Three days ago, husband cracked my french press. He was washing dishes, bumped it on the edge of the sink, and my favorite kitchen appliance (and savior of my soul) was beyond repair.
I’m getting over it. I have come to realize that Frenchie went to a new and better place–a land where he can party with other discarded kitchen items and dance to reggaeton until the sun comes up.
Poor Frenchie. I kept him penned up in a cupboard all these years. He just wanted to be free.
The next morning, after I had worked my way through the denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, I was moving onto acceptance.
I ran to Target and scooped up this little lovely:
Now don’t get me wrong. I luuurved Frenchie. But Frenchie was just plain black plastic.
This little lady, let’s call her Dolly (or Bodum Bean Spill-Proof French Press, if you want to get all technical), is a beautiful shade of green. Green. That’s right, ladies and gentelmen, coffee presses now come in lovely shades of color.
You probably already knew that. I, on the other hand, have been hiding under a rock of black coffee makers. My Capresso grind and brew? Black. Frenchie? Black. Grinder? Black. Where have I been? My kitchen, as you may have already gleaned from my cooking photos, is every shade under the sun. My dishes are (quite literally) rainbow-colored. All these years I was settling for boring old black when I could have extended my culinary color palate to my coffee accessories.
There’s not another minute to lose. My coffee must now be made by the most colorful items available. It will have it no other way.
Where to start?
With an espresso machine I can’t afford. This sunshiney piece of espresso-making heaven is the Illy Francis Francis X1 Trio. Why Francis Francis? Probably because it’s Awesome Awesome. It’s art deco meets the Jetsons, and I need it it my kitchen. Stat. How are the espresso making capabilities? I don’t know and I don’t care (probably exceptional, given Illy’s reputation and the $700 price tag). But it could spit out coffee-colored Kool-Aid and I’d drink it as long as it came from that beautiful machine.
My heart almost skipped a beat when I encountered this little guy. It’s like the iMac of coffeemakers. The WMF 1 Coffee Pad Machine is one of those coffee pod one-cup brew sort of deals. I must say, I’m not too keen on the prefab coffee pod phenomenon. I like my beans from Top Pot and freshly ground. But this machine is so dang cute I’d convert to coffee pods. Or capsules. Or pouches. Just lemme have this white and red cutie pie on my countertop.
This is not a coffee maker. It’s not even a tea kettle. It’s official title, just to be clear, is Prettiest Dang Tea Kettle on the Planet. It’s no wonder I’m attracted to this baby, given my affliction for Le Creuset. Put the Ogive Teakettle on my wish list for coffee making essentials. Dolly, after all, needs a companion to warm up her water for her.
I’ve never ventured into the realm of stovetop espresso making, but if I were to do it, I’d want the Bialetti Mini Express by my side. I can just picture two of us on a sunny sunday morning. Bialetti would be on the stove, two tiny espresso cups under his copper spouts, collecting delicious little shots of caffeine. I’d be reading the paper and glancing out the window at the Champs-Elysees…
Apparently when I own this espresso maker I live in France. Maybe Dolly wants me to take her back to her homeland.
Oh, no. I’ve taken another french press hostage.
Happy coffee making and have a wonderful thursday!
-RDG
