West Bend 42 Cup Polished Urn – Coffee

Great coffee maker

I am pretty particular about coffee. I like to gind my own beans and have never used a perc coffee pot in the past. But we were having a huge family gathering and I needed a lot of coffee. I ordered this Party Perk machine and when it came in I almost returned it because it seemed so flimsy, but I figured I'd give it a chance. I'm glad I did. All the information I read on the Internet about coffee said that perc'd coffee is not very good because the water is boiled and constantly recirculated through the grounds and this does not equate to how to achieve the best tasting coffee. Well, while this was not the BEST coffee I have ever had, the coffee was none-the-less very good. I used Berkley and Jensen ground coffee (available at BJ's Wholesale club)and I could not have been more pleased with the results from this Party Perk. I used a little more than 2-1/2 cups of ground coffee for the full 42 cups and the information I read about expecting the pot to brew the coffee at one cup per minute seemed pretty accurate. There were a lot of compliments on how good the coffee tasted. It did not taste burned, even after being kept warmed in the pot for a few hours. I cannot comment on the durability of the machine as I haven't had it that long. My parents saw this pot and remarked that they had the same one for many many years before they gave it away and never had the first bit of trouble with it.

Ordered this for a reception after a family funeral. Day was cold so we went through a lot of coffee. I did order a recommended trivet for under the coffee maker and it wasn't necessary. For low old-style coffee cups it works well, for paper disposal coffee cups you'll need to put the urn close to the edge of a table or elevate it on the table. It takes about 30 min to brew a full pot which equates to 42 6-oz cups of coffee. We used 2.5 Cups of Folger's ground coffee and the strength was just fine. Coffee stayed hot for hours without a change in taste.

This was very easy to use and let you know how much coffee to put in. Would recommend.

We were in a bind - our wedding was in a week and it seemed impossible to rent coffee urns for less than we could buy them. After reading encouraging reviews here, I bought two of these urns. First, they make a fantastic cup of coffee, work very simply, are easy to clean, are really inexpensive, and are MADE IN THE USA!!! What's not to like. Seriously, use a coarse ground coffee (I used Community Coffee Medium Roast) and good clean water and you will have great results. The only tiny complaint I have is that it could come with a longer power cord. The one supplied with the unit is like 18", so plan on having an extension cord nearby if you are using this at an event.