ADVENTURES IN COFFEE

LOOK WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!   

AND IT'S THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!!!

Yes, I got a coffee maker.  A brand new coffee maker.  The Program It, Grind It, Brew It, Thermal Pot It To Keep It Hot new coffee maker...All In One!  From The Husband.  Actually, a wonderful Christmas gift from The Husband.  Truly!  Yes...I'm one of those who actually does like the occasional kitchen appliance gift.  I wear two rings on my left hand and one ring on my right.  That's all the jewelry I ever wear.  So I don't want jewelry.  My closet is small.  So clothing, limited.  I definitely am not a collector.  So, please, no knick knacks.  However, what I do like is CONVENIENCE!!!!!  Therefore, to have a cup of coffee waiting for me in the morning before I open my eyes.....that's brilliantly convenient!  Hooray!

I get an idea.  Let's me and The Husband have an adventure in coffee.  All our friends seem to be connoisseurs of coffee...we need to catch up.

We'll discover new regions...Ethiopia, Kenya, Columbia...Indonesia.  We'll sample different aromas and bodies.  We'll discover new flavors like chocolate hazelnut and french vanilla.  We'll compare brands... and by the end of the year we'll be quite confident with talkin' the coffee talk.

However, oftentimes, some adventures include small battles...and this one has been an uphill battle.  Actually...it's one uphill battle, still at the bottom, spinning in a hamster wheel, trying to move forward and, of course, getting nowhere.  It's already January 26th, one month after Christmas, and we still haven't made a decent cup of coffee, let alone trying even one new region, flavor or brand.

The battle started...

Christmas Day!

I unwrap the Machine. 

Me, I'm very excited.  The Husband, ecstatic that I like it.  So he offers to clean it up...set it up...make it up, the coffee that is.  I'm usually the coffee maker person so it's a treat when he makes the coffee.  He makes it better.  Before making it, he tries to find the "special" gift.  The gift of whole beans.  Something that we haven't used for quite awhile.  He can't find the gift.  He gives up for now.  That's okay. He reads the instructions.  He skips Grind It and moves to Brew It.   He cleans it up.  He sets it up.  He makes it up.

Yay!  Coffee!  Coffee!  Coffee!



Boo!  Water!  Water!  Water!



What the heck?!!!  What went wrong?

Theory: One must always use the grinder when making coffee in this coffee pot.  Try again!

He's now hell-bent on finding those beans. The Kids are annoyed.  I'm exercising patience.  He scours under the tree...in the tree...beside the tree.  No beans.  He marches down the hall.  He finds the beans...in the closet.  I unwrap them. " Ooo aaah," I say!!!  He takes it and pays special attention to measurements.  He carefully measures the beans.  He perfectly measures the water.  It grinds, it brews, it is trying to keep it hot.

Yay!  Coffee!  Coffee!  Coffee!


Yiikes!  Bad Coffee!  Bad Coffee!  Bad Coffee!


What the heck?

That's it.  He's done for today.  It's Christmas... so it's Starbucks.  The Husband goes and orders two don't-have-to-make-it-just-pay-a-fortune-for-it cups of coffee. He orders a Grande Drip Bold Room for Cream typa coffee for himself.  He orders Me a Double Tall Non-Fat Latte with One Pump of Peppermint Extra Hot typa coffee.

The Kids are annoyed.

He's back with the coffee.  Happy Parents.  Happy House. We open more presents.  Happy Kids! All is well with the world....until tomorrow...                                                        
.......and the next day....                                          
...........and the next day....                              
..............and the next and the next and the next...                                    
                                                    
Let me just say that there are lots and lots of steps to preparing the coffee with this Machine:

Grinder:  Pry out, Pry off, clean out, dry up, measure and cram beans
Coffee Filter: Take apart, dump, clean, reassemble
Coffee Pot: Empty, wash, secure the top to grooves
Coffee Machine: Set time, press program
....oh yeah....FILL WITH WATER

Yes, I'll say it's convenient.

Since Christmas Day, except on some occasions, I've been the coffee maker.  I've probably missed one, two or three of these steps at least once or twice or more, consequently, giving us:  weak coffee, leaked coffee, no coffee, 1/2 pot of coffee, old coffee mixed with new coffee, overflowing coffee, non-hot coffee, and expensive coffee.  Expensive why?  Because we've doubled the beans, tripled the beans, quadrupled the beans.  Double, tripled and quadrupled the grounds.  The grounds sometimes half dry. The beans sometimes not fully ground.  And the "thermos-that-keeps-it-hot-NOT" pot has a lid that flies off every time you pour out the last bit of coffee.

I don't know why we haven't taken it back.  Maybe because we're lazy.  Maybe because The Husband doesn't want to feel gift-giving failure.  Maybe because the rebate got sent in.  Or simply because we're both bound to make it work.  After all, we are having an adventure.  Maybe not the adventure we set out for, but an adventure, nevertheless.

I'm starting to get used to Machine.  Machine's making better coffee.  Although quite intensive, Machine and Me now have our routine.  For now, as I wake up to that lovely sound of a chainsaw coming from the kitchen at 5 am, I'm reminded that it's okay to surrender to Adventures with Machine while suspending Adventures in Coffee.  I'll eventually get that perfect cup of coffee!  Yes I will!  Then Adventures in Coffee will proceed!

Ciao for now!
k