[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Two more things untouched by adm:

Paper filters weren't invented until 1908, and didn't reach market saturation (outside of Europe) until after WWII. These filters removed certian (beneficial) oils which change the flavor slightly.

More importantly, drip coffee makers came into being in the 1970's replaced french presses, percolators, and single cup drip setups. Percolators are the tools of evil things and result in burned, bitter coffee. French Presses often result in similarly over-expressed, bitter (but unburned so not quite as nasty) coffee.

My grandmother's kitchen never had anything but a percolator, and most of the homes in southeastern Kentucky had the same.

She'd go down to the Piggly Wiggly every week, pick her beans, get them ground right then and there (smelled wonderful) and then take them home and brew them in the percolator.

That's just what everybody did. There was no other conception of how to make coffee, unless it was Folgers Instant.

I'd imagine that all coffee, until automatic-drip pots became available, was made the same way.