It has been a long time since I've tried perked coffee, K-cups are nice in that they are fast and convenient way to makea single cup of coffee and while k-cups may taste better then drip coffee the old fashion perked coffee still takes firstplace for best tasting coffee, especially if grinding your own coffee beans (there are many cheap and easy coffee grinders), just think of the difference between freshly ground pepper and pre-ground pepper bought in grocery stores.

All the parts fit together well and seems well made. I've used this several timeswith consistent results. I fill the pot with cold water up to the pour sprout place the stem inside it and place it on medium heat, then I grind the coffee beans and fill the basket with about 8 tablespoons and place basket onto stem, put basket top on and the top on. It takes about 20 minutes to heat up and perk for required amount of time at thelevel of heat I use. After it's perked I use a pre-warmed vacuum carafe to hold the hot coffee, depending on the size of mug or cup I use I get between 4 and 6 cups of coffee from it. I've been very happy with the results and have been using this formaking coffee in the morning instead of making a k-cup.

I'm using a bag of whole beans that I've had open in my freezer for the last several years and even with these old beans it had made very good tasting coffee. I even bought a store brand small can of pre-ground coffee and made good coffee too. Just goes to show you the brewing method makes all the difference in taste.

Update: since purchasing this I've bought a second one, quality is just as good as the first one. I needed sometimes to make a larger amount of coffee when having guests, so now I will perk 2 pots instead of the one if needing more coffee. The only thing that would make this percolator perfect would be something in 12 cups or larger size, same design but just scaled up. I would like to be able to make 2 liters of coffee at a time which I pour into a vacuum decanter for hot coffee all day. This percolator with the spring holding the basket lid against the top prevents grinds from spilling out of the basket when pouring. So many percolators you need to remove a very hot basket before pouring. This spring design is perfect, I can pour boiling hot coffee directly into my vacuum thermos without worrying about grinds spilling out.
It has been a long time since I've tried perked coffee, K-cups are nice in that they are fast and convenient way to makea single cup of coffee and while k-cups may taste better then drip coffee the old fashion perked coffee still takes firstplace for best tasting coffee, especially if grinding your own coffee beans (there are many cheap and easy coffee grinders), just think of the difference between freshly ground pepper and pre-ground pepper bought in grocery stores. All the parts fit together well and seems well made. I've used this several timeswith consistent results. I fill the pot with cold water up to the pour sprout place the stem inside it and place it on medium heat, then I grind the coffee beans and fill the basket with about 8 tablespoons and place basket onto stem, put basket top on and the top on. It takes about 20 minutes to heat up and perk for required amount of time at thelevel of heat I use. After it's perked I use a pre-warmed vacuum carafe to hold the hot coffee, depending on the size of mug or cup I use I get between 4 and 6 cups of coffee from it. I've been very happy with the results and have been using this formaking coffee in the morning instead of making a k-cup. I'm using a bag of whole beans that I've had open in my freezer for the last several years and even with these old beans it had made very good tasting coffee. I even bought a store brand small can of pre-ground coffee and made good coffee too. Just goes to show you the brewing method makes all the difference in taste. Update: since purchasing this I've bought a second one, quality is just as good as the first one. I needed sometimes to make a larger amount of coffee when having guests, so now I will perk 2 pots instead of the one if needing more coffee. The only thing that would make this percolator perfect would be something in 12 cups or larger size, same design but just scaled up. I would like to be able to make 2 liters of coffee at a time which I pour into a vacuum decanter for hot coffee all day. This percolator with the spring holding the basket lid against the top prevents grinds from spilling out of the basket when pouring. So many percolators you need to remove a very hot basket before pouring. This spring design is perfect, I can pour boiling hot coffee directly into my vacuum thermos without worrying about grinds spilling out.