A coffee percolator is a type of pot used to brew coffee by continually cycling the boiling or nearly-boiling brew through the grounds using gravity until the required strength is reached. There are stove-top percolators and standalone units which contain a built-in heating element. Percolators were popular until the 1970s, when they were widely replaced by drip coffee makers. By the mid-1970s, many companies ceased production of percolators. In the 2000s, old 1970s-era percolators can occasionally still be seen at church functions and community events.