What is the Difference Between Coffee Maker and Percolator

The main difference between coffee maker and percolator is that coffee percolators can make stronger coffee than coffee makers.

Coffee makers are the special appliances we use to brew coffee. There are different types of coffee makers. Drip coffee maker and percolator are two such popular types. Both these have similar mechanisms: they have a bottom chamber for heating water, which then rises to a higher chamber that comprises the grounds. The water is then released and drips through the grounds to produce coffee.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is a Coffee Maker 
     – Definition, Features 
2. What is a Coffee Percolator
    – Definition, Features
3. What is the Difference Between Coffee Maker and Percolator
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Coffee Maker, Percolator, Drip Coffee Maker

What is a Coffee Maker

A coffee maker is an appliance that helps us to brew coffee. In this article, we’ll be mainly looking at typical drip coffee makers. These are the most common type of coffee makers used in the market. Moreover, drip coffee makers are very simple appliances.

A drip coffee maker has basically three components. The first component is the reservoir, which holds the water you pour into the coffee maker at the start of the coffee-making. There is also a tube that leads up from the reservoir base, carrying the hot water up to the drip area. Moreover, the water that goes through the hot-water tube is sprayed over the coffee grounds in the drip area. In this type of coffee makers, brewing is only done once, so there is no fear of over brewing.

What is a Coffee Percolator

A coffee percolator is a type of pot that brews coffee by continually boiling coffee until the required strength is achieved. In fact, they were the most common tool for making coffee until the introduction of automatic drip makers. If we look at the structure of a percolator, it is a pot with a small chamber at the bottom. This chamber is nearest to the source of heat. A vertical tube goes from this chamber to the top of the percolator. Moreover, the perforated chamber is just below the upper end of the tube. When making coffee, you have to pour the desired quantity into the chamber of the pot and place the required amount of coarse-ground coffee in the top section of the coffee percolator.

In coffee percolators, the ground coffee is exposed to higher heat than in other coffee makers. This means that coffee is continually being brewed.  This brewing process can remove some impurities in ground coffee, also resulting in a very pleasant smell. However, the coffee is prone to over-brewing in percolators, which may also create a slightly acidic flavour.

Difference Between Coffee Maker and Percolator

Definition

A coffee maker is an appliance that helps us to brew coffee while a coffee percolator is a type of pot that brews coffee by continually boiling coffee until the required strength is achieved.

Type of Coffee

Coffee percolators can make stronger coffee than coffee makers.

Brewing

In a drip coffee maker, there is only one brewing cycle while in a percolator, the coffee is continually being brewed.

Impurities

The coffee made through drip coffee makers may contain impurities, but the coffee made through percolators have comparatively fewer impurities.

Conclusion

The main difference between coffee maker and percolator is that coffee percolators can make stronger coffee than coffee makers. Moreover, coffee made in percolators may contain fewer impurities than coffee made in a coffee machine.

Reference:

1.“How Does a Coffee Percolator Work?” Science ABC, 14 Nov. 2019, Available here.
2. Brain, Marshall, and Jessika Toothman. “How Coffee Makers Work.” HowStuffWorks, 29 Nov. 2006, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “791171” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Silver coffee maker” (CC0) via Pikrepo