New isn't always better

I'm not much of a coffee drinker in warm months, of which there are many in Texas. However, when the weather turns cool, I crave the comfort of a nice big cupful to start the day. And then several more before the day is over.

For years I've quested after the perfect coffeemaker. I can't tell you how many I've tried. I've been drinking Gevalia coffee for 15 years or more, so of course I've used their free coffeemaker. I've gone through countless other types, including the one that grinds the beans for you and takes up half the counterspace in your kitchen. Lately I've toyed with the idea of buying a Keurig.

Then it came to me. If an old-fashioned electric percolator was good enough for my mother and her friends Mary Ann, Ruby, Helen, Nellie and Adrienne, why not give one a try? I found an 8-cup Farberware (superfast and fully automatic, it promised) on eBay for less than $10. The seller said she had found it in her parents' attic and guaranteed that it was spotlessly clean, inside and out.

I won the auction, and when the pot arrived, I saw that she had been 100% accurate in her description. Not a coffee stain to be found. I'm guessing it was a gift that was rarely, if ever, used. This model can still be purchased today for around $50-60, so I don't know how old mine is...but it was undoubtedly a bargain.

I've been waiting since our record-breaking heat wave this summer for the weather to get cool enough for coffee to sound good, and today was the day. A cold front came in and the temperature plummeted from the 80s to the 40s. I rolled out the Gevalia, the filters and the Fiestaware sugar packet holder, filled the pot with water, plugged it in and let 'er rip.

Almost instantly the familiar gurgling sound from my childhood started, sweetly different from the sound a Mr. Coffee makes. And sure enough, superfast, I had a pot of the most delicious coffee I've ever made. As I sipped my first cup from a vintage Corning Glas-Snap like my mother used for bridge parties and coffee klatsches, I could almost hear Mom and "the girls" chatting and laughing.

Just like Mom used to make, Corning Glas-Snap cup and all
(for hot or cold beverages)

Farberware coffee pot, Corning Glas-Snap cup
and assorted Russel Wright and Fiestaware pieces

Superfast and Fully Automatic...really