When I got the French press, I thought it was so great that I considered putting away my drip coffeemaker. That would save me about a square foot of counter space, which in my tiny kitchen is no small potatoes.
I haven't stowed away the drip coffeepot, though--and I think that's because there's a little too much Martha in me. And I'm not talking about Martha Stewart, either.
The drip coffeemaker allows me to be Martha when I need to. All I have to do is fill it up and hit the switch. The coffee brews without my paying any further attention to it. That means that I can wake the kids up for school, unload the dishwasher, and pack lunch sandwiches while the coffee brews. If I get distracted and don't get to pour that cup of coffee right away, it'll sit there and stay hot until I can get to it. It's definitely the kind of appliance that allows me to keep busy in the kitchen, with my mind on many things, with no adverse result if I have to keep that hot coffee waiting for a while. That's why using a drip coffeemaker is like being Martha; she was concerned with many things. Martha was a multitasker, the hostess with the mostest who had a lot on her mind, and she knew that the dinner wasn't going to cook itself. She'd have loved a coffeepot that would do the work for her--it's one less concern she'd have when she held a dinner party.
Using a French press, on the other hand, is a very "Mary" way to make coffee. It's not a push-button kind of thing. A French press requires that you pay attention to it, much like the way Mary dropped everything to sit at the feet of Jesus. I think of Mary as a "one thing at a time" kind of girl. She wasn't going to multitask. Everything she did got her full and complete attention. So she wouldn't mind warming the press, bringing the water almost to a boil, adding the coffee and hot water, waiting four minutes, then pressing out the coffee and pouring that fragrant first cup. She'd be there four minutes later to do that; she wouldn't have run down to the basement to throw in a load of laundry or gotten distracted with the peanut butter and jelly.
I love French-press coffee, but at this time in my life, I can't always spend the ten minutes to be completely attentive to it. Most of the time, I have a "Martha" kind of morning. And that's OK. But sometimes, I manage to choose the better part, like Mary. And when I do, I savor it.
Who makes your coffee?
7 comments:
Martha makes my coffee every morning -- I don't even have a Mary in my kitchen! What does that say about me? :)
Back in the day, when I drank coffee every morning, Martha made it so that Mary could do her morning prayers. ;-)
no coffee for me..tea which I can make a la Martha or Mary. Too often I choose Martha and empty the dishwasher and swap the laundry ;)
Martha Keurig makes my daily cuppa's.
Either Martha Wawa or Mary Dunkin-Donuts!
I use a drip pot when I make coffee, which is only about once a week. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but every once in a while I make some.
Hi - I would like to discuss a possible interview for my podcast Among Women re SFO's and Franciscan spirituality. What say you?
- Pat
pat.gohn@comcast.net
Ah, we a similar dilemma at our house - the stove top coffee perculator or the drip coffee maker. We love the perculator coffee but it takes about 20 minutes from start to finish to get a pot of coffee, you also have to stick around because once it starts perking it can boil over making a mess on the stove and possibly putting out the gas flame. BUT, it is such good coffee and so, so, very hot! At Christmas we were given an auto drip coffee maker, so we lost space on the counter, but we have quick, convenient coffee.
Our solution, auto drip Mon-Fri, and stove top perculator Sat and Sun :)
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