Coff-tastrophe

This morning I had a coffee catastrophe. I guess you could call it a coff-tastrophe.

It is almost time for a new bag of filters. When the filters are running low and the bag is nearly empty, the filters lose their pleats. They lose their ability to stand firm. The end-of-the-bag filters are weak (poor filters). I used one such weak filter this morning. It ended badly.

When the weak filter lost its ability to stand firm against the gush of water, it folded. It fell. It lost the battle in the war to keep the grains out of the coffee pot while letting the flow of coffee carry on. This was a serious breach in the battle for coffee without grains. The grains gained access to the entrance into the pot.

The grains love the idea of being in the pot. Their life is lived in only a moment when the water passes through, and then they are discarded. The grains are unappreciated. The water is savored.

The grains are the important part of the coffee making process!  Without them there is only water!  The brown goodness of coffee, the flavor, the essence of the coffee is found in the grains. When the grains saw their chance, they made their way to the pot. The coffee maker is not equipped to deal with a buildup of grains in the small exit hole for the filter basket. The hole plugged up. The basket filled up.  The water had no way to get into the pot with the hole plugged with grains. The remaining grains in the basket floated up as the water rose. Eventually the water exceeded the height of the basket and the coffee mixture ran out all over the coffee pot, the coffee maker, the counter, and the floor. This in itself wouldn’t seem like a catastrophe if it had happened, say, after I had had my coffee. It happened before I had my coffee, which automatically upgraded the event to a catastrophe.

Coffee is the thing that helps me get to the place where I can deal with various catastrophes. A pre-coffee catastrophe makes dealing with a catastrophe seem much worse. MUCH worse. I have to be awake and coffeed before I can deal with the things that don’t go well in my day. It isn’t even about the caffeine. I like to be good and awake before I have to deal with anything stressful (it is a tiny bit about the caffeine). I like to wake up slowly with my hot coffee by my side (it is a little about the caffeine). I have my routine in the morning. I like to stick to it. It helps me get ready for life. I get up, I get my coffee made, I drink my coffee while I sit at the computer and read.  It is a nice and gentle way to wake up (it is somewhat about the caffeine).

I love the warmth of coffee. I love the taste of coffee after I’ve added just the right stuff. I love the way it feels to hold the cup in my hand. I love how it transforms me from groggy/unaware/uninterested in life, to awake/alive/excited about my day (okay, it is about the caffeine).

When something goes wrong in my coffee routine, I feel like my day is a bit off.

Thankfully, today before the grains made their assault on the filter basket exit, some coffee made it into the pot unhindered. I was able to rescue a small cup of coffee. I will have to avoid the grains at the bottom of the cup, do a lot of cleaning, and make a new pot of coffee - but for now, I am drinking coffee... ahhhhhhhh.

There is still hope for this coff-tastrophic day.