The Percolator – Moka pot issue seems like a fairly common point of confusion as many people don’t seem to know the difference between the two. Thus, it is important to know what both of these coffee makers are so that you can know which one better suits your preference. If you already have a choice between this two, it is still a good idea to find out what you are actually in love with. In this article, we are going to take a look at what these coffee makers are, their main features, and how they differ from each other.
What is a Percolator?
Percolators are mostly known as the vintage coffee brewing method mainly because it has been around for a long time. It is essentially a single unit piece of equipment that looks like a typical coffee pot. It has a chamber that carries the water and at its top end is a lengthy tube with a filter basket. This filter basket consists of a puncture metal although there are some models which take in paper filters.
As soon as the filter is filled with ground coffee, the water is heated by a built-in electric component or a stovetop burner, once the water boils it is then taken up the tube and made to pass through the coffee grounds constantly.
What is a Moka Pot?
A Moka pot is a stovetop coffee maker that is composed of three components namely: the water chamber or boiler, the middle section which carries the ground filter, and a top section which serves as the collecting chamber. At the initial stage of the brewing process, the water is heated in the water chamber up to the boiling point.
Boiling water is then passed through the coffee grind with the pressure from the steam caused by the boiling water. The steam passes the middle part where the ground coffee is stored before getting to the top valve. As soon as the steam passes through the ground coffee, it is at this point the bean extraction occurs.
The Main Differences Between A Percolator and a Moka Pot
The main differences between these two coffee makers are summed up in the following points:
Mechanism
A Percolator is a single unit with only one chamber where the ground beans and the water goes to make a coffee. On the other hand, the Moka pot is not a single unit; it is composed of three units that work together.
Fundamental Drawbacks
One drawback that lowers the popularity of the Percolator is that it ends up brewing the coffee over and over again for as long as it is running. This is because the way water is circulated in this device. The Moka pot does not circulate water in this way, so it is free from this flaw, but that could mean that the boiler can run for as long as it is allowed to which is potentially dangerous.
Extraction/Density
The coffee is often over-extracted in a Percolator due to its continuous brewing; this makes the coffee too strong or too dense for a lot of people. In the case of a Moka pot, there is only a single extraction.
Type of Grind
For a Percolator, a comparatively coarser grind is mostly used to keep it as far away as possible from the boiling water. A finer grind is mostly used for a Moka pot because it allows for the flavor to be extracted during the short brewing period.
Time Needed
The Moka pot boasts of a faster brewing time than the Percolator which takes a longer time to brew your coffee. If you are looking to have a cup of coffee quickly, this is one of the things that need to be considered.
Durability
Both the Percolator and the Moka pot have a fairly high level of durability, but the percolators have a greater level of durability majorly because of their simpler mechanism.
Final Words
When choosing which coffee maker you would like to go with, it is important to keep in mind that the Percolator boils the water with the coffee that drips down, so if it gets too hot it can become bitter. If you don’t want a dense coffee, a Percolator might not be right for you. It is difficult to say which brewing method is better or worse since individual taste and expectations differ considerably, so the choice to choose between these two boils down to individual preferences.
