Monday, April 18, 2011

Java Java Java



First off, even though most of you likely won't see this post until tomorrow or Wednesday, I'd like wish a Happy and Blessed Passover to all of my Jewish friends on this very Holy Day.

Well, we did it. We finally broke down and caved in to the pressure of Monday through Friday morning life in the 21st century.  Now, don't get me wrong.... We haven't exactly been living in the Dark Ages. For the last several years, hubbs and I poured our morning coffee from a standard "Automatic Drip Coffee Maker".  A 14 Cup Cuisinart Brew Central, to be exact.

I wouldn't call either of us coffee connoisseurs, but we can both be a little picky when it comes to our daily dose of "eye-opener". That being said, I did grow up with a father who was a simple and kind man, but was a complete coffee snob.  He wasn't always concerned about the brand, roast or blend of coffee that he drank, but he was a stickler for fresh brewed, percolated coffee.  To say that he despised automatic drip coffee makers would be an understatement of mammoth proportions. If it wasn't fresh perked or if it was over 10 minutes old, he wouldn't drink it. It was that simple. This was a man who knew every diner, truck stop and roadside restaurant within a 100 mile radius of home, by how good or bad their coffee was.  The food was just an afterthought.  He even carried a small percolator around Europe in his rucksack during WWII and made "camp coffee" in foxholes and bombed out buildings. I still have his favorite percolator in a box in our basement.  I keep telling myself that one of these days I'll go down and unearth that bad boy and make myself a big old pot of memories. Usually, it's at about 3:00 AM that I think about it, so that tells you how unlikely it is to happen any time soon. It's an old Farberware pot that looks almost exactly like this:


Of course, Daddy's pot is a bit worse for the wear than the one in this picture, but it's not damaged. It just has a certain patina that comes from years of love and hand washing by the man himself.  He never trusted Mama not to use soap. After each pot of coffee was finished, he would rinse it out with very hot tap water and dry it with a clean kitchen towel. (which made Mama furious, not to mention making it necessary for her to replace her kitchen towels on an insanely frequent basis) About once every two or three weeks, he would "brew" a pot of white vinegar, to take care any serious build-up of coffee residue. This was not a time when you wanted to be anywhere near the kitchen because the fumes from vigorously boiling vinegar can be overwhelming, to say the least.

But, I digress...... The point of this post was to "fess up" to finally giving in and purchasing the newest thing to come up the coffee pike.  (or is that "down" the pike??)  Either way, I'm sure that Daddy would be appalled! Yup! That's it, you guessed it!  We bought a Keurig single cup brewing station.  The Keurig B70 to be exact. I resisted as long as I could, but the pressure was just too strong.  I got so sick of  the work it requires to keep a drip coffee maker in top brewing condition. Plus, it's reached the point where it has become an issue of basic economics. In a nutshell, we've been wasting perfectly good (and expensive) coffee from Monday through Friday. Hubbs fills his commuter mug once on weekday mornings, right before he leaves for work and over the next half hour or so, I'll drink another 2 equal sized mugs.  If you brew a full 14 cup pot of coffee, you waste a great deal of it when you're only consuming 3 mugs of it a day.


There are about 25 other excuses reasons that I could come up with to justify our new purchase, but let's face it..... We wanted it.  And we couldn't be happier!  It even has a separate little accessory called "My K-Cup" that allows you to use your own ground coffee instead of the little pods that are made for it. (of course we bought it!) Sure, it's a bit of a novelty right now, so it's going to be exciting to use and experiment with, but it's the convenience of the machine and our laziness factor as we get further into middle age that makes this new coffee maker such a joy. So without further ado, here she is!






Isn't she a beauty?? Not only does this miracle of the weekday morning make great coffee, but it also brews tea (both hot and iced) and cocoa and who knows what other purposes I can find for it down the road? We're still keeping the drip coffee maker for those times when we have a few more coffee drinkers in the house and we also still have our faithful French Press pot for those times when we're feeling a bit European and pretentious. And some day, I'll dig out Daddy's beloved percolator and make myself that pot of memories.  But for now, it's single cup brewing all the way for us!  Anyone else out there fallen in love with the Keurig??  I'd love to hear what you think.

7 comments:

  1. I've never acquired the taste for coffee. I have had tea from one of the Keurig machines, it seems convenient.

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  2. She looks like a total beauty... but I have never had coffee myself either! Ever! Just a herbal tea drinker, occasionally!

    Cheers sweetie

    Tracy

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  3. Oh you Lucky lady! I tried to talk Hubby into a Keurig but he thought it would be too expensive..Keep me posted on how you like it!
    I like the idea of a fresh cup of coffee every time, no waste and I just like new toys!

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  4. I have to confess I just have not used one of these. I just love my espresso maker so much. I have a drip coffee maker in the pantry that I pull out for company. My friend swears by the percolated cup and I sure do enjoy it when I visit with her and have a cup. What do you do with the used pods? I've been curious about that.

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  5. The Keurig is on my list for Christmas! My brother has one and loves it. He bought one for his wife to keep in her office at work. Since Bud rarely drinks coffee, this is perfect for me.

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  6. I was wasting a lot of coffee too. So I bought a plastic drip...I don't even know what to call it...container? You put a cone shaped filter into it. Place the fresh grounds(I always grind fresh) inside, and place the container on top of your coffee cup. Boil a kettle and pour water over the lovely coffee and it drips down into your cup. Once cup at at time, no waste...and oh, it cost me $3.29!!:) Don't get me wrong, I'd love one of those one-cup wonders...but this is what works for now.

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  7. George: Our sample pack came with pods of different teas and I tried the English Breakfast. (one of my favorites) I was surprised that it wasn't too weak or too strong. I don't think I'd go to the expense of this model just for making tea, but there are less expensive models that may just be worth it for the convenience factor. The water heats up in a flash and it's piping hot too!

    Tracy: In my teen years, I drank tea exclusively and I still love a cup now and then. It was Corporate America that started me drinking coffee. The first office I worked in was set up so that it was more of a chore to make tea than it was coffee. Strange, right? Does your sweetie drink coffee?

    Shawn: Hubby was reluctant until he realized that we'd be saving money in the process. He's the type who just has to go "bigger, better, bolder", so once he was OK with the idea of getting one, it just HAD to be this model. I can't see where the less expensive models are any different, except for cup size choices. (this one has a travel mug size - which he uses every day) Plus, getting it at Bed, Bath & Beyond with one of their 20% off coupons saved us almost $30. I just love BB&B !!

    Sweet Bee: I don't blame you for loving your espresso maker! We almost put in one of the built-in models when we remodeled the kitchen. The pods? Well, they're just like those plastic creamers you get in restaurants and when you're done you just toss them in the trash. Not exactly the most eco-friendly things. That's why we got the "My K-Cup" to use with it. It's just a tiny filter basket like you see in any drip coffee maker, so there's nothing to toss out.(except the grounds, of course)

    Sue: Since Bud has (quite recently) shown that he's "da bomb" in the wish fulfillment department, I would bet you can check this one off as a done deal on your Christmas list! Do you have any special occasions coming up sooner? Maybe he's on a roll! LOL

    Liza: I've seen those and always wondered how they worked. Good to know they work well! One of those would have been great when our daughter was at college. I always make up big baskets of dorm friendly goodies for new grads and this would be perfect to include for the kids who drink coffee! Thanks for the great tip!

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