My electric kettle and my coffee press

These things make my life easier.

I got these items at first because of our “coffee issue.”  My oldest son loves coffee, and has since he was 9 years old (and younger).  When he came to live with us we let him continue drinking coffee… as long as it was decaf!

So now he’s old enough to make his own coffee, and coffee grounds were getting EVERYWHERE.  I’m talking about the floor, counter, crevices in the coffee maker, the coffee maker’s water reservior, the stove.  You get the picture.  There was also the problem of finding old coffee and dried up coffee filters in the basket because dear son didn’t want to clean up after himself.

I tried to come up with ways to make my son clean up.  “Grounding” him from the coffee maker, letting him have coffee only on the weekends, switching to instant coffee… nothing worked.

Finally, I got rid of the coffee pot and switched to an electric kettle and coffee press.  Click here to check ’em out.  (I do get a referral fee should you purchase them after viewing.)

First, the kettle. My kettle boils water very quickly.  The one I got has a blue light that comes on when it’s heating, and an automatic shut-off after the water boils.  It’s also cordless, which makes it very convenient.

I found other uses for the kettle, too.  I cook with cast iron and stoneware.  These are to be cleaned with hot water, no soap.  I boil the water in the kettle, scrape the skillet and / or baker, and use that water to make clean up a breeze!  I also use the hot water to soak other dishes while I load the dishwasher.  Casserole dishes are cleaned much quicker.

Now for my coffee press.  It doesn’t use energy.  It takes up very little room.  The whole thing can go in the dishwasher. It brews in  about the same amount of time as a drip coffee maker.  I just put the grounds in the bottom of the press, pour boiling water from the kettle over the grounds, insert the press / plunger thingie, and wait 5 minutes.  Then I pour the coffee in my cup, put gobs of milk or creamer in, and add sweetener. The coffee is so good.  It tasts richer. There’s no remembering to empty the coffee basket, discard the grounds and filter.  There’s also no coffee grounds ending up in the water reservoir or other crevices that I can’t figure out how they got wedged in there (courtesy of above-mentioned son), no grounds spilled all over the kitchen counter when dealing with the basket (also above-mentioned son), etc.

It’s the little things that lighten my load.  I’m thankful for my kettle and press.