It’s rare to find a person this time of year who doesn’t enjoy a tall cup of pumpkin spice latte. That rich flavor and aroma are quintessentially fall.
Does it matter how it was prepared? French-pressed? Cold Brewed? Maybe poured over for a quick decaf? I love a good cup of coffee regardless of how it’s been made, but lately I’ve come to appreciate the old-fashioned percolator. For a couple of reasons.
I’m always trying to make more counter space in my kitchen. First, because it’s small. I only have 12 linear feet of countertop available. Second, because I’ve got too much stuff for a small kitchen: homegrown and dried teas in Ball Jars tucked into the corner, a countertop icemaker next to the sink for my smoothies, a vintage hammered aluminum tray with the blender and protein powders to make the daily smoothies, and another tray filled with doggie treats and food. Subtract the other corner space to situate the microwave and several inches for the wooden block with cooking utensils, and the result is very little space for food prep. Yeah, it’s cluttered.
Once in a while, usually after a vacation to a minimally stocked condo, I get the clutter reduction bug. Recently, when the bug aligned with my reading another article about microplastics crossing the blood-brain barrier, I took a hard look at my coffee station, one more area that hacks away at my tiny countertop landscape. Set up to the left of my double sink, it consisted of a double-tiered rack for coffee syrups, demitasse spoons, a basket filled with packets of sweeteners, and my one-cup K-Cup coffeemaker. Plastics and more plastics!
I figured the coffeemaker alone had at least four different potential plastic contaminant exposures per cup: the water reservoir, the tube that takes the water into the plastic K-cup, the nozzle that extrudes water, and the K-cup itself.
Could I get rid of some of that plastic? And maybe reduce the clutter, or at least the cluttered look on my counter at the same time?
I started browsing my options. How about an old-fashioned metal percolator? Several years ago, in another decluttering move, I pitched a 30-cup aluminum model that I dragged out for family gatherings, but I’d never owned a household-sized percolator coffeepot. Why not? I fell victim to the lure of a quick cup of Joe.
That’s strange because the word “percolate” has always been a favorite of mine to encourage student writers to let things just linger in their minds when gathering ideas or organizing their writing. Most of them had no idea what the word meant, but when I described the bubbling up of the brewing coffee into the glass bulb in the coffeepot lid, they got an immediate visual for the concept, almost bringing coffee’s rich, earthy aroma into the room! Who knows why I literally didn’t bring that image home.
So I carefully researched prices and reviews and then ordered a stylish stainless steel percolator. I gave away my K-Cup coffeemaker and pod drawer, and I replaced them with another vintage hammered aluminum serving tray on which my percolator, teapot, sweetener basket, and spoons now sit very prettily. Every time I do dishes or wash out my new coffeemaker, I admire its gleaming lines.
No, I didn’t gain any linear inches on the countertop. Maybe I gained some visual space, and that’s a nice perk. But now I smile as I slow down to fit together the stainless steel basket and rod and pour my measured grounds into the sleek pot. I appreciate the security of the click when the lid goes on tight. I relish the percolating process, the changing iterations of the cold water as it travels through the metal pipe up and over the loose grounds, heating up and sifting through the dark grains before dripping back to the bottom for another round trip, each time making my morning brew darker and richer in flavor and aroma until the noise of creation has finished and it’s ready to taste.
Best of all, my new percolator reminds me that good things–rich and meaningful things–take time. Sometimes, they take more than one pass to get them right. And that’s worth remembering and waiting for, no matter what time of year!
