02B2E: Coffee Talking

Friday Roast Chicken

 Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 790

The new coffeemaker works like a dream. It is exactly what I've hoped for in a coffeemaker. I get freshly brewed coffee with the touch of a button and I only need to refill the water container once every day or so. Our main challenge has nothing to do with the machine - more the fact that our mugs aren't big enough to carry two long coffees at a time. So I feel like I get less coffee per cup, but the flavor is certainly quite potent. I'm tempted to make sure to have hot water ready to top off our mugs more, but we haven't gotten to that point.

Instead, I've gone from 2 full mugs of coffee per day to 3 individual long coffee doses as dispensed by the machine - and that totally works out. And the ability to bring 1 or 2 cups at a time means that Tobie is no longer bound to me and my coffee intake. Before I'd end up reminding Tobie to finish his first cup of coffee because I was about to pour the second one as I had just brewed another pot. Now I stand up and get another cup even if Tobie hasn't finished his - and then we'd "reconnect" later when I prepare a second cup for him but my third for the day. 

It's quite the time-saver not just in terms of brewing cups of coffee throughout the day, but even in terms of maintenance. The previous Hanabishi machine was very fiddly and I had to allot time at the end of every day to empty out all the coffee grounds and clean the entire machine just so I could brew some 4 mugs of coffee during the next day. And we always have our coffee because that's how it goes. As much as this is a more complex machine, it's also a lot easier to clean and maintain. 

And tonight I tried to make Tobie a cappuccino - the first time I've ever tried to do anything like this in my life. It wasn't the best cup of coffee I've ever made, but it was a fun experiment. And I'll do better next time - we have a lot of time to continue to experiment and see what else this machine can do.

It's exactly the sort of distraction I needed given the ups and downs of this week - with the elections being the really big downer. And just like Leni Robredo's unexpected Facebook Live videos and today's big Thanksgiving activity at Ateneo, this indulgent coffeemaker purchase has been something to celebrate and find solace in.

May we all find more such distractions and sources of happiness and entertainment over the next year or 6 years. We have a long road ahead of us, after all. 

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