Campfire Coffee | Many Ways To Make It

I met my husband at Starbucks. Go figure. After countless hours, countless months (years?), and countless dates from any number of online dating sites, I actually met The One sitting outside on the very crowded Starbucks patio. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me. There honestly isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about how lucky I was to be sitting out on that patio, adorned in grungy old sweats, not a stitch of make-up, ponytail in a ball cap, and Paul still chose to sit near me and strike up idle conversation over a cup of coffee. We often ran into each other at that Starbucks. With each conversation and each cup of coffee, we got to know each other. It didn’t take long for us to realize that it was meant to be. He proposed at that Starbucks. It still makes me smile. Needless to say, coffee is a very important part of our lives. And we keep it that way.

We have coffee together every single morning. Our coffee time is our time. It’s when we connect. We talk about our days, our work, our kids, our hopes and dreams, our future and our past. It’s where we settle whatever may be brewing between us (get it? brewing? ha!). And we protect that time like it’s gold. Initially, we would still head off to that Starbucks to share our coffee, but that got pretty tough with our schedules and our kids’ schedules. So I researched (and researched, and researched… that’s the lawyer in me) home coffee machines and found the perfect one – a Jura ENA 9 One Touch! (They could have done better with the name, don’t you think?) It does it all – lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, and even just a regular ol’ cup of joe! (And it looks cool!) It can use whole beans or ground coffee. It’s small and easy to clean! I actually keep it on our bathroom counter so I don’t even have to walk out to the kitchen to fire it up! That’s pretty lazy of me, I know…  And MAN is the coffee good! Every morning – a steamy, hot, freshly ground, creamy latte in about a minute. Awesome! I’ve also learned to buy our roasted coffee beans in bulk. It saves a TON of money, and a ton of time (Amazon Prime…. duh!). The coffee is great, the consistency flawless, and it’s sitting on my doorstep 24 hours after I order it. Yay Amazon Prime!

I found our wonderful coffee machine after countless hours of poring over the internet. I only recently came across this site for coffee machine comparisons and purchases. They seem to have everything! I wish it was around when I bought our machine years ago. I’d love to hear comments from people who have used this site. It’s looks fantastic!

Now that you’ve gotten your machine and your coffee, here are a couple quick tips to make your coffee at home a wonderful experience:

• Warm up your mug before you make the coffee. Either put a half cup of water in it and zap it in the microwave for a minute, or simply fill it with hot sink water and let it sit while you wait for your coffee – that’s what I do (again… avoiding having to walk all the way to the kitchen!) This prevents the cold mug from sucking all the heat out of the coffee. Luke warm coffee is not my idea of a great coffee experience.
• Make sure to use really good coffee beans. It makes a huge difference.
• Always use whole milk. If you’re gonna do it, do it right!
• If you use sugar or other sweeteners, put them in the bottom of the cup before you add the coffee. Just don’t forget to stir it really well! Sugar takes a fair amount of mixing to fully dissolve.
• Find someone wonderful to share it with! (Although, I don’t suggest using Amazon Prime for that!)

Our fantastic coffee machine and roasted coffee beans delivered directly to our door allows us to still have our coffee time without the inconvenience (and cost!) of heading down to the crowded, noisy coffee conglomerate. Instead, we curl up in our comfy chairs, bedroom slippers still on, keep the door closed (the kids are well aware that they may only disturb us if the house is burning down, or something equally horrific), and sip our cup of heaven while we reconnect with each other. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Here’s to you, Paul, for making my world wonderful. Thank you for our morning coffee time. May it last forever…