Coffee Thing

As the years pass, I become increasingly particular about how I like certain things to be.  Some call this fussy, but provided you can stay on the right side of becoming OCD I think it’s probably OK. Coffee is something I have some quite specific requirements on. I should say this is not in a kind of ‘OMG I simply can’t find anyone here who can make a proper flat white’ kind of way, its more my own (maybe odd) preferences on a basic cup of coffee.

1. I don’t really like instant coffee, it just doesn’t taste right to me. If that’s all that’s on offer, I’d rather have tea

2. I don’t like the dense sludge that you end up with in your cup if you use a cafetière

3. When I use those individual pre-filled plastic coffee filters I feel like I have lost part of my life I’ll never get back whilst waiting for it to drip through.

4. I don’t live next door to a Starbucks

5. I am the only person who regularly drinks coffee here, so I only want one cup, not a pot full.

In the light of these facts my method of choice for the last few years has been to balance the plastic filter cone on top of the coffee cup and fill it with enough water for one cup. ‘Enough water’ is a somewhat moot point as invariably it’s ‘too much’ water, so after the cup is full I balance the filter on top of any nearby receptacle for the final unwanted bit to trickle through.  This generates a random collection of cups, bowls and the like sat on the worktop with a few spoons of cold coffee in – maybe a small price to pay for a great cup of coffee but not exactly a popularity gaining move it turns out.

The balancing of the cone on the cup is fraught with danger, as it doesn’t really fit and when filled with boiling water it becomes very tippy. The most likely time for the cone to tip slightly is as the water goes in, the sudden sideways motion leading the stream of water to go down the back of the filter paper and miss the coffee altogether, leading to much profanity and cursing from the kitchen.

There is nothing like a relaxing cup of coffee on a Sunday morning and this was certainly nothing like it.

Enter Coffee Thing;

This was actually meant to be a prototype, but since it looks OK and seems to work I suspect the product development has reached the end of the road here. Having re-read my set of requirements that led to its birth, I think I may be the only person in the world that needs this product so this American Black Walnut one-off will probably be the first and last Coffee Thing.

Problem solved…thanks Coffee Thing.

Ed