Can a perculator make good coffee?

Question: I recently purchased an electric perculator and I'm not sure how this differs from the drip coffee I typically brew but it seems watered down even though I use the same ratios. Is this typical for this type of process and what would give me the most flavor out of a brew. I hate to have wasted money on the product but should I go back to a regular drip machine?Answer: My suggestion would be to go back to the regular drip machine. Unfortunately, I hear all too often from perculator owners that say using the same amount of coffee leads to a weaker coffee in the cup from using the drip brewer. The percolator is almost like charcoal grilling: it has die-hard lovers but has otherwise been relegated to camping trips. The percolator violates what for some is a rule of good coffee, and that is boiled coffee is spoiled coffee. The percolator heats the water to boiling, and forces it through a tube onto the ground coffee in a filter. It all happens too fast for the water to properly absorb enough flavor from the coffee, so this semi-brewed coffee is also heated to the point of boiling and forced again through the tube onto the ground coffee. This is repeated enough that you are boiling coffee, and doing it more than once. While I'm no chemist, I believe this is why people complain of a weaker coffee from the perculator.