My old Braun Coffee Maker gave up the ghost today. Or yesterday, I guess. I brewed a pot yesterday, but after the brew cycle it kept shutting off, so the warmer wasn’t warming. I hit the power button a few times, but it was a losing battle and I resorted to nuking my last cup to warm it.
Then, this morning, came the bad news. The brew cycle wasn’t running. So I guess that’s it. I got 20 years out of it, so I suppose I got my money’s worth, eh? And the warrantee expired back in 1988, so Braun won’t replace it.
Pfft, why don’t you and my Dad get together and talk about a 20 year old VCR to watch tapes on with your coffee :rolleyes::p;)
Dad maintains that any appliance in our house that broke was due to us kids and never, ever because it was bought cheap in the 80s and was lucky to last to the 90s. The only ones I’m willing to give him are the remote controls that were chewed to bits like the other things my little sister chewed.
Having said that, I really miss the old JVC remote, the only remote I’ve seen in a while that had an LCD screen on it that let you sit and programme something in the kitchen, then wander into the living room and transmit a programme to the VCR. On the downside, there was no onscreen display, so to see what was programmed into the machine, you had to get down on your knees and peer at the screen and press rubbery buttons that never seemed to be attached to anything.
Ugh. I hadn’t thought of that. We’ve got an old-fashioned-style percolator coffee maker that my wife got as a bridal shower gift (???). I’m going today to get it out of storage today. I didn’t like it - it made scalding hot coffee, but it’s better than nothing. Marginally.
I hate coffeemakers. I really do. They suck. Badly. They suck so much that we finally got one from Gevalia* - it’s the only one we’ve ever had that doesn’t DRIP WHEN YOU POUR THE DAMN COFFEE.
*Yes, we cancelled the coffee - it’s too expensive. We just buy Folgers. Or Hills Brothers if it’s on sale. Mr2U says “red is good - blue is bad” when it comes to coffee color cans.
I know. I know. If you’d like to set up some kind of fundraiser and donate the proceeds to me so I can buy a proper coffee pot, please do so. I’m broke.
We had the cheap-ass Gevalia, and it worked for about as long as the first coffee purchase lasted. That suckah is long gone.
But I understand about the drippy carafe. That’s the reason we bought our current one. It’s a Cuisinart and you put your cup on the little grate and press the lever and your coffee is dispensed, drip-free. It rocks…except the cord appears to be shorting or something. It really pisses me off.
Years ago, when I was camping a fair bit, I got a drip thingy that can make a whole pot of coffee that you just put over a container and pour the hot water over the grounds. It’s great when the power is out, too, or when the coffeemaker dies. I highly recommend keeping something non-technical like that around for such dire emergencies. Anything is better than a percolator.
Melita makes one of those, very popular in Euro land, they don’t do electric coffee pots over there. Drip makers aren’t necessarily bad, but very few get the water hot enough to extract the flavor correctly.
I went and got the Coffee Percolator out of storage.
I knew I had identified the box in which it was packed - I could see the evil radiating off of it like stink-lines on cartoon garbage. I opened the box, and after a moment’s hesitation lifted it from the wadded-up 2001 Boston Heralds (FIRE in SOUTHIE!). It’s disconcertingly heavy. When I got in my car to go back to the office - it wouldn’t start. I turned the key and the engine chugged but wouldn’t turn over. It’s never done that before, and the car has only 8,500 miles. It started on the second attempt, and I drove back to the office filled with dread and foreboding. God have mercy on my soul. I’m going to perc coffee tomorrow at dawn.
