El Andalous - Coffee Machine Tales

El Andalous - Front Entrance

I wrote in one of my early blogs that I no longer drink coffee. That is no longer true. After I’d adapted, I returned to coffee drinking, although, admittedly, not as much as I used to. I generally have two cups a day now – one in the morning, and one when I get back from my afternoon swim. On occasion, I may have a cup at lunch, too.

However, I think life is trying to tell me to quit the habit, as I’ve managed to break four coffee machines so far this year. Admittedly, about 50% of the time, it’s been my fault.

The first one broke of old age (better it than me!). It kept on fusing each time I used it, so I gave up and threw it away. I bought a new one in Spinneys – Black and Decker. It was quite large and looked impressive. Mechanically, it was perfect. Unfortunately, I broke the carafe within the first month. It’s been a long time since I’ve been that annoyed with myself.

I spent some time looking to replace the carafe, but even on amazon or on ebay, and ignoring the delivery difficulties, it was going to cost more to buy a jug than to buy a new machine altogether.

For a while, I continued to use the machine by manually pressing the button that releases the coffee into the receptacle with a spoon and then placing a pyrex dish on the warming plate to collect the coffee. Once completed, I would transfer the coffee into a large plastic container with a pouring rim, and then I’d pour it from that into my coffee cup. It was rather a faff. Eventually, I had to face facts. I needed to purchase a new machine.

So, I bought my third machine on souq.com – bargain, I thought, at 156 LE. I even learned that these days they are known as “drip coffee makers”. The term “coffee percolator” seems to have gone out of fashion.

I put my Black and Decker machine in a cupboard, just in case I suddenly found a carafe that would fit.

Anyway, my third coffee maker arrived and it was a pretty good machine for the money. It was slightly smaller, but that wasn’t a bad thing, and it made coffee. Just the ticket. I tested the carafe on the Black and Decker, but it didn’t fit. I made sure to take great care with the jug this time. Then, one fine day, I switched the machine on when it didn’t have any water in. I got a whiff of something burning and that was another machine, kaput. Again, I gave myself a right kicking. I’ve obviously turned a bit stupid since moving over here.

This time, I ordered another machine – the same one – without hesitation. The old Black and Decker one came out and I went back to the old, exhausting routine with the pyrex dish, plastic jug, and mug.

I eagerly unpacked coffee maker number four, only to discover that the lid wouldn’t shut properly. I couldn’t see what was wrong, so I placed a heavy item on top of it on its first use. That seemed to do the trick as the lid then stayed down afterwards. I went to make a second lot of coffee the next day and a bit fell off. Whatever this bit did, not having it somehow meant that the water could no longer work its way up the machine and onto the coffee.

So, that one had to be returned, which was a bit of a story in itself (next blog).

My only consolation is that I now have a spare jug should I break the one on the replacement, when it arrives. Meanwhile, I am back with the Black and Decker one again, faffing about with the pyrex dish, blah, blah. At least I am now starting to feel that I am getting some of my money’s worth out of that machine, even without a jug.

How long will it be until I break coffee machine number five?