A few days ago my wife purchased a new coffee machine. This is normally not exciting news because our old machine was still working. Normally she would wait until the old machine self-destructed but there was something on the market any one who loved coffee had to have. I am talking about the KEURIG single serving machine that used pods instead of coffee and filters.
When I first heard the term 'pod' I thought the term was used to describe an alien from outer space who planted their 'pods' deep in our Earth until they are ready to hatch in order to reap havoc upon our planet. I later found out these 'pods' were filled with every type of coffee know in our universe.
I am happy to say the machine came in one piece. When my wife first brought it home I had imagined a computer like technology that needed a computer geek to put together. Even though I had a difficult time taking it out of the box, once it was freed and plugged in all was supposed to be well.
As I was waiting for the machine to heat the water I read that KEURIG offered over 150 gourmet coffee, tea, and hot cocoa varieties from all over the world. I always thought coffee only came from Columbia. Needless to say I was once again corrected.
Being a coffee drinker since I was 13 years old I decided to first try Green Mountain extra bold. This coffee came from Indonesian beans. I put this particular pod into the new machine and within seconds I had a perfect cup of coffee. The aroma was remarkable and brewed very hot. I actually had to wait a couple of minutes for it to cool down. My other machine was never able to produce a hot cup of coffee. I was finally able to take a sip of my precious brew. I sincerely thought I dissolved my teeth. Espressos had nothing on Green Mountain extra bold.
In my mind I thought because the machine was new maybe the first cup was supposed to be strong. I then tried a pod titled, 'Black Tiger'. As I spit out my first sip I wondered how I thought a coffee named 'Black Tiger' could possible be weaker than one called 'Green Mountain'.
I then tried a weaker blend called, 'Diedrich'. I assumed because the name sounded as German as the machine it would be a safe bet. This flavor wasn't bad except for the fact it tasted like the molasses I put on my pancakes earlier that day. Flavors like 'Kona Blend' that had more fruit and chocolate than coffee and 'Caribou Bland' that made my teeth stick together because of the flavor of caramel.
My wife, on the other hand, enjoyed the flavored coffees. She especially liked, 'Wild Mountain Blueberry', 'Mocha Nut Fudge', and of course the ever popular, 'Creme Brulee'. I tried to talk her into adding a bit of vodka to, 'Mudslide', or even a little whipped cream to 'German Chocolate Cake' but she would have none of that considering it was still before 9:00 that morning.
For the rest of the day we spent tasting the box of 60 pods she purchased with the machine. By 12:00 that afternoon I was through all of the extra bolds and had even tried a couple of the light brews of coffee. My wife had tried so many flavored coffees she later told me they all started to taste the same.
Well, it is now 2:30 am and I am still awake wondering how many more flavors of coffee were going to be invented before the morning arrived. Since my wife was downstairs watching TV I thought I would sneak a peak into what was left of the coffees we did not drink. I was still not convinced that the pods were not some sort of alien invasion.
Jim Fabiano, a teacher and writer who lives in York, is a past recipient of the Maine Press Association's award for Best Weekly Column, and writes an education blog called 'Dinosaur of Education”. You can E-mail Jim at: jfabino@maine.rr.com, or comment on his blog at: http://fabiano.magic-city-news.com.
