I bought a used, ancient GE electric percolator that I run 12 ounces of (sorry, blasphemy warning!) water over Sam's Club coffee in.
Some days I think there oughta be One Right Way To Make Coffee, but I'm really grateful for the diversity.
I dug into some of the research William Coffin Coleman (yeah, the Coleman company) did back when Coleman made a lot of kitchen appliances for home and commercial. They had a massive hotel perc pot that by all reports made some of the best coffee people had ever had. I don't need a 100-cup percolator...
Anyway, what stuck in my mind was the observation that the coffee and water should be held hot and stay on the grounds for a few minutes. This allows the oils to express but then for them to adsorb partially back onto the grounds. I think the same thing is going on in steep-and-strain, and perhaps to some extent with other methods of making coffee. Having some circulation at first, then a good filter bed of grounds seemed to be key.
That's all old news. I'd be interested to read some newer research.
O.H.