I used to make coffee in the politically correct "French press." (thing with a plunger) After the second one of those shattered, dumping the hot contents wherever it happened to fall, I went back to a percolator, a nice stainless steel one from the local gourmet kitchen shop.

Whatever coffee you buy and however you make it, it is important to stop a process called steam distillation. In steam distillation, the tiny steam bubbles in the hot fluid continue to remove chemicals from the coffee particles in the brew. After a few minutes, these chemicals start becoming bitter. Our method is to perk it for four minutes, pour the coffee into an insulated carafe, drop an ice cube in, and put the lid on.

My mother learned this on a radio program which got the info from the coffee manufacturer's association (whatever its real name is). They were right.

The DH and I make 5 cups every day and split it. One weekends we put in some chicory coffee from the Cafe Monde in New Orleans. I feel that this coffee goes rancid easily, so now we keep the can in the freezer door. It's easy to get one scoopful out.

xx