmart $80 Pros This Farberware percolator is easy to load and pour from, and it produces a rich, bold cup in a short time. Cons We’d like to see more evident water level indicators, as the interior markings are hard to read. We like the Farberware 12-Cup for its solid build and snug-fitting internal components, which didn’t shake and rattle when moved. The large capacity is great for small gatherings, families, or people who drink a lot of coffee over the day. The keep-warm feature held the temperature for 45 minutes in our tests, which helped with the longevity of a fresh cup. Comparing the finished product, the "perked" coffee had a richer, bolder flavor than one usually achieves from a pour-over. Its tall, narrow form allowed for easy storage, and all the parts were easy to clean and dishwasher safe. Brewing took 12 minutes, and we produced finished coffee at temperatures between 190 and 200°F. There were no noticeable grounds in the cup, but we had to use a little trial and error to find the right grind size to ensure that. Capacity: 12 cups | Weight: 1 pound | Brew Time: 12 minutes Food & Wine / Ciara O'Grady Food & Wine / Ciara O'Grady Food & Wine / Ciara O'Grady Food & Wine / Ciara O'Grady Best Value Cook N Home 8-Cup Coffee Percolator Amazon View On Amazon $25 View On Walmart $27 View On Wayfair $37 Pros The Cook N Home is a simple, solidly built percolator with an excellent handle design for comfort and avoidance of heat from the burner. Cons Brewing took longer than expected, and the finished product had trace amounts of grounds. This well-built percolator from Cook N Home has a good-sized basket and a sturdy handle design that kept it safe from the burner, minimizing the chances of getting too hot to hold. It was intuitive to use, with a distinctively marked fill line, and pouring was easy, with no leaks or drips. All the pieces fit snuggly inside, with little rattling or jiggling, and it was easy to store. These attributes and the sturdy construction made it a top choice for traveling or camping. The components are all dishwasher safe and came apart quickly when we were ready to clean them. When we assessed the flavor, the coffee tasted less bitter and more robust than the same coffee made in a drip maker. Brewing took 21 minutes, and there were trace amounts of grounds in the coffee, but not enough to be bothersome. Capacity: 8 cups | Weight: 2 pounds | Brew Time: 21 minutes Food & Wine / Halee Miller Food & Wine / Halee Miller Food & Wine / Halee Miller Food & Wine / Halee Miller Best Large Farberware Yosemite Coffee Percolator Amazon View On Amazon $38 View On Wayfair $46 View On Walmart $45 Pros The Yosemite is easy to use and clean, and makes a large quantity of coffee in a relatively short time for a percolator. Cons The design doesn’t allow you to fully empty the percolator when pouring or cleaning without turning it upside down to remove the last bit of liquid. The Yosemite is a great stovetop model for families, groups, or the highly caffeinated. It has a 12-cup capacity and brewed in about 24 minutes: 15 to boil and the remainder to brew. The design is sturdy and avoids one of the design issues of percolators past: the handle design keeps the grip far enough from the burner not to get uncomfortably hot. Its size might present storage issues or affect its portability for offsite or outdoor use, but that’s not surprising with a higher-capacity model. There were no grounds in the finished coffee, and the flavor compared to that of a drip coffee maker, though the coffee’s initial temperature of 195°F masked the taste until the cup cooled a bit. The percolator was easy to clean, but the manufacturer recommends hand-washing to extend its life. Capacity: 12 cups | Weight: 2.5 pounds | Brew Time: 24 minutes Food & Wine / Marissa Gimbl Food & Wine / Marissa Gimbl Food & Wine / Marissa Gimbl Food & Wine / Marissa Gimbl Food & Wine / Henry Wortock Food & Wine / Henry Wortock Food & Wine / Henry Wortock Our Favorite Judging a favorite was challenging, as all of our Top Picks had perfect or near-perfect scores. Balancing price, capacity, ease of use, durability, and flavor, our favorite remains the Elite Gourmet Classic Stovetop 8-Cup Percolator. The Tests Our testing consisted of a relatively simple process; we filled the percolator with freshly ground coffee and operated it per the manufacturer’s instructions. We then brewed the same coffee using each of our preferred methods (pour-over, drip, or French press, depending on who was testing), and compared the flavor of the finished coffee. While testing the percolator, we gathered data in the following areas: Design: How sturdy is it, overall? Does any component seem cheap or poorly made? How comfortable is the handle to hold from an ergonomic standpoint? Does the handle feel hot during use?Ease of use: How easy is it to brew the coffee in the percolator? Is it easy to fill and add coffee grounds? How easy is it to pour the finished coffee? Are there any leaks? Is it easy to move around and store?Performance: How long does it take to make the coffee? What temperature is the finished coffee? Are there detectable grounds in the coffee? How does the coffee’s flavor compare to the roaster’s tasting notes? Are there different flavor results between the percolator and the alternate method? Are there any inconsistencies between the batches? If the percolator has a “keep warm” function, how well does it perform?Ease of cleaning: How easy is the percolator to clean, and are any parts dishwasher safe?Durability: Did the percolator get damaged during testing? Did anything break? For stovetop models, would we take them camping? Factors to Consider Stovetop vs. Electric Electric percolators are convenient because they often have a pre-determined brew time and a keep-warm feature after brewing and are frequently faster than stovetop models. Their dependence on electricity limits their usefulness during power outages or, say, camping trips. Depending on size, they also don’t store as easily as a stovetop percolator. Stovetop models are wholly analog, allowing for over or under-brewing as the user monitors the process via sight and color. They tend to have a smaller form factor, are therefore more easily stored or stowed, and are independent of an electrical heat source. They tend to be slower when it comes to brewing, though. Capacity In general, the higher the capacity of a percolator, the longer it takes to brew. A smaller percolator is good and relatively quick if you’re only regularly making coffee for one or two people. Suppose you’re occasionally brewing for larger groups. In that case, Raub points out that you could buy multiple, smaller percolators and easily store them to accommodate this without getting into the higher price of a large-format model. But investing in a larger model makes sense if you’re regularly brewing for a large group. Brew Time Compared to other brewing methods, like a drip coffee maker or Nespresso, percolators take a long time to brew. Our winning models took between 12 and 24 minutes to make a pot of coffee. Like most coffee makers, the percolator's water must boil before brewing. Drip makers and the like are more efficient at heating water than percolators and complete that step faster. Once the water boils, it recirculates over the grounds and gets boiled again when it reaches the bottom, which takes a degree of time. A percolator will never be the fastest choice for making coffee, but it’s hard to argue with the simplicity of the process. Frequently Asked Questions How do you use a coffee percolator? A percolator is a simple tool. To use one, you fill water to the desired level, set the tube into the water, place the basket on the tube, fill it with ground coffee corresponding to the amount of water in the pot, put the lid on the basket, put the lid on the percolator, then apply heat. Of course, whether that heat comes from a stovetop, an induction cooktop, a fire, or an electrical outlet will depend on the percolator. Once the water boils, the coffee-making begins, and you watch the water rising in the lid’s glass dome to judge its strength. Electric models frequently have a pre-set brew time, leaving the observational judgment out of the equation. How do you clean a coffee percolator? Cleaning a percolator is the easiest and messiest part of using one. First, allow the percolator to cool because everything inside is hot from having boiling water coursing over or through it. Then extract the inner pieces and dump the grounds, which will still be hot, so use a little caution. No, seriously, coffee grounds have exceptional insulating properties and stay hot for quite a while. Without fail, grounds will stick in the basket, and you can either wipe them or rinse them out, provided your sink will withstand them going down the drain. From there, you can hand wash the pot and components or run them through the dishwasher if the manufacturer says it's safe to do so. How does a percolator work? Whether electric or stovetop, percolators generally work in the same way. There’s a pot, for lack of a better description, that holds water. A straw-like stem, which sits on a semi-conical base and rises almost to the height of the percolator, goes into the water. A basket with a perforated cover sits on top of that tube, and the grounds go in the basket. The pot gets heated via an electric heating element or the stovetop, and after it boils, it shoots up the tube.As the water exits the tube, it bounces off a glass dome in the percolator’s lid. As the water falls out of the dome, it filters through the perforated lid on the grounds basket, then filters, or percolates, down through the grounds, infusing with the coffee as it travels.When the infused water, now weak coffee, gets back to the pot, it heats again, travels up the tube, and percolates again. This recirculation builds the coffee’s intensity and strength until it reaches the desired level of doneness, and the user takes it off the stove, or, in the case of electric models, the pre-determined brew cycle finishes. What’s the difference between a percolator and a moka pot? According to Raub, the short answer is pressure. A moka pot is a sealed chamber that heats water from below, and the pressure pushes the water up over the grounds and out the spout. While it doesn’t build enough pressure to make classic espresso, it makes espresso-like coffee that’s close enough to the real thing for most people.A percolator relies on boiling water. Since the percolator isn’t a pressure-sealed vessel, it depends on the pressure from boiling water to force itself up the tube to start brewing. The water infuses and recirculates until reaching the desired strength level. Other Percolators We Tested Strong Contenders GSI Outdoors 8-Cup Glacier Stainless Steel Percolator ($55 at Amazon) The GSI Outoors is marketed as a camping percolator, so it’s even more bare-bones than some of the other models we tested. Unfortunately, the handle got quite hot, and the hinge on the lid broke during testing. A better handle design and tougher hinge would move this percolator up the list. Cuisinart Classic 12-Cup Stainless Steel Percolator ($80 at Amazon) The Cuisinart scored very well in our testing, and we had to split hairs for the Best Electric title in our ratings. This percolator only missed out because some of the coffee’s nuances were absent after brewing. It’s the definition of a strong contender. Mixpresso 10-Cup Electric Percolator Coffee Pot ($48 at Amazon) The Mixpresso rated very well, with cleaning as its only downside, for which we’re being very nitpicky. The biggest complaint was a stubborn brown ring in the bottom of the percolator we couldn’t scrub out. Presto 12-Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker ($68 at Amazon) The Presto is another high-scoring percolator, but it has one drawback. We expect a stovetop model to get hot, but the electric Presto’s outside reached 160°F, which presents safety issues when sitting on a countertop. Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Electric Percolator Coffee Maker ($53 at Amazon) The Hamilton Beach similarly scored extremely well, and we had to get very picky about its scoring. The interior components could have been easier to clean or not require periodic special processes like cleaning with vinegar. Stanley The Cool-Grip Camp Percolator ($31 at Stanley) The instructions for the Cool-Grip were very vague, leading to a trial-and-error process for this otherwise highly-rated model. What Didn't Make the List Testing 20 models, not all score high enough for us to recommend. The bar was high, with our Top Picks scoring almost perfectly across the board, magnifying any minor transgressions and shining a spotlight on major ones. The Stansport 9-Cup Aluminum Percolator Coffee Pot ($19 at Amazon) had a seemingly flimsy construction, a handle that got too hot on the stovetop to hold, and allowed grounds into the final cup. The construction of the Capresso Perk 8-Cup Coffee Maker ($70 at Amazon) gave us a similar impression as the Stansport, but it had a better handle. Unfortunately, consistently made weak, flavorless coffee compared to testing the same beans via other methods. Our Expertise Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Tasting Table, Serious Eats, and other publications. For this piece, we interviewed Jesse Raub, a coffee expert and former commerce writer at Serious Eats, to gain insight into the world of percolators. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit