Dear Diary,
Lets talk coffee pots. The French Press. A delightful little glass apparatus that requires no electricity to make coffee. A very British idea. When I first encountered one in Seattle at a 5 star hotel, I didn't even know what it was or how it worked. After I read the instructions, I was enthralled. Imagine. Just add the grounds to the pot, boil water, pour it over the grounds and wait 3 minutes (the instructions say 4 is better), press the plunger down, turn the lid to strain and you have a cup of coffee and a spare one in the pot! Wow! My first cup, I waited the full 4 minutes. No use hurrying it. Lets be civilized about this. It was a tolerable experience for 3 days in Seattle.
When we arrived home, I even bought one for myself, but never used it once. It sits under the kitchen counter. It was only $19 and it looks so European.
Here in Barbados, guess what? The coffee maker is a French Press. Ok, I can deal with that. Wish I had seen that before I spent $11 for 11 oz of drip grind coffee, but I'll make it work. What to measure the ground with? Whomever put this kitchen together didn't include a measuring cup or measuring spoons. Ok, the old spoon-out-of-the=drawer measure. The electric stove (well, that's another chapter all together) waits forever to heat the water and then, BAM! It's a rolling, maddening boil! I poured the water on the grounds and waited 4 minutes. Do you know how long 4 minutes is when you're waiting for your first cup of coffee? Good, now I pour it! Wait! This is pretty darned strong! Even for me who loves strong coffee! I pour a cup for husband and he tries not to make faces, but I noticed he used an unprecedented amount of milk and sugar. I made a second pot. This one was weak. I could see the bottom of the cup. No good. I'll get the hang of this.
The next morning, I wasn't as enthused to start the coffee process. I looked in the lower cupboards. for a "real" coffee maker. Perhaps I had overlooked it. Nope. Get the glass pot out, scoop in an undetermined amount of grounds, wait for the water to boil, pour it on the grounds and wait 4 minutes. OK, maybe they were over estimating. Is 4 really necessary? I shave a 1/2 minute or so off the wait and I pour it. Hmm..not as bad as yesterday but it has a long way to go.
Here we are on day 10. I dread waking up and facing that glass torture machine! Why isn't there a Starbucks here in this God forsaken country? I boil the water. Ok.. I make it hot. Takes too damned long to boil on this poor excuse for a stove. I pour the grounds into the pot right out of the coffee can. Who needs a spoon? Doesn't seem to make much difference how I do it. I either get wash water or a jolt that makes your body think you grabbed hole of a high tension wire and couldn't let go! The one I made this morning will have me shaking like I was on that 2 1/2 hr bus ride again from yesterday. The British and their damn evil inventions! I HATE THEM ALL.
Lets talk coffee pots. The French Press. A delightful little glass apparatus that requires no electricity to make coffee. A very British idea. When I first encountered one in Seattle at a 5 star hotel, I didn't even know what it was or how it worked. After I read the instructions, I was enthralled. Imagine. Just add the grounds to the pot, boil water, pour it over the grounds and wait 3 minutes (the instructions say 4 is better), press the plunger down, turn the lid to strain and you have a cup of coffee and a spare one in the pot! Wow! My first cup, I waited the full 4 minutes. No use hurrying it. Lets be civilized about this. It was a tolerable experience for 3 days in Seattle.
When we arrived home, I even bought one for myself, but never used it once. It sits under the kitchen counter. It was only $19 and it looks so European.
Here in Barbados, guess what? The coffee maker is a French Press. Ok, I can deal with that. Wish I had seen that before I spent $11 for 11 oz of drip grind coffee, but I'll make it work. What to measure the ground with? Whomever put this kitchen together didn't include a measuring cup or measuring spoons. Ok, the old spoon-out-of-the=drawer measure. The electric stove (well, that's another chapter all together) waits forever to heat the water and then, BAM! It's a rolling, maddening boil! I poured the water on the grounds and waited 4 minutes. Do you know how long 4 minutes is when you're waiting for your first cup of coffee? Good, now I pour it! Wait! This is pretty darned strong! Even for me who loves strong coffee! I pour a cup for husband and he tries not to make faces, but I noticed he used an unprecedented amount of milk and sugar. I made a second pot. This one was weak. I could see the bottom of the cup. No good. I'll get the hang of this.
The next morning, I wasn't as enthused to start the coffee process. I looked in the lower cupboards. for a "real" coffee maker. Perhaps I had overlooked it. Nope. Get the glass pot out, scoop in an undetermined amount of grounds, wait for the water to boil, pour it on the grounds and wait 4 minutes. OK, maybe they were over estimating. Is 4 really necessary? I shave a 1/2 minute or so off the wait and I pour it. Hmm..not as bad as yesterday but it has a long way to go.
Here we are on day 10. I dread waking up and facing that glass torture machine! Why isn't there a Starbucks here in this God forsaken country? I boil the water. Ok.. I make it hot. Takes too damned long to boil on this poor excuse for a stove. I pour the grounds into the pot right out of the coffee can. Who needs a spoon? Doesn't seem to make much difference how I do it. I either get wash water or a jolt that makes your body think you grabbed hole of a high tension wire and couldn't let go! The one I made this morning will have me shaking like I was on that 2 1/2 hr bus ride again from yesterday. The British and their damn evil inventions! I HATE THEM ALL.
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