Posts Tagged ‘coffee percolators’
Flavors and Spices added to Coffee Today
How you make the coffee from all the different coffee makers makes an added difference in the taste. We have French press made coffee, percolator coffee, pourover drip coffee methods, and espresso machines and other modes to make our coffee. This is just the beginning before adding anything to the beans. However, we can mention at this point that your taste buds may want to add a sweetener and /or a dairy product such as cream, milk, half and half, or soymilk. The flavored creamers available also add to change the taste of your favorite cup of coffee.
We have not even started on the spices that at added to the roasting process or are added as the beans are ground. Sometimes spices are added to hide the bitterness of the taste of the coffee from certain beans. This was certainly the case with the original coffee drinkers. Beans were ground and spices were added because they boiled the beans for hours until there was a thick sludge at the bottom of the coffee maker. The coffee was drunk by straining it through ones teeth. Since the beginning and even today cinnamon is used to sweeten the coffee taste. One must be careful in the amount added here as it may become too sweet or bitter. Cinnamon also absorbs the oils while infusing the flavorful mask of bitterness. Cloves has a stronger taste that adds a woody flavor and rich earthy overtone that makes one of the pleasant scents; this reminds of the scent coming from a home-baked ham. Cardamom remains the most popular spice in Saudi Arabian even today and cardamom coffee, gahwa, remains a symbol of hospitality. Gahwa is crushed green coffee beans and green cardamom pod seeds along with saffron or ground cloves are added along with a sweetener then boiled for two or three minutes. The coffee is then strained through a filter and served. Anise is the last of the oldest spices that were added to coffee and has a licorice-like flavor and odor. Anise, too, has been used for ages to cover up bitter tasting coffee.
Farberware 12-Cup Coffee Percolators
The Farberware model FCP512S Coffee Maker comes with a mixed bag of reviews. The later reviews say this is not the quality of coffee maker that it was even five years ago. However, the Farberware FCP 412 comes with much better reviews.
The FCP412 comes without all the troublesome digital problems and makes a great cup of coffee. The review below gives an idea of why I do not carry it. The picture above is the Farberware FCP412 coffee percolator.
A Review of the 512: “This Farberware FCP512S Percolator is a 2-12 cup percolator that comes with two main pieces: a stainless-steel pot and inner working components, and a power base with a digital display to set the time, turn of/off or program in advance. This percolator is cordless as the power resides in the power base, a separate piece. The main components of this pot are made of high polish stainless steel. The handle is made of stay-cool plastic as is the base of the pot. Inside the pot is a permanent stainless basket for the ground beans, a basket cover and a stem that facilitates perking. Die cast in the steel are marks to measure water, from 2 to 12 cups. The circular power base is made of plastic to simulate stainless steel. The power cord comes out the back and has a handy cord manager build in to the underside of the power base. The front has a digital display with on/off for immediate perking, and program buttons to set in advance. Brewing time is typical at about 1 minute per cup. A big convenience to me I thought was the 2 hour auto-off feature. I had hoped this feature would extend the life of the product. The inner components of the pot are dish washer safe. The pot itself and the power base are not.
This pot operates as does any percolator. Measure using a coffee scoop using 1 scoop for 2 cups of coffee and you are sure to make a perfect pot of coffee. I found the programming instructions very confusing. I managed to get it set but if you have a power outage or want to move the base, plan to get the instructions out for you will never remember how to set this thing!
All in all, this pot had all the features I wanted. I was even willing to live with the difficult programming but unfortunately, it died less than one year after I received it as a gift. When I contacted Farberware with no receipt, the serial number dictated a 2+ year old manufacture and they only count on a retail shelf life of 6 months, so they would not honor the warranty.”
This is a sad story, HOWEVER there is a remedy. If you get a Farberware or Black and Decker coffee making product as a gift from someone, call and register it immediately. The call will begin your warranty from the time you called. To register your product call: 1-800-231-9786. If you have any problems with your product, call immediately at this same number.
You can also reach them online at: ProdProtect.com. Select “U.S. Residents” and fill out the registration information and click “Register Product.” If you want a copy of the registration, you can print out the page just before you click the “Register Product” at the botton of the page.
Farberware 4 Cup Coffee Percolator
Since I introduced the Farberware 36 cup coffee urn yesterday, I thought I would review this 4 cup percolator. Hope this information is helpful.
If you like a strong cup of coffee or a weaker cup of coffee consider using this percolator. It repeatedly circulates the water through the coffee grounds as long as you set the control the strength by adjusting the length of brewing time. It has durable stainless steel construction that means this coffee maker will last a long time and maintain consistent brew speed of 1-cup per minute at its regular setting. Thus, your four cups are ready in four minutes for a full pot and ready in two minutes if you want a half pot of coffee. Most reviews note that coffee brewed at its regular length find the coffee just right without being bitter.
This coffee maker keeps your coffee warm as long as it is plugged after brewing. The “Cool-touch handle and the lid knob remain cool to the touch while the rolled edges make it safe and easy to handle. The power cord is detachable so you can set it on a table where power is not available; however, the stay warm feature ends when it is disconnected from a power source. The heavyweight stainless steel construction does help to keep the pot warmer than a regular strength stainless steel. This coffee maker pulls 1000W for maximum efficiency while brewing your coffee.
This Farberware 4 cup coffee maker is 10 inches high, 7 inches wide and 7 inches in length and weights 3.5 pounds. It comes with a one year warranty. Note Friday’s (tomorrow) blog for more information on insuring your one year warranty.