Coffeemaker

I once read this article in some old issue of Reader's Digest, by some lady who was given an old-fashioned home ice-cream maker as a wedding present. It was a time when a lot of new, zappy kitchen appliances were getting made, and it was a fad to gift things like that, so this particular gift occasioned some surprise to the lady. The old couple who were giving it smiled at the newlyweds' ill-disguised surprise, and told them that it would come in handy one day.

Well, the young couple settled down, and soon their life took the fast lane. Work pressures, kids, strain on their marital relationship. One fine day, when things were getting pretty hot, and everyone was sitting tired and stressed, the woman remembered the yet-unopened wedding present. She tossed up the idea. Everyone was surprised, but they pulled out the ice-cream maker, and started working it, putting together the ingredients, mixing up everything, and cooling the thing in the end. No modern day conveniences there. It was a lengthy process, and took a lot of effort, but it created space for some laughter and some family bonding. It brought a smile back to everyone, and a feeling as sweet as the ice-cream that they finally got to eat. It was a stress-buster. The couple then understood the wisdom of the older couple who had gifted them that ice-cream maker. And once secure in the stability of their marriage, they started to make the same gift to other newly married couples.

Now this story has nothing to do with my coffeemaker, which is about as modern and as functional as any other that you can buy nowadays. It was not a wedding present by some wise person in the hope that it would one day be instrumental in teaching me any valuable lessons about slowing down; it was a birthday gift from my aunt and uncle, in the hope of allowing me some nice modern convenience to save time. It's true I didn't pull it out the moment I got home, but I'm only two months older than I was when I got the thing. And I haven't had to make any great, relaxed efforts to prepare the ingredients; all it takes is cold water and the coffee grounds. I was just thinking of the Reader's Digest story, that's all. This coffeemaker has a different destiny than that ice-cream maker.

I have never brewed coffee for myself before. It was made for me at the local stall outside my undergraduate college, and I paid for every cup that I drank. It was made by a guy who made his living selling tea, coffee and cigarettes day in and day out at that stall, a complete professional in the trade of streetside beverage, a person who knew how to brew the thing properly. I've had the miserable excuse for cold coffee that these modern day coffee bars are fond of dishing out to rich kids who have money to burn on something that doesn't deserve the greens being spent on it. I've never drunk coffee at home; my mother makes it for herself the old fashioned way - heat the water, add the coffee, add the milk and sugar. I've never even participated in the making of it. This was certainly a first time experience, brewing my own coffee, even though it was out of such a convenient appliance.

The thing looks very pretty, very classy, a lovely white coloured thing, sitting on my kitchen counter. I don't know how much it cost, how good a model it is compared with other models of coffeemakers, I don't how how this brand compares with other brands of coffeemakers. Hell, I don't even know whether other coffeemakers differ from this one in any essential detail of structure or mechanism. I just know that this one worked properly the first time I brewed coffee in it today.

I'm no expert on coffee either. I don't know the different kinds of coffee, or the different ways to brew it. I have no clue regarding the differences in flavour depending on where the coffee beans have been grown, or the different flavours that can be achieved by addition of extra ingredients. I know nothing of the differences in price between the various brands that market coffee. I'm not quite sure, even at this point, what the difference is between the coffee powder used to make coffee in the pan over the gas stove and the coffee grounds that are put into the filter of the coffeemaker. I just know nice, strong-tasting coffee when I drink it.

I brewed coffee in my coffeemaker today, and it was the first time for both, coffeemaking, and using a coffeemaker. I did just about everything wrong that could be done. I put in too much water. I forgot the milk and sugar. And I miscalculated the time it would take to brew the coffee, so I ended up having it right after a heavy lunch. It was essentially a strong, black, watery brew. But guess what? It was still fun.