Thank God there are like a zillion Starbucks in England. Otherwise I would just have to go mad over trying to make my own at home.
In the states, we had bought a really nice Keurigs machine back in 2006. It was beautiful. I ordered a bunch of the k-cups with all their wonderful flavors. I ordered some teas and hot chocolate. I even got the attachment part so I could put my own ground coffee in it. It was like the coolest thing. Mr. and I didn't even fight over who had to make the coffee either! Success!
So, when we moved here I naturally brought it with us. I would just get a converter to power conversion and continue using it. First obstacle turned out to be that they won't ship the k-cups out of the US. No! Boo! But I figured I could sweet talk my mom into helping me out with getting them here. Then I called a place I found over here who sells the US to UK power converters. He completely blew me off and said 'get a machine over here'. What? No, you don't understand. I spent an arm and a leg on this specific coffee machine. We love it. We want to use it. I don't want a UK one. Then he told me what the cost of the power converter was going to be. It was the same as the machine nearly. Sad. Sad. I finally packed up my nice Keurig after about a month and shipped it to my mom for her to use. Sigh. Then I did nothing.
After finding Starbucks, I just went there and other places and gave up on the whole machine at home. Okay, don't laugh, but we used. . .instant coffee. I know. I know. Have we no taste?! But, I admit, it was actually pretty good.
Then one day I was having coffee with one of the new moms I've met at her house, and she pulls out this huge silver contraption. It was some sort of manual high-end coffee press. I watched her use it and then had some of the best coffee I have ever had. Well, this thing was out of the question for us. Way too expensive and way too much work plus it was like 2ft x 2ft in size. But I started to take notice of what others where using to make their coffee and found out this french press (see photo) is most popular thing. They're quite cheap, so I got one to try out.(I still haven't seen one coffee machine at anyone's house.)
It's really not too bad to use. I already make my tea directly from leaves so pouring grounds and using the little device wasn't an issue.
The issue is. . .I just can't get the right mix. I've tried numerous beans. Numerous mixes of water to scoops. Different 'brew' times. And I just can't get a taste I like. So, that silly little press has been moved to the back of the cabinet. Enter phase 3.
Since I so loved our old coffee machine using the pre-measured cups, I thought I'd go that route again. Research. Research. Do you know that no one in England actually drinks any flavored coffees? LOL. Okay, that was harsh. But I can't find anyone who makes these cups in any sort of flavor. No vanilla or caramel or anything. Boo. After much debate, I decided to just go ahead and get a machine anyway and add syrups if needed.
In conclusion, we'll have had whole beans, partial ground beans (did I mention I burned up our US grinder? I guess the wattage exceeded the converter), instant coffee, and a coffee machine. And I still can't get a decent cup. Hope the new machine works out.
Anyone for a cup of coffee?
This weekend found us visiting the Isle of Wight. We left on a dreary early Saturday morning. Rain was forecast and it looked to hit us any minute. Boo. But we headed on down to Southampton to take our car on the ferry over to the Isle regardless.
