Farberware Electric Coffee Percolator, Stainless Steel Basket, Automatic Keep Warm, No-Drip Spout, 8 Cup

Why it's worth it

Farberware's 8-cup electric percolator is stainless steel, brews about a cup a minute, and switches itself to keep-warm when it's done. It's not an urn, but for a dinner party of six it does the job for a fraction of what an urn costs.

Not every gathering needs 60 cups. If you host a dinner for six a few times a year, an urn is the wrong purchase — it takes up a shelf, brews more than you'll drink, and the leftover sits stewing. This percolator makes eight cups in about eight minutes and then holds them warm on its own.

Stainless steel construction is the reason to pick this over cheaper aluminum pots. The exterior and the coffee basket are both stainless, which means no plastic in the brew path and a pot that survives being packed for an RV trip or a campsite. Owners who moved away from plastic drip machines and pod brewers cite exactly that.

From our review of 8 large coffee urns for parties and gatherings

What we like

• +Not every gathering needs 60 cups
• +Stainless steel construction is the reason to pick this over cheaper aluminum pots
• +The detachable cord is a small, smart touch

What to know

• –Durability is inconsistent
• –Eight cups is genuinely small