There’s a well worn path from here to there, where the sheets fall down and my feet slip in, to the cozy, tattered slippers that click down the stairs towards the corner of the kitchen, where the coffee beans sit and the coffee maker stands, where the windows welcome the faded morning light in.

The pop of the top lets the fresh beans out for a whirl and a twirl through the college-old blades of a grinder and a reminder that it’s time to start the day. One more whirl for a slightly finer grind. Two scoops, level, dump. Now it’s time to press play. 

The machine drinks the water, just enough, no more, and it rains over the grinds like a brief Florida pour, in the morning, without burning the beans or your mouth, keeping that fruity floral flavor roasted by our neighbor to the south. 

Drip, beep, sip, ahh. 

This is the well worn path to a good morning. Good morning.

Thanks for wading through my “poem” and a shaky short video. Can you tell I’ve been reading lots of board books lately? It feels good to create between the bottle feedings and the dishes and the baby naps and online schooling and the messes. Finding a tiny hunk of time to make something is helping me get through these long days, that and coffee, especially coffee made by this OXO Brew 8 Cup Coffee Maker. Let it be known, this machine makes coffee as good as an Aeropress and pour over. (I can’t believe I’m saying it either.) There are a couple important things to highlight about this maker in case you didn’t catch it in my “poem”:

• The coffee maker brews in the same way that you’d make a pour over, first wetting the beans, pausing, and then brewing for maximum flavor release. 
• The machine doesn’t burn the beans or your mouth, which is a common problem of most coffee makers. What do I mean by burn? Think of the taste of toast—burned toast versus just right toast. Heat changes the flavor, and coffee grinds brewed with too hot of water will burn and taste like it too. Note: when brewed at the proper temperature, you should be able to enjoy right away.
• I love its ability to make a single cup (I’m the only one that drinks coffee here) or an 8-cup carafe (when family is in town or friends come over). It allows you to do both! The beauty of the stainless steel carafe, too, is that it keeps the coffee warm without continuing to cook it (burn it), like the hot plate on the base of many coffee makers. 
• To make great coffee: start with the freshest roasted beans you can find. My local favorites are Wonderstate Coffee, Fika Coffee, and Northern Coffeeworks. Then, use the same water you drink throughout the day to make your coffee. Water is the main ingredient. (If you don’t enjoy drinking your tap water, you may not enjoy tap water coffee either.)

Cheers to the simple things, like the well worn path to the coffee machine. 

SOURCES: OXO Brew 8-cup Coffee Maker | Slippers | OXO Pop Container