Coffee Quest: Saving Time and Money?

If you read my facebook updates (And, like, really, why WOULDN’T you?), you may remember my joy/fear when I found out they were putting in a drive-thru Starbucks just down the road. Joy because it’s STARBUCKS and it’s a DRIVE-THRU, and it’s it’s right on the way to work. Fear because  it’s STARBUCKS and it’s a DRIVE-THRU, and it’s it’s right on the way to work! Actually, as luck would have it, it wasn’t RIGHT on the way to work. It was LEFT on the way to work. (In case you don’t know, I have a Thing about turning left onto busy roads when there are no traffic lights. I can get from any point A to point B in the city WITHOUT making any lefts, if need be). So, getting into Starbucks is no problem, but getting OUT would be an issue. Which is actually good news, because I don’t need the temptation of Starbucks every day on my way to work. Hence the fear. I just can’t afford it. Which is actually the point of the story. (Yes, there *is* one.)

Back before the Starbucks came to my ‘hood, I had a bit of a Timmies problem, as did my boyfriend (Let’s call him “Jack”).When it seemed to be getting out of control, we made our first purchase together as a couple: a coffee maker! The logic was that we would make coffee every day and save the stop at Timmies. We even got one with a timer, so we could set it the night before and therefore save not only MONEY, but scads of TIME each morning! (Oh, and when I say “we” could make it the night before, I mean Jack. But I’m sure you all knew that.)

Problem solved, right? Not quite. First of all, I don’t actually LIKE the taste of coffee. And I’m not TECHNICALLY supposed to have caffeine. It took me ages to find my perfect Timmies drink: Medium french vanilla, with half-decaf. It had just the right balance of caffeine, flavour, and dairy (I’m also lactose–intolerant, did I mention that?)

So it wasn’t just a simple matter of throwing some coffee into the machine every night (poor Jack). It needed to be half de-caf, and half flavoured coffee. Or half regular coffee, but then we needed to have flavoured non-dairy creamer in the house. Then we had to make sure I had lactose free-milk. Heated, of course. And frothy. And maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon?

It was working well enough... heat the milk, pour it in the blender with the flavoured creamer and a scoop of whey powder (we’re ALL about healthy eating around here), but THEN the blender stopped working. Thank goodness for the Magic Bullet! Perhaps I should have paid more attention in Science class when they told us about what happens to hot liquids when they are in an airtight container and then agitated. So, after I cleaned up the hot milk that exploded out of the Magic Bullet, I decided that it would make more sense to froth the milk FIRST, and THEN heat it up. I know, I know, I’m a genius.

Have you ever heated up a mug of frothed milk in the microwave? Try it. Just half a mug. After about one minute, Jack’s teenage daughter casually says to me, “Um, Char... I think it’s overflowing.” Um, yes, I THINK so, since all we can see through the window of the microwave is a giant cloud of frothy milk doing a Mount Vesuvius out of the mug. Is there a plan C?

At work the next day, I was drooling over the cappuccino machines in the newspaper, and relayed my tale of woe to some co-workers. Yes, woe. I couldn’t really justify the expense of a cappuccino machine JUST to make hot frothy milk. (Well, I *could* justify it, I’m good at that sort of thing, but I am being responsible). Then I heard the most beautiful words I had heard all day....”Why don’t you get one of those little milk frothing tools?” Wha????? Yes, I’ve HEARD that such a thing exists, Merci Madame! That would be PERFECT! But where would I find such a thing? And could I afford it? Could I justify the cost? How much shopping (a dirty word to me) would this involve? Should I do some comparison shopping? Make a rubric?

These thoughts continued to swirl in the back of my mind for next two days. In the BACK, because when I bring them to the front, then I have to actually do something about them. And I wasn’t ready for that, because I ____ shopping (we are not using the h word in our house anymore) and I am NEVER the person to find the good deals. It was going to be a nightmare. I wasn’t ready to deal with it.

THEN a miracle happened! Jack and I took the kids to the mall for a brief shopping trip, and while were there I decided to pop into the kitcheny store, just to see if they happened to have a hand-held milk frother. Maybe I could get an idea of what was out there, and how much they would cost. I could get started on my rubric when we got home! I asked the guy working there and of course he said no, they didn’t have any. As I started to turn away from him, shoulders sagging with dejection, I heard the most beautiful words I had heard all THAT day....”Oh wait, I think we might have just gotten some more.” He led me over to the coffee area, and there it was.... A sleek, stainless steel hand-held milk frother, complete with its own counter-top stand! It was gorgeous... I almost cried! It would fit in perfectly with the other stainless steel items on my counter. I looked at the price. $24.99. Was that a good price? Should I shop around? I was reaching for my iPhone to surreptitiously take a pic of the item and the price for future comparison (yes, I know you’re not supposed to do that, but I do) when I saw it. A sale tag! Are you ready? FIVE DOLLARS!!!!! “Five Dollars?!?!?!”, I asked the guy. “Um, yeah, I guess’” he mumbled. (Why was he not more excited?? Surly teenagers.)

So, to wrap it up (according to the FAQs, people are more likely to read your Blog if you keep it short. Oops.), I bought the frother and it works like a charm! Heat the milk, froth the milk, rinse the frother, and Bob’s Your Uncle! No more Starbucks on the way to work... just think of the money I’ll save!

Maybe I’ll save enough to buy a cappuccino machine!