I know have been MIA. Once mid-February hit, it had pretty much been non-stop from weekend to weekend, and I slacked. But I was having so much fun. Anyhoo, I’m back (and back to stay!)…
So, two months ago, I waxed poetic about my four-year anniversary as an expat in Italy (so crazy!). In honor of this milestone, I decided to treat myself to a little present: a Nespresso machine!
Coffee has always been an integral part of my morning, and immediately after I moved here, I made a purchase that became a daily constant in my Italian life: a Bialetti Moka. I now have a couple: a small one, and one for multiple cups for when I have a guest. For the last four years, I started my day with a coffee brewed in one of these Mokas, (yes, even pre-cappuccino when I have breakfast out.) I even took it with me when traveling (along with some coffee) if I was staying in an Airbnb or a place with a kitchen so that I could start my day off on the properly caffeinated foot. I need to look for the best coffee club and sign up for it! I can get coffee delivered to my door when I want, for someone like me, that’s is amazing.
Since I have such a soft spot for old things, I loved the idea of preparing my morning coffee in such an old-school manner, and vowed that I would get my morning Moka on forever. However, just as cobblestone got old really fast, the old-school coffee manner got old even faster…even though I practiced the ritual for four years. There was one major drawback: The coffee grinds. It seemed like regardless of my most diligent efforts to be neat, I was getting coffee grinds EVERYWHERE! From the spoon that I used to scoop the grinds into the Moka to under my fingernails when dismantling the Moka for a cleaning, there was no escaping them. They where anywhere and everywhere, showing up in some of the strangest nooks and crannies that at times I thought they were traces of vermin! I would wipe them up with a rag, and–despite my best rinsing/wringing out efforts–, the coffee grinds would spread when I would use the rag elsewhere. (What can I say? My fine motor skills suck and I’m just not good at anything that requires them.) The small Moka in particular had also seen better days as the handle was slowly but surely starting to burn off, but I just couldn’t bring myself to part with it. However, practicality triumphed. They were just not making my mornings any easier, especially since I try to get in a run before work, so I said, basta!
What better way to celebrate four years, which is kind of equivalent to college, than by graduating to a Nespresso machine? Now, I just add water, insert the capsule, wait for it to heat up and it brews. No strenuous cleaning required and, even better, no excessive coffee grinds! My mornings have since become more manageable and my kitchen just the tiniest bit easier to clean. Amen.
Cover photo: Irene Coco via Unsplash
XXX
Comments are closed.