Presto 02822 6-Cup Stainless-Steel Coffee Percolator

This is a great little percolator! It’s a perfect size for a single coffee drinker and it gets the job done in the right amount of time. It’s not overly heavy and I love the fact that there’s minimal plastic and it’s not in contact with my coffee. The brew time seems to be about average for a percolator. I haven’t had to use the automatic shutoff, so I can’t comment on that. I believe this is a good value for the current cost. I love the classic look and feel. I purchased a competitor’s, it wasn’t nearly as sturdy and cost more. I believe this was a good buy. I’d buy this again.

I’ve been having fun with this little guy and really like it. It brews in just a few minutes and keeps the coffee hot without boiling for a long time. And the coffee has a fuller flavor than drip. Some tips are:1. Use a percolator grind. That’s bigger than drip and smaller than French press if you grind your own, or about 3/4 of the way to coarsest. If you buy packaged ground coffee, you’ll need to use a paper filter as the grounds (which are meant for drip) are too small for the metal mesh and a lot more slip through and continue to stew in the coffee after perking making the coffee bitter; you’ll also lose some of the oils that give perked coffee its full flavor. I think not using a filter sets is apart from a drip method.2. The cup size says “about 5 ounces” but that’s deceptive. The 6 cup mark lets you fill it with 28 ounces of water, or 4.66 ounces before brewing. That’s already small but you lose some water to the grounds. Filling the water to the 2 cup mark and 3 tablespoons of grounds produced 9 fluid ounces of coffee, or 2 4.5 ounce cups. To get 2 12 ounce mugs,, I filled it a bit over the 4 cup mark with 5 tablespoons grounds and got just under 18 fluid ounces for 2 9-ounce fills. This was perfect for adding cream and sugar.3. It’s about the same size to store in my cabinet as my OXO single cup drip maker, and that does not include the box of filters or a kettle for heating water. For someone struggling with small spaces, this little guy is perfect.So I’d recommend this pot for someone who wants to brew at most 3 smaller/2 larger mugs of coffee or a small mug and a small to go container for the road or who is going true retro with smaller cups and saucers. If you want a percolator for larger amounts, buy the bigger version. Plus the pot has to cool between uses to brew properly so brewing multiple pots doesn’t work well. Get a long skinny brush to clean out the inside of the stem and the spout every few uses. I’m old enough to remember that it was the rancid buildup in a percolator that turned people towards tepid Mr. Coffee.

I really have trouble with reading others reviews because it's so subjective. You have to read the poor ratings and compare them with the overly hyped ones that sound like the manufacture paid someone to write it. But I can assure you I'm not paid, but am extremely happy with my choice of this wonderful coffee pot. It's the best perked coffee I've had since I was a kid and used our old fashioned percolator on the stove every morning. I loved watching the coffee in the glass top. So when choosing this particular one, I wanted one that was not so big since it's just my wife and I but big enough. This one is perfect, gives us both two cups of coffee and makes it in five minutes, so if you had company, it would still do the job.I have to say however that they include filters which to me makes no sense in a percolator, but trust me it's like stuffing paper bags into a tiny tin with some grounds in the bottom. And the filters they provide make no sense, good luck trying to make to make them fit. You can't keep the lid on, it's ridiculous. I've used it without filters like I did when I was a kid, and unless you use a finely ground coffee I get no grounds in the bottom at all. But if I do use something where some does get into the coffee, in sinks to the bottom and doesn't come out in your cup ever, unless you fill your cup with every drop in the bottom of the pot, but who does that anyway? So if you're concerned about the coffee grounds with this pot, don't worry, you'll never have any in your cup, the holes in the strainer are very small, and most important, if you use filters, you lose the oils that make coffee taste smooth, which is what filters do... filters. It look nice on the counter, and it's not huge like the large one that also is a nice coffee pot. I chose the one without the glass viewing top because they tend to leak and break, and this one does not...but you can hear it perking and the smell of fresh perked coffee is the best. I'll never use the pod type again, you'll see how much better your coffee tastes when it's fresh perked.The only down side I have is you have to be careful when cleaning it that it's not submerged or a lot of water drips down the side and could leak into the pot base. It's not that water can't run a little down the side, but if you were to submerge the pot you'd short it out and probably have problems, but that's true with all electric coffee pots. It also doesn't have an automatic shut off, which to me makes no sense, how hard would it have been to add that, and I do worry that if I forget to shut it off when I leave and there's only a tad of coffee in the bottom....well, you get the picture. But to be honest, I bought this coffee pot for two of us or just me since it makes two to six cups and both levels tastes as good. So I unplug it as soon as were done with our coffee because after it's brewed it's extra hot, and will stay that way unplugged for at least an hour. So regardless, I would buy this pot again any day. Hope this helps in your decision. Oh by the way, they recommend a level table spoon per cup, but for me it is a tad strong unless you like it that way. Five table spoons for six cups is perfect like you get in a nice restaurant, and about a table spoon and a half or less for two cups. Just my preference, you can experience on your own. Hope this helps with your decision. Presto also had a very good reputation and stands behind their products....service after the sale is the most important to me.

This 6 coffee percolator is the perfect coffee maker for us. It did everything we expected: makes good coffee without having to use wasteful pods, we're not drinking nanoplastic particles with each cup, we use the leftover coffee grounds to enrich our garden soil, and it's much more economical overall. The downside is that it only lasted about 16 months and then it stopped brewing! The red light would come on immediately when plugged (erroneously showing brewing was done) but it would not heat. Didn't even make it to the two year mark. Yes, it's made in China, what do you expect, but honestly it should've lasted longer for the price. Still, I like this way of making coffee the best, so I will be getting another one, but I plan to get the 3- or 4-year extended warranty. Adding $7-$11 dollars to the price is worth it, now that I know it's likely to go bust in less than 2 years. Presto, please start making a better product.