For the Love of Coffee

I'm in love. My husband, wise and wonderful man that he is, gave me a new espresso maker for Christmas this year and it has reinvigorated my whole experience of coffee. Our old espresso maker was almost 10 years old and limping along on its last legs. The coffee it made at the end of its life often reminded me of used paintbrush water. Then, last thanksgiving, we took a trip to my sister in law's home. My brother in law had an amazing automatic espresso maker, and I took endless delight in playing with it.

My husband apparently was taking careful notes because on Christmas morning an enormous package was waiting for me under the tree. The Saeco Spidem Villa Automatic Espresso Machine (available from Amazon.com) is now happily installed on my counter and is absolutely dreamy. I press a button to turn it on, wait for it to warm up and the green light to stop flashing and the press a second button and it proceeds to grind the beans, tamp the grounds, brew the espresso and dispense liquid black gold. The coffee comes out with almost a quarter inch of the delicious pale gold froth on top. This is the first time in my life I have ever been able to drink coffee black and actually enjoy the taste of it.

My only sadness is to see the final departure of the old espresso maker. For almost ten years my darling husband has made me coffee with it every morning even though he doesn't drink coffee himself.  It is his own unique, quiet way of saying he loves me every time he brings it to me in the morning. All kinds of wonderful memories are associated with the old machine. When we first bought it, it was meant as a surprise for my dear friend Steve Hemphill, who had introduced me to home-made cappuccino. We bought it to bring along on a ski trip that we took with him and his girlfriend, and surprised him with cappuccinos the first morning of the trip. That same trip Steve ended up proposing to his girlfriend on the slopes and they have been together almost as long as Jim and I have.

But, though I am sad to let go, I console myself that this new machine offers new opportunities to make new memories of every day, extraordinary love.