My new old coffee pot.

[ElizabethB]

In South Louisiana coffee is not just a beverage. It is a way of life. When you visit family or friends after the hugs and kisses the first question is "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

When the adults have coffee children beg for coffee milk. Lots of milk with just enough coffee to add a little color and flavor.

The first coffee pot that I remember was a stove top peculator. It was a blue pot with white dots on it.

Mother would set the coffee pot in a pan of boiling water and spoon boiling water over the basket of coffee grounds then let it perk.

My first coffee pot was a "modern" plug in peculator.

Time went by. Drip pots became "The Thing" and peculators were sold at garage sales or donated to charities.

I fell for the fad and have been using drip pots forever.

I recently visited a friend who offered a cup of fresh coffee. That was the best cup of coffee that I remember having. I asked my friend about her brand of coffee thinking that she must use some special blend. No - she uses the same coffee that I do.

Her secret to rich, full bodied coffee is the peculator that she received as a wedding gift in 1971.

I ordered one.

My new old coffee pot arrived this evening. I just had my first cup. AHHHHH! Coffee the way it should be.

[gumbo2176]

You are so right about coffee and it's place in La. households. I'm in N.O. and that is how I was brought up. When kids, we would pile in the car and head to my grandma's house and on the way, there was a bakery called Binder's. Outside their shop they had a light and if it was flashing, that meant they had hot French bread right out their ovens. Many times we'd stop and pick up a loaf or two on the way for the visit.

Once we got there my grandma would make her coffee her way which was to bring a pot of water to a boil, add coffee grounds to the water and let it steep, then strain it through cheesecloth into a white porcelain pot that she put on the stove over one of the pilot lights to keep it hot and on the other side of the stove she had hot milk on top the other pilot light. She'd put her cup in the middle of the stove and pour equal parts hot coffee and milk into her cup for café au lait to be had with the fresh bread slathered in real butter.

[ElizabethB]

Gumbo - I knew you would relate to the coffee tradition. I forgot about steeping the coffee grounds in boiling water. My Aunt made coffee that. A friend of ours uses a stove top peculator. Good coffee.

There used to be a bakery here that had a red light when the French bread was hot from the oven. Albertsons has hot French bread at 4 p.m. every day. I have never been able to make it home with a full loaf.

[KeyWee]

We have used a percolator for years. Not that we are coffee fiends or anything, but if you are only going to have one cup (that is usually all I need) make it a GOOD one

[john gault]

Coffee in boiling water....that's how I make it when I'm hiking the trail, but I never used a strainer...maybe I should pack some cheesecloth for my next hike..

[gumbo2176]

Coffee in boiling water....that's how I make it when I'm hiking the trail, but I never used a strainer...maybe I should pack some cheesecloth for my next hike..

You're welcome. I absolutely hate coffee grounds in my coffee.

I remember one night the wife and I went to a Middle Eastern type café here in New Orleans and after the meal we ordered 2 cups of Turkish Coffee. Now this stuff comes in a demitasse cup, has a very distinct flavor and is quite strong. Problem was, they didn't strain the coffee before serving it and when we took our first sips almost in unison, we both almost gagged from the amount of very fine coffee grounds in the cup. The waitress was more than happy to bring us new cups----on the house.

[thanrose]

I'll make Turkish or Greek coffee, or sometimes espresso, all in old pots from before I was born (Boomer). But I prefer percolated coffee. I have an old stainless steel with copper bottom and glass knob on top to watch it perk, and a white with blue flower corning ware. Those might be from the 1960's.

The Mediterranean style with the grounds still in it is tough to swallow. I have to admit I don't like it boiling hot, so the fine grounds settle a bit to a sludge on the bottom. I also like it a little sweet and a little milky. And cowboy coffee while camping can't be beat whether you use an old percolator on a grill or a just a kettle of water and ground coffee.

I'm originally from South Jersey, and we are a bit fussy about our coffee. And our diners. My kid brother knows every place that serves coffee on his way to work at 0:dark-thirty. If I were there still, I'd probably know more about the doughnuts, but to each his own.