Coffeemakers new, improved?
We’ve got a new coffeemaker. Frankly I was hoping my wife would make me a cup of coffee with it this morning, but I heard the ding of the microwave, so I know I got the “old stuff.”
The “old stuff” is really some new stuff, and it’s not all that bad. Let me explain.
Marilyn and I are not really coffee connoisseurs. We do very much like our first cup in the morning, and we usually enjoy a second cup. And usually that does it for both of us.
I could easily be one of those compulsive people who drinks coffee all day long, but my nervous system won’t take it. I got my lesson on that thirty years ago.
I’m naturally a moving target, and like to get out and about most of the time, but I was promoted to a management job, complete with a secretary and a nice office. Being the thoughtful person she was, my new secretary bought me a Mr. Coffee for my promotion and new office, and being compulsive and in the office all the time, I sat around drinking coffee much of the day.
When night time came, I rolled around much of the night, unable to fall asleep. I realized that two pots of Mr. Coffee was too much of a good thing.
So for Barry, no coffee after noon. Even a lot of Cola or tea at night, and I am subject to have a hard time drifting off. Typically it’s hard to catch me awake after 10:30, and I like getting to sleep about then.
For many years we have been Maxwell House or Folger’s drinkers. We have a Mr. Coffee, but we don’t usually drink a pot of coffee, and some mornings one of us will only have one cup for whatever reason, so we make individual cups of instant in the microwave.
A year or so ago, Marilyn asked that we stay with Folger’s. I really think it has to do with the aroma when you open the jar more than anything else.
Marilyn is not a cream user. My Dad always liked cream in his coffee, so I grew up sipping his and would tend to do things like my dad did, but early on I decided I would do without most of the time. He always used half a teaspoon of sugar, and similar to him I use half a package of Sweet N Low.
I’m not one why buys a lot of drinks in convenience stores, and Starbucks is not on many corners where I hang out, so the many varieties of coffee and creamers have not been a significant temptation. Still, there have been a few times when I have grabbed a cup and have particularly tried the Irish Cream or Hazelnut creamers. I have to admit that Hazelnut has an attraction for me. I occasionally will buy Coffee Mate with Hazelnut, and I will do French Vanilla, but it’s certainly not something I obsess over.
Some convenience stores have started stocking seemingly 30 different flavors of coffee. I tried to make a cup one day, and what I ended up with was disgusting. I guess I was mixing flavored coffee with a different flavored cream. Whatever I did, I don’t want to do again. I’m afraid to try.
While on vacation, we stopped in a Starbucks, mainly to use their free Wi-Fi, which now you have to pay for. My daughters knew exactly what they wanted, and I got something which sounded safe, but all I know is it costs a whole lot more than what I am used to paying for coffee and it certainly wasn’t worth the difference. Particularly with no free Wi-Fi.
One thing we did discover, or re-discovered, on the vacation was Taster’s Choice. It had been a number of years since we had had any. My memory was that Mom, who we were staying with, used Taster’s Choice, but unbeknownst to me, she has had to give up coffee. We bought a jar of Taster’s Choice to bring with us so we wouldn’t drink up all of her coffee while we were staying with her, but she packed it up for us to take back home.
Well, lately that has been our coffee of choice. It is a bit stronger than the instant we are used to, so we don’t use as much, but Marilyn likes it. It’s our “new stuff”, so it’s not really the “old stuff.”
What she really likes however, and was a bit obsessed over, was a coffeemaker we both “discovered.” We recently went to different conventions at about the same time, and both were held at centers with a Hilton attached. I usually stay at something more akin to Motel 6 when I have to pay for a room, but the Hilton made more sense for the conventions we were attending.
Coffeemakers in the room are no big thing, even for a Motel 6, but Hiltons now have an individual cup drip coffeemaker that she particularly liked. You can make two cups at one time.
When she got back, Marilyn exhausted the Internet searching for one of those coffeemakers, or something similar. She finally settled on a Hamilton Beach Three-in One Beverage Center at Target for about $30. It makes one cup at a time, and it uses the individual coffee “pods,” filter wrapped grounds for one or two small cups. It also takes tea bags and heats water for hot cereals. It's not what she wanted, but the real thing is a Hilton exclusive by Cuisinart and not available on their “like our rooms, buy the contents here” website.
I was not 100% pleased with my first cup the other day, but I’m not sure I put the filter in the right place. She bought medium roast and French vanilla flavored pods. I’m not surprised she didn’t like the French vanilla since she has not cared for the flavored brands before. So she says she will use it when she wants a special cup. I’m not sure if we found the perfect cup or not. The jury is still out.
I’ll let you know.
The “old stuff” is really some new stuff, and it’s not all that bad. Let me explain.
Marilyn and I are not really coffee connoisseurs. We do very much like our first cup in the morning, and we usually enjoy a second cup. And usually that does it for both of us.
I could easily be one of those compulsive people who drinks coffee all day long, but my nervous system won’t take it. I got my lesson on that thirty years ago.
I’m naturally a moving target, and like to get out and about most of the time, but I was promoted to a management job, complete with a secretary and a nice office. Being the thoughtful person she was, my new secretary bought me a Mr. Coffee for my promotion and new office, and being compulsive and in the office all the time, I sat around drinking coffee much of the day.
When night time came, I rolled around much of the night, unable to fall asleep. I realized that two pots of Mr. Coffee was too much of a good thing.
So for Barry, no coffee after noon. Even a lot of Cola or tea at night, and I am subject to have a hard time drifting off. Typically it’s hard to catch me awake after 10:30, and I like getting to sleep about then.
For many years we have been Maxwell House or Folger’s drinkers. We have a Mr. Coffee, but we don’t usually drink a pot of coffee, and some mornings one of us will only have one cup for whatever reason, so we make individual cups of instant in the microwave.
A year or so ago, Marilyn asked that we stay with Folger’s. I really think it has to do with the aroma when you open the jar more than anything else.
Marilyn is not a cream user. My Dad always liked cream in his coffee, so I grew up sipping his and would tend to do things like my dad did, but early on I decided I would do without most of the time. He always used half a teaspoon of sugar, and similar to him I use half a package of Sweet N Low.
I’m not one why buys a lot of drinks in convenience stores, and Starbucks is not on many corners where I hang out, so the many varieties of coffee and creamers have not been a significant temptation. Still, there have been a few times when I have grabbed a cup and have particularly tried the Irish Cream or Hazelnut creamers. I have to admit that Hazelnut has an attraction for me. I occasionally will buy Coffee Mate with Hazelnut, and I will do French Vanilla, but it’s certainly not something I obsess over.
Some convenience stores have started stocking seemingly 30 different flavors of coffee. I tried to make a cup one day, and what I ended up with was disgusting. I guess I was mixing flavored coffee with a different flavored cream. Whatever I did, I don’t want to do again. I’m afraid to try.
While on vacation, we stopped in a Starbucks, mainly to use their free Wi-Fi, which now you have to pay for. My daughters knew exactly what they wanted, and I got something which sounded safe, but all I know is it costs a whole lot more than what I am used to paying for coffee and it certainly wasn’t worth the difference. Particularly with no free Wi-Fi.
One thing we did discover, or re-discovered, on the vacation was Taster’s Choice. It had been a number of years since we had had any. My memory was that Mom, who we were staying with, used Taster’s Choice, but unbeknownst to me, she has had to give up coffee. We bought a jar of Taster’s Choice to bring with us so we wouldn’t drink up all of her coffee while we were staying with her, but she packed it up for us to take back home.
Well, lately that has been our coffee of choice. It is a bit stronger than the instant we are used to, so we don’t use as much, but Marilyn likes it. It’s our “new stuff”, so it’s not really the “old stuff.”
What she really likes however, and was a bit obsessed over, was a coffeemaker we both “discovered.” We recently went to different conventions at about the same time, and both were held at centers with a Hilton attached. I usually stay at something more akin to Motel 6 when I have to pay for a room, but the Hilton made more sense for the conventions we were attending.
Coffeemakers in the room are no big thing, even for a Motel 6, but Hiltons now have an individual cup drip coffeemaker that she particularly liked. You can make two cups at one time.
When she got back, Marilyn exhausted the Internet searching for one of those coffeemakers, or something similar. She finally settled on a Hamilton Beach Three-in One Beverage Center at Target for about $30. It makes one cup at a time, and it uses the individual coffee “pods,” filter wrapped grounds for one or two small cups. It also takes tea bags and heats water for hot cereals. It's not what she wanted, but the real thing is a Hilton exclusive by Cuisinart and not available on their “like our rooms, buy the contents here” website.
I was not 100% pleased with my first cup the other day, but I’m not sure I put the filter in the right place. She bought medium roast and French vanilla flavored pods. I’m not surprised she didn’t like the French vanilla since she has not cared for the flavored brands before. So she says she will use it when she wants a special cup. I’m not sure if we found the perfect cup or not. The jury is still out.
I’ll let you know.
posted by Barry | 9:48 AM
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