Blog #32: Cafe Americana At Last You Have Returned

Hello blogger babes, it's that time of the week again where I am here to talk to ya'll. I haven't had a coffee pot in two weeks and it was completely ruining my life so I finally took the small amount of cash we had left over after paying our rent in full--and went to Big Lots for a new coffee pot. I've used caffeine in my life for years to help provide energy that my body doesn't create on it's own, but two weeks without it felt like I was dying. No lie.

There were times in the middle of the day, where I would repeatedly lose consciousness on or near my computer (SORRY SEVERUS!) while in the middle of doing something (editing, writing, etc) only to come back to life a few hours later like like a vampire rising from a coffin for the evening only more---"what the fuck just happened?"

Yeah not a few minutes, a few hours. It was that big of a difference. As I have an eight year old walking around my home, I mean, this became a serious thing...and so when it became imperative I would buy a coffee from my favorite coffee spot in Flagstaff--Cedar House Coffee off of Cedar Ave. OR I would resort to Cowboy brew which I gotta tell you, just doesn't beat the real thing. I don't know WHY but it just felt like it wasn't as strong as something you get from the pot fresh. I was finding that from the Cowboy brew I was getting less energy for longer than from a fresh cup of coffee that a machine had made and it was driving me BANANAS.

So after we paid our landlord this month and promptly sent his Ebenezer Scrooge ass on his way, we headed through the snow (on foot yes) to the nearest Dollar Store for a coffeemaker. That is where I had gotten my shitty four year old one that finally gave out, so naturally I was a little pissed off when we got there and I found out that they no longer carried coffeemakers. Okay. So we walked in the opposite direction to Big Lots and found a sale. We went through our options (there were four in our price range) but what it came down to was the Black & Decker one was bigger and seemed more durable than the others. Two of the other brands were just single cup coffeemakers and for 14.99$ and 23.99$ I figured I dunno I want more than one cup of coffee in the morning, and what a pain in the ass to have to come back and keep brewing more. Uhm sometimes I have three cups of coffee in the span of a day--this is not going to work.

My prior coffeemaker (the four year old one) was smaller by six cups, it didn't have pieces that were easily taken out for cleaning purposes. But it was durable and the hotplate kept it hot. It was a good machine but I don't recall the brand. Before I had that, I had a Hamilton Beach BrewStation, and I have to say--I miss those days...but in a one income household I will take what I can get. For those of you interested though, you can find the link to that here. It's fantastic and easily one of the BEST coffee machines I have EVER owned. It comes apart easily, it cleans easily, it's machine wash safe. It makes coffee quickly, it's hot, and most of all it comes with a washable reusable coffee filter that really doesn't leave any sort of weird taste in the coffee when you use it. It's wonderful.

The Black and Decker coffee machine I just purchased is wonderful. It's easy to take apart and clean, and it's simple to use. The coffee pot is HUGE and can make 12 cups total of this delicious elixir of the gods. One thing that I did find kind of annoying is that the hotplate shuts itself off automatically so after you brew your coffee you have an allotted amount of time to drink it (2 hours) before it has then become room temperature. My advice is to pop some ice cubes into that baby and drink it anyways. It tastes delicious and omg thank you coffeeeeeeee, or you can always make another batch.

Whatever floats your boat it's not that bad, and well, it does take me over two hours to drink that much so maybe it was my bad. The brew basket inside is washable. There is a 2-year warranty on the product. There is a "sneak-a-cup" feature, which just allows you to take the coffee pot out to take a cup (in 30 seconds or less) to top off your cup or just for those extra impatient folks who need their coffee and need it now (im one of those). You do have to do it in the allotted time or it will overflow, so make sure your early morning reflexes are good ones. The coffeemaker itself is aesthetically pleasing, smooth and sleep black with stainless

steel plating and a really neat lil digital clock in the middle for programming brew times. The box boasts "Digital Contarls with Quick Touch Programming" but I think that pretty much just means soft sensitive buttons, because that is what they are.

All-in-all I am so happy to have a coffeemaker in my life again; I have missed coffee and the boost in energy it gives me. Let's face it, my daughter misses me on coffee, and I don't blame her. Parents out there? I'm sure most of you an agree that days are a lot easier to handle with a cup of joe in your hands. And who the fuck has the time (or coordination) in the morning to be able to brew a cup of joe in a saucepan? Very cool that you can do that, but these are different times. We don't live the lazy lives of a cowboy, so let's stick to our machine overlords shall we?

Well, that's all I got for you this week (Im sorry!) but stick around because next week I have a special surprise that I cannot wait to share with everyone. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday. If you had a realistic goal/resolution for the New Year, what was it? Let me know down below or hit me up on one of my social medias. I'll leave the links below.

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