My Coffee Maker Broke
I make really good coffee. Like really, really good coffee. So good that I refuse to go out and get coffee because my coffee is better. My friends come to my house and specifically ask for coffee. I have people who come over and, before they even sit down, ask if I am making coffee.
It isn’t anything fancy. No pour over, no Chemex, no espresso machine with a frother. Just plain drip coffee, but it is really good. What is my secret? Probably more the fact that most people have no idea what good coffee is. Pods, K-Cups and instant coffee are so bad that any decent cup of coffee is now considered good. Wawa has good coffee. QuickChek has good coffee. McDonald’s has good coffee. Most of them also serve a relatively light roast, which is probably why people like it. Meanwhile, people will tell me they don’t like bitter coffee and then go out and buy the darkest roast they can find.
So again, what is my secret? Nothing. Just be better than the rest. I do have good, cold water. I use Ruta Maya beans, which are really good. And I guess grinding the beans immediately before making the coffee makes a difference.
All of that backstory leads me to my problem. My coffee maker is dying.
I have a Breville Grind and Brew. It is a higher-end drip coffee maker. Not ridiculously expensive, but expensive enough that when I bought it, I expected it to last. And, to be fair, it has. Unfortunately, it also did not just break in one nice, simple way where I could order a part and fix it.
First, the top of the carafe broke. Actually, “broke” isn’t even the right word. It came apart into two pieces. Neither piece looks broken. I can put them back together, but they just don’t stay together. A replacement carafe is about $50.
Then I started having an issue with the basket. I am still not completely sure what the issue is. I just know there is an issue. And now the machine leaks water while brewing coffee.
There is a little tray that catches excess coffee grinds. I have owned this coffee maker for years and that tray was always basically dry. I would clean it occasionally because I am a responsible coffee maker owner. Or, more accurately, I would clean it when I happened to notice it was dirty. Now it is full of water after almost every pot. Not coffee. Water. I have no idea where the water is coming from.
I have taken things apart. I have cleaned things. I have looked inside the machine with a flashlight. I have run it without coffee. I have stood there and watched it brew, hoping the problem would somehow reveal itself. It has not.
At this point, the replacement carafe is $50, I probably need a new basket, and I have some sort of water leak coming from somewhere inside a machine that also plugs into an electrical outlet. That last part seems less than ideal. By the time I replace all of the parts, assuming I can even figure out which parts need replacing, I am probably spending a significant percentage of the cost of a new coffee maker.
So I think it is time. After many years of faithful service, my Breville is nearing the end. I am not actually throwing it away yet. Let’s not get crazy. It still makes coffee. I just don’t know for how much longer.
Every morning I put the beans in, fill it with water and hit the button. Every morning I get coffee. So far. I also get a puddle of water in a place where a puddle of water should not be. At this point, I am basically operating it on borrowed time.
Which leads me to the real purpose of this post. I need a new coffee maker, and as I have done before when faced with the crushing financial burden of having to buy normal household items, I am turning to you.
I am not asking for anything crazy. I don’t need a commercial espresso machine. I don’t need something imported from Italy. I don’t need a machine with gauges and knobs that requires a separate degree to operate. I just want another good coffee maker that grinds the beans and then successfully directs the water toward the coffee.
So, in lieu of flowers, if you happen to have some extra change lying around, or money burning a hole in your pocket, think about helping fund my new coffee maker. And, of course, feel free to come over and enjoy a cup with me. Assuming the current one survives long enough to make it.
If you can afford to donate:
Venmo
PayPal
Haim Cohen
CS Teacher, Podcaster, Organizer of Cryptovillage, and Chairman of Highland Park NJ Public Information Committee.