The Daily Grind

I did not drink coffee until I retired. Yeah, it just doesn't make sense! But, I had tried it when I was young and it didn't appeal to me. Then, when Starbucks overtook the east coast, my family would occasionally stop in, and what's a girl to do? I'd have some sort of sugary, creamy, fattening concoction. I discovered I like coffee flavored milk and cream, with sugar! And so, my journey with coffee began.

A few years ago, I came into my Dentist's office for a routine visit and the receptionist offered me coffee. She took me over to their Keurig machine and I was smitten. What fun! I wanted a single cup coffee brewer, too. Just think, I could have flavored coffee on any given morning. My hubby could have bold coffee. I could change my mind and have a light roast. He could start with a morning blend and then have a cup of something a bit stronger. What fun! So, a not-so-gentle hint was dropped near Mother's Day and my family, being the wonderful people they are, delivered. (Hmmm, could it be they also recognize the old adage, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"?)

Yesterday my Keurig stopped brewing. It was a sad, sad morning, at least for my hubby. Having risen first, I did get a cup in before the machine went on hiatus. We tried all manner of things. We turned it off. We turned it on. It would tell us it was brewing, but we didn't hear any water being pumped and nothing was coming out. We unplugged it. We plugged it back in. We turned it on. Again, it would tell us it was brewing when it wasn't. It was lying to us! So, what's a girl to do? Get on the Internet. Check out the manuals. Look for troubleshooting guides. The FAQ didn't have my question. It didn't have my answer. So, as suggested in the Keurig literature, I called Customer Service. After only 3 menus the phone was answered quite promptly by a girl with a lovely accent (insert eye rolls here). Is it just me? I have trouble understanding some foreign accents. But we proceeded. She asked a few questions then walked me step by step through the process of cleaning the needles of our machine. Literally. She went with me on my quest for a paperclip. She helped me scrounge through the drawer to find the measuring cup. She waited, oh so patiently, while I performed minor surgical procedures on the machine's needles, plugged the machine back in, turned it on, waited for it to be 'ready' and then she waited while it spewed a cup of water. She stayed on the line insisting that I run three more cups of water through the machine. It worked! Well, it worked, that is, until we hung up. Then, the first time hubby tried to brew a real cup of coffee, it failed to perform. I went back to work with the needles and eventually he did get his coffee.

But, I wasn't done. Since we obviously were having some sort of blockage (oh, and you don't want to know what those first cups of water looked like after the voice on the phone helped me unclog the needles) it seemed advisable to descale the coffee maker. Off we went to the store to buy large quantities of vinegar. The Keurig site has helpful videos that show just how to do this. They are cute. The have numbered little coffee mugs to show you how many steps it will take to perform whatever process you are considering. They have a little clock feature that shows you the time it will take to perform your magic. So, I emptied the water tank - Step 1. I poured 30 ounces of vinegar in the water tank - Step 2. I ran the vinegar through the system by 'brewing' cups of vinegar - Step 3. Yes, it smelled perfect for the day before Easter. I should have recycled that vinegar by coloring some eggs! Darn! Missed opportunity! The vinegar percolated for four hours, then I began running water through the system. I ran more water through the system. And more.

So, on this beautiful Easter morning everything is right with the world. I have a coffee machine that is working. I am writing a blog post for my friends, sipping my morning coffee, which has only a slight overtone of .... vinegar!

Happy Easter to all of you. I hope you have a wonderful day!