Best Coffee Percolator: Stainless Steel Picks, Checked Part by Part

Written by Lara Yehia. Lara researches home and kitchen products for Cupindy.

Published October 2026 · Last reviewed October 17, 2026

In a percolator, hot water runs up a tube, over the grounds in a basket and back into the pot, again and again. So the pot, the tube, the basket and the knob on the lid all touch your coffee. We read each maker's own pages for those parts. Not every maker answers for every part.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

How we chose: Amazon's best sellers in coffee percolators and camping coffee pots on October 17, 2026, then each maker's own pages, manuals and disclosures for every part that touches the coffee. We dropped models whose makers name plastic in the brew path; where a maker leaves a part unstated, we say so. We have not tested these percolators ourselves.

How a Percolator Works, and the Parts That Touch Your Coffee

A percolator heats water in the bottom of the pot. The water is pushed up a hollow tube, sprays over a basket of coarse grounds and drips back down to go round again. On a stovetop model you watch the color in the knob on the lid; an electric model brews by itself and keeps the coffee hot.

Six parts touch the water or the coffee: the pot, the tube (Presto calls it the perk tube, Farberware the pump tube), the small washer or spring at its foot, the basket, the basket lid or spreader, and the knob on the lid. On the Presto, the heating element sits in the base, under the pot.

Is a Stainless Steel Percolator Safe? What Each Maker Says

The steel pot is the easy part. The real question is the parts that may not be steel: the knob, the washer or spring, and any gasket. Here is what each maker says. Farberware's page for the Yosemite lists “Interior Surface: Stainless Steel” and “Stainless Steel with Glass knob”; it does not say what the pump tube spring or the small flange cap that unscrews with the knob is made of. Presto says the 02811 is “Made of luxurious stainless steel including the filter basket and perk tube”, but its manual, spec sheet and part pages never say what the clear knob is made of. COLETTI says the Bozeman is “crafted from pure stainless steel, with no plastic or cheap aluminum”, with a glass top, but publishes no parts list. None of the three describes a gasket or seal.

Farberware's “Product Disclosures” page lists “Percolators” in its stainless steel group: iron, chromium, nickel, manganese, phosphorus, tin, molybdenum and copper. That group lists no aluminum and no PFAS; Farberware puts PTFE and PFAS under its nonstick lines. If you react to nickel, our stainless steel grades guide explains 18/8 and 18/10, and our coffee maker guide covers nickel in steel.

A glass percolator is not automatically plastic-free: Cafe Brew, the best-selling glass stovetop percolator on Amazon when we checked, describes “BPA-Free Polypropylene Stems, Baskets, and Lids”, so the coffee runs through plastic. And a 304 stainless label does not mean no plastic: one best-selling electric model's own material field reads “Stainless Steel 304,PCTG/PP”, which names two plastics. Near-identical models are sold under several brand names, so check each listing. If aluminum is the worry, our look at aluminum cookware covers what health agencies say.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Electric or Stovetop, and What Size

A stovetop percolator needs you nearby to turn the heat down and take it off. An electric one brews by itself: Presto says “about a cup a minute”, and “Coffee stays hot as long as the coffee maker is plugged in.” The trade-off: the base holds the electrics, so it never goes in water or the dishwasher. For small batches, the little electrics near the top of Amazon's list, Farberware's 2-4-cup and Presto's 6-cup, do not say what their knobs are made of either.

On size, Presto, West Bend and COLETTI (for the Bozeman) count a cup as about 5 ounces of brewed coffee; COLETTI's bigger Butte page says about 6. So a 12-cup pot with 5-ounce cups fills about seven 8-ounce mugs. Farberware does not say how big a Yosemite cup is.

The 02811's Amazon listing carries a California Prop 65 warning for “Cancer and Reproductive Harm” without naming a chemical. Presto's Prop 65 page says it includes these warnings “regardless of origin of purchase”, and answers its own question “Is this product safe to use?” with “Yes, it is safe to use as instructed.”

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Camping, a campfire or a power cut

A stovetop percolator needs no power, so it works on a camp stove or a gas burner in an outage. For a campfire, pick a pot sold for it: COLETTI's listing says to use the Bozeman on “compatible stovetops, camp stoves, grills, or over a fire”. On a stove, COLETTI says medium heat rather than high.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Use a Percolator

Wash every part before the first brew, then:

1. Fill the pot with cold water to the cup mark you want. Presto's manual says “always fill your coffee maker with fresh, COLD water”.
2. Set the tube and basket. Seat the tube in the well at the bottom of the pot, then put the basket on it.
3. Add coarse ground coffee to the basket (amounts below), cover it with the basket lid or spreader, and put the lid on.
4. Heat it. On a stove, start at medium; COLETTI says “Turn the heat to medium rather than high.” Once the water boils, Farberware says to turn the heat to “low to medium”. An electric model starts when you plug it in.
5. Time it (next section), then take a stovetop pot off the heat.
6. Serve, then clean. Let it cool before you take out the basket; Presto warns that the parts, grounds and coffee “may still be hot”.

How Long to Perk Coffee

Perk a stovetop percolator for about 4 to 10 minutes, counted from when it starts to perk. Less is weaker and more turns bitter. The stovetop makers' times all fall in that range, but one manual disagrees with itself:

Start at the short end and add a minute next time if it tastes weak. A stovetop pot gives no signal when it is done: go by the clock and the color in the knob.

How Much Coffee to Use in a Percolator

Start with about 1 tablespoon of coarse ground coffee per 5-ounce cup of water, which is COLETTI's starting point, and adjust. Presto's current manual gives a range for each number of cups:

Presto chart from its current manual (Form 49-218V). An older Presto manual still attached to the Amazon listing gives 8 to 12 tablespoons for 12 cups, the same as West Bend's. For a 30-cup urn, follow the urn's own chart.

What Grind to Use, and Do You Need a Filter?

Use a coarse grind if you can. COLETTI says fine or medium grinds pass through the basket and make the coffee cloudy and over-extracted. Presto and Farberware both say regular or percolator grind works, so a standard can works, though COLETTI warns it can come out cloudy. No maker names a roast.

You do not need a paper filter, but makers differ. Presto says “For best clarity and flavor, use one of the disposable wraparound filters included.” Farberware says its permanent basket means no paper. COLETTI says percolators brew without paper filters, though some people add one to cut sediment.

How to Clean a Percolator

Wash the basket, tube and lid after every brew. Farberware says built-up coffee oil can “impair the taste”. For deeper cleaning, makers differ:

Never put an electric percolator's body in water or the dishwasher. Cleaning a drip machine instead? See how to clean a coffee maker with vinegar.

Percolator vs Drip vs French Press

A drip machine runs water through the grounds once; a percolator sends the same coffee through again and again, so it can turn bitter if it runs too long. A French press soaks the grounds. For cholesterol, the Linus Pauling Institute puts percolated coffee in the same low group as filtered coffee; French press and boiled coffee are higher:

Figures from the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University.

If you want a drip or pour-over instead, our non-toxic coffee maker picks check what the hot water touches in those.

Questions People Ask

The Bottom Line

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

For the fullest maker answers, get the Farberware Yosemite. For a crowd, the Presto 02811 does the work for you, with one open question about its knob. For camping, take the COLETTI Bozeman. Use a coarse grind, about a tablespoon per cup, and stop before it turns bitter.

Cupindy is not affiliated with Farberware, Presto, COLETTI, Cafe Brew Collection or West Bend. Product names are trademarks of their owners.