When Life Gives You Bodums...

Retro chic...

A few years ago we were given one of those fancy coffee making machines. The one that you put coffee beans into and the machine grinds and brews them for a perfect cup. Many a year the two of us have been sipping nice strong coffee in the mornings, alas, made one after the other and with enough noise to wake up the neighbourhood. When family or friends stay with us we only have our first cup at the decent hour of six o'clock.

A guest had left a Bodum coffee maker in one of mum's and as she doesn't need or use it, she passed it onto me. It has been faithfully gathering dust on our shelf while it was awaiting a chance to be used. That chance was slim to none as Bob is enamoured with his coffee machine. The odd occasions when we have family to stay, or we have a big family breakfast, I haul out another ancient but perfectly sufficient beans to cup converter. A filter coffee machine, magically able to make coffee for all simultaneously!

Last week, I took it upon my self to clean Bob's machine. I took out all the bits and eh, bobs, washed them and put them back together again. Or at least tried to. Oh dear, something was clearly wrong and after twenty minutes of ardently trying I threw in the towel and called for backup. Bob came to have a go and after a while was heard to mutter ( apart from expletives ) that I had had it in for this machine for some time and perhaps I had helped it along. As if I would have done more than thought that!

Happy visions of making coffee the old fashioned way floated in my mind but after a few hours to cool down ( Bob that is ), the machine decided to grace us with its presence for another while. At least my husband was happy again but I had already strayed to a cup of coffee made with the bodum.

We only have coffee beans but we do have a smoothie maker. I put a few beans in it and gave them a whirl. Yeah, it worked and they morphed into delicious smelling ground coffee. Easy indeed and fresher too.

Only a moment ago I made myself a cup of brewed coffee in my Bodum, complete with frothy soy milk. What a treat and what a nice afternoon pick me up. It has taught me to think a bit further than merely running to the nearest shop to buy stuff as most of the time there is an easier solution and in this case, a better tasting one as well.

Biggi