Farberware FCP240 2-4-Cup Percolator, Stainless Steel
by Black & Decker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Farberware FCP240 2-4-Cup Percolator, Stainless Steel
Customer Review: Perfect Coffee After A Year And A Half
Summary: 5 Stars
I am the only coffee-drinker in my house and I only drink one or two cups a day. By my definition, two measured cups equal one coffee-cup sized "mug". I am very finicky about that one cup.
After being treated for lymphoma, I became concerned about all the plastic used in drip coffeemakers coming into contact with hot water and possible cancer risks. I then looked for all stainless-steel with no soldered seams. That could only be found in percolators. I bought a stainless-steel stove-top percolator. I did not know what to expect as far as flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised. I discovered that percolated coffee tasted better. The only problem with this stove-top percolator is I have to wait for perking to start, reduce flame, then watch color through the glass knob on top. I grew tired of baby-sitting this percolator for several minutes per brew and realized it was time for an automatic.
Knowing that over percolating will ruin the flavor, I did not know if an automatic electric would time as perfect as my watchful eye on the stovetop. I found the Farberware FCP240 2-4 cup Automatic Electric Percolator through a `net search and read many mixed reviews, mostly good. I ordered this percolator about a year and a half ago and up to this point, it has consistently brewed one perfect cup after another. It brews much faster than the stovetop unit I used before and the coffee tastes just as good.
Prepping is a snap, then plug it in and walk away. You will know when it is finished with the brewing cycle as it will become silent after it automatically switches off. Then it will go into a warming mode to keep coffee hot until you are ready to pour. Cleaning up is not too hard although not as pleasant as a drip coffeemaker. The flavor is worth it, in addition to not being exposed to possible toxic chemicals from plastics. Most people accustomed to drip coffeemakers are unaware of how good coffee can taste with the right percolator.
The Farberware FCP240 percolator is pleasing to the eye in appearance. A unique feature over other percolators is that instead of perforations in the basket and spreader lid, the FCP240 has dozens of stamped dimples where they are open on two sides of each dimple. This greatly reduces the number of coffee-grounds falling through the basket, yet allows liquid to flow through freely.
If you need a small automatic percolator, I highly recommend the Farberware FCP240 2-4 cup Electric Percolator.
Customer Review: My new favorite appliance
Summary: 5 Stars
When my little drip coffee maker kicked the bucket and I needed a replacement, I decided to try a 4 cup electric percolator instead of a new drip coffee maker, with the following hopes:
- It would be easy to keep clean.
- It would make a hotter cup of coffee.
- It would be quick.
- I wouldn't need to use filters.
- The coffee would taste good (I like strong coffee, but not bitter).
After about a month of use, I'm happy to say that most of my hopes have been fulfilled.
- It is so easy to keep clean, which of course contributes to consistently good coffee.
- The coffee is so hot that I have to wait for it to cool before I can drink it. If I want milk, I don't have to worry about it cooling my coffee too much!
- It's pretty quick, 3 or 4 minutes to brew 2 cups. About the same as my little drip brewer used to be.
- I find that I still prefer to use a paper filter, although when I don't, there are still fewer grounds in my coffee than there used to be when I used the mesh filter that came with my old drip machine.
- The coffee is wonderful. I don't mind Folgers and Maxwell House; I drink either on weekday mornings to save money, and they do taste much better perc'ed. But on the weekends, I treat myself to fresh ground "specialty" beans, and I can really taste the difference! With the drip maker, everything tasted kind of the same. Additionally, I've found that I use less ground coffee to make the same strength of brewed coffee (I don't know if that's because the water temperature is hotter).
A few tips that I've found helpful (found either from reviews here or elsewhere online):
- Make sure that the washer at the base of the tube is free and rattling, not stuck to the fixed washer. Otherwise, the coffee will not perc long enough and it'll be weak.
- Wetting the basket before adding the ground coffee keeps the grounds in the basket better.
- If you don't want to use a filter and you don't want sediment, use an ounce or so more water than you want, and don't pour the dregs into your mug.
I'm very happy with my new percolator. And it's cute, too!
Customer Review: Love It
Summary: 5 Stars
I love the size of this percolator. It makes 2-4 cups, i.e., for one or two people.
The filter is cool--the coffee grounds do not go through it, so no murky coffee. Also, you can use coffee drip grind, not just percolator grind.
It's fast and makes delicious coffee.
Pours nicely. Totally easy to clean. Nice and small. For me this means when I travel, it's easy to pack. Dripless, stable pouring.
Really keen on mine.
ADDED SEPTEMBER 21, 2010:
I've always used drip coffee makers, but won't after experiencing this percolator. You need SO little coffee and it makes TERRIFIC coffee. You can grind the coffee to a powder and the filter will still do a fantastic job.
By the way, the quality of the steel is great, heavy steel. It's not a flimsy coffee maker; it's got weight and quality.
IMPORTANT TIP: I burned out one of these when two times I forgot to add the water, but just had coffee in there and plugged it in!! These days I avoid this by ALWAYS adding water FIRST, then proceeding to grind coffee, etc.
Experimenting with it these are the proportions that I found work best for me. Of course, tastes are relative . . . .
For one, large, strong cup of coffee:
1 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup (even to LOW cup, NOT heaped) BEANS. (I use French Roast usually). I grind this 1/4 cup of beans to a POWDER, yes, you saw right, to a powder.
I let it drip a little longer than usual because of the grind. I add a ton of 1/2 and 1/2. Yum. Tastes rich and deep. AND it is still HOT! (unlike the drips) Drinking a cup right now.
Customer Review: heaven in a pot
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this coffee pot! I chose Farberware over the others because I've had such great experiences with their cookware, and I'm glad I did.
It makes a perfect cup of coffee. And if you've only tasted coffee from a drip maker, you havent tasted a really good cup of coffee. It only takes 4 minutes for 4 cups, is piping hot and stays warm without turning into mud. With this pot you truly can have a second cup of coffee that tastes as good as the first cup. And, if using a percolator is new for you and you're in doubt as to how much coffee to use for each cup, this pot comes with an instruction manual that provides very helpful, useful information, including a chart of coffee measurements that, when implemented, will make an excellent cup of coffee.
Lastly, clean up is a breeze! Really. Just gently wash the individual parts (three) and pot (without immersing) with a soft sponge and soap. Then dry lightly with a soft towel or even a paper towel. It'll look just like new! It's also very sturdy and I believe it will last a very long time, but if I do find that I need to replace it in a few years, as another reviewer suggested, I'll gladly do so. This is the best pot I've ever owned. And I will NEVER drink coffee from a coffee maker again! Neither will you.
Tips: I've read in other reviews that the water level guide located inside the pot can be difficult to read but the guide is also found on the outside of the pot, under the handle, and it is indented making it much easier to read. I've also found that if you decide you'd like to use filters with this pot (unnecessary because of the basket provided) the filters usually used with a 2 to 4 cup size drip coffee maker work very nicely.
Customer Review: Best coffee I ever had!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using a standard drip coffee maker for years and years. I got a little concerned about mold, plastic leaching etc. so thought I would try one of these all-stainless percolators after reading reviews.
I am THRILLED at the wonderful coffee this little percolator makes. It's so easy - just add the amount of water you need, put the scoops of coffee in the basket, pop on the lid and plug in the percolator. It does everything automatically - makes an entertaining burbling sound as it brews; puttting out a delicious aroma in the process. The coffee itself is absolutely the most flavorful I have ever brewed. All those years wasted on sub-par drip coffee when I could have been drinking this flavor extravaganza!
The only possible critique I would make is the pouring spout is not the greatest - the coffee comes through just a small hole in the wall of the pot into the pour spout so it's hard to get every drop of coffee out of the pot. Not a real big thing - maybe the coffee wouldn't brew so well if the hole was larger and let more steam escape.
The quality seems fine - I'm sure the old ones were better but since you can't get those anymore it's a moot point. The grounds basket works fine without any filters - a very small bit of grounds residue gets into the cup but not enough to worry about. It's nice not to have to worry about buying and throwing away any filters.
I'll never ever brew coffee any other way. I'm a simple regular black coffee drinker and for me this is the best cup of coffee I could ever ask for. I'm SO happy with this. The simple pleasures of life are the best and I'm actually excited to make my morning coffee with this little jewel!