The Spooky Keurig Mini Coffee Maker

After the last Keurig coffee maker died we got a one cup model to replace it. That was over three years ago. We use it primarily to heat water for tea after dinner and occasionally for one cup of coffee when only one of us is here in the morning - a very rare thing indeed. Over the last several months the machine was getting out of sorts. It would start and stop. It wouldn’t start at all. It took several tries to get the thing to turn on and warm up after pouring in the water. Then all of a sudden it started to make brewing noises in the middle of the night and it wasn’t even turned on. It was like some ghostly phenomenon. So we started to unplug it after use. Because I knew it was only a matter of time before this one stopped working completely I ordered a replacement backup unit during the last Amazon prime sale a few months ago. It’s been sitting in the closet. Because of the plugging and unplugging and general deterioration, we decided it was finally time to swap it out yesterday. So we unpacked the new one and placed it in the same spot as the old one - next to the Mr Coffee pot in the kitchen on top of the Kcup sliding rack. I put the old one in the box from the new one and we brought it down to the dumpster area in the building. When I was reading the instructions for the new unit it actually says you should unplug it after every use. Maybe that was the problem after all - although that was just one of many. So rather than ruin the outlet by plugging and unplugging every day we need to get an adapter for this appliance. At least when we did the first run through it worked nicely and after dinner last night I didn’t have to fool around with it to get it going - and while it was brewing it wasn’t screeching at us. I guess most of these things have a shelf life. I hope this new one lasts a bit longer. Let’s see if unplugging it will make any difference. 

Keurig Single Serve Coffee Maker

It happened last Thanksgiving too. When it came time for coffee after dinner, our Keurig coffee maker decided to stop working. My husband was able to get it going again last year, but not this time. So we looked for a replacement. We rarely use it to make coffee; rather, we use it to make hot water for tea bags. So we searched around for a replacement and found the Keurig one cup coffee maker in a seafoam color. We moved to a new condo in northern Virginia nine months ago from Capitol Hill and a pop of color would go along with the new kitchen and overall color scheme in the house. The old Keurig sat on a platform that contained K cups, but it was larger and looked right. The new “skinny” one cup appliance didn’t. So we moved the platform that contains the k cups - and rolls - under the kitchen counter and put the coffee pot on that along with the cookie jars. So the new Keurig stands alone on the island and looks and works just fine. In the end my husband was disappointed with the color (too dark) but has since gotten used to it. He really wanted a larger device, but we don’t need a larger one. Hopefully this one will last as long as the last one - especially whenever we have guests for dinner. 

 

Nifty K Cup Rolling Drawer with Glass Top

When we first got our Keurig k cup coffee maker many years ago, we got a metal mesh stand to store the k cups. But it was also a nice platform to put the coffee maker on. But that metal mesh device was looking rather rusty, and the drawer was getting harder to pull out. Since we moved to our new condo in Virginia, one of the common elements is tempered glass with a hint of “green”  - on the dining room table, the chandelier above it, the side tables in the living room and bedroom, and decorative candlesticks and vases. The old metal mesh didn’t look so hot on the white quartz peninsula, so I searched for a glass top drawer for k cups. I found one with the same glass, but it was open on all sides. So I searched more for something that had a drawer front rather than being totally exposed. Since my husband is the coffee expert in the house and he rules the kitchen, the final decision was his to make between the two. Would the color of the glass or having a closed front be the priority? The Nifty rolling drawer with glass top won out. It actually looks much cleaner and neater than the mesh, the drawer “front” matches the stainless surroundings, and it blends well with the quartz countertop - even though the glass top is much darker than was shown in the picture. The “green” tempered glass may have been overkill after all. The old mesh drawer might become useful for organizing something (out of sight) so I’ll hang on to it for a while. 

Where Are the Nips?

My husband has a sweet tooth. So much so that I order large quantities of his favorite candy through Amazon every few months. It was time for a replenishment, along with the darn filters that we need for the Keurig one cup tea and coffee maker, and the Brita water carafe. So I requested the usual - Bali's Best coffee assortment, and Nips chocolate parfait. The filters and the Bali's were delivered together in short order, but there must be a serious shortage in the Nips supply. We received an email from Amazon that the product was not yet available, and they would let us know when it would be. Then we received another email asking if we would like to consider an extension on the delivery date. So we did. It's been more than a couple of weeks. So finally today, we got a "good news" email from Amazon, saying the product will finally be shipped, but won't get here until next week. I appreciate the communication, but don't understand the problem with the Nips supply. It certainly isn't a big deal, but when you have a sweet tooth, things can get ugly!  

Nips, Filters, and Tea

Usually when you get packages in the mail it is somewhat exciting. This week we got five different packages from four different vendors. And none of them are worth writing home about.  The first package to arrive contained several cartons of Nips chocolate parfait candy. These are for my husband's sweet tooth, to accompany the jugs of Balis Best coffee candy. The next three were all filters...filters for the Britta water pitcher, filters for the Cuisinart Keurig one cup coffee and tea maker, filters for the Braun coffee pot. What's with all the filters? And finally today came the last parcel - decaf tea for the Keurig one cup tea maker. It is impossible to find decaf tea anywhere around here. Neither one of us wants caffeinated tea in the evening, and my husband is a big tea drinker - in the evening. Otherwise he's a big coffee caffeinated drinker in the morning. I can hardly tell the difference in coffee types, but he is an expert. While it was a treat to get and open the packages, the contents were a big disappointment - for me. That's just not how it is supposed to be!