There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Not only does it smell great but that first cup of the day always tastes so much better than the next ones.
Growing up in the 60’s in Africa the go-to drink was or maybe still is tea. Probably had a lot to do with living in what used to be a British colony. The 60’s were a time of black and white television and cowboys and Indians, programs like Bonanza, Rawhide and the like… and they all drank coffee. And I thought that was neat, I wanted to as well.
Trouble was, real coffee was expensive so instant coffee it was. And I drank it black with no sugar: I never saw a cowboy put milk or sugar in his coffee so I didn’t either.
It was only after I got married that I took a greater interest in making coffee. With real coffee, you know coffee beans. Or ground coffee that definitely did not come out of an instant coffee jar or tin.
I bought a French press. Definitely a step up from instant coffee but really only the first step on the ladder… but it was a start.
Next I bought a drip coffee maker. You put the ground coffee in the holder, which has a filter, and the hot water is passed through it. Tasted better than the French press and had less residue.
Whilst the taste of coffee was better it wasn’t that strong taste I was looking for. So I went out looking for an Espresso machine. It came with 2 small cups which I guess meant you were only supposed to drink a small amount at a time. Whilst I don’t mind sitting at some café whiling away the time taking 30 minutes to drink a piddling amount of coffee a small Espresso cup of coffee is not what I am looking for.
Anyway the Espresso coffee machine never really produced an Espresso that even tasted like one you could buy at your local coffee place and on top of that didn’t even produce a drink of substance.
So I went back to a drip coffee maker, and I went through several. Some used paper filters, others mesh but none of them gave me what I really wanted. But when you compare them to what the Bonanza brothers had to make coffee perhaps I was missing the mark anyway.
Then along came the Nesspresso machine. A one-serve coffee pod machine. I sampled the coffee produced and thought this would be a great investment, so I bought one complete with milk frother and all even though I don’t take milk.
What really impressed me about this machine is that Nespresso get coffees from all over the world and you get to try them out without having to spend a fortune.
And although it has been a good buy its not really real coffee, is it?
But, now, when I go to work we have a commercial coffee machine, which produces the most amazing coffee. As long as it has been filled with water and beans all you need to do is press a button and you can listen as it grinds the beans and makes your coffee. If I could I would bring it home with me but if I did I’m pretty sure my workmates would be quite unhappy with me.
I enjoy my coffee at the office and Nespresso at home but my son recently gave me a 2 cup (very small cups) stove top espresso maker which produces the most fantastic Espresso but as I want more than some dinky drink from my coffee I’ve taken to mixing my 2 cups of Espresso with boiling water 50:50 to produce my version of an Americano.