Make Fresh Coffee when the Power is Out: Magellan 9-Cup Percolator

I wanted to find out a way to make coffee when electricity is out and the coffee maker won't turn on.  Remembering how my Mom used to make coffee when I was a kid, I picked up the Magellan 9 cup percolator from the camping section of Academy.

Percolators were the popular way to make coffee up until the 1970s when automatic drip coffee makers came out.  I had never used a percolator before but it's actually pretty simple.  You measure ground coffee into the brewing chamber.  Fill the pot with the desired amount of water.  In this case, it says nine cups, but with our large coffee mugs we have at home, it makes about five-six servings.  As the the water boils, the hot water works its way up the tube until it reaches the coffee grounds.   The coffee drips back down, as the rest of the plain water goes up the tube until the entire pot is now coffee.

I had read that if you leave it percolating too long, the coffee will taste burnt, so I made sure I took it off the heat after about 10 minutes of brewing.

The coffee was pretty flavorful and strong, just the way I like it.  It won't replace my drip coffee maker, but I like knowing I can brew coffee during a power outage.