My old Bodum Santos vacuum coffee-maker is on death row. Coffee aficionados respect vacuum pots since they mix the coffee and hot water for the optimum amount of time, but this one is running out of time. It once made good coffee and my only complaint was its affinity for stains of all sorts. I cleaned it with vinegar, even tried bleach, even bought it its very own bottle of CLR, but even then the surface mottled until it looked like a smallpox survivor (hey, there’s an idea for a new reality TV show – infect the participants!). It’s hard to find replacement filters. Its built-in clock is difficult to set and has been blinking like granny’s VCR (or grandpa’s right turn signal) since the last time the power failed.
It once made good coffee, but now it doesn’t. It tastes okay, but my last filter has failed and grounds seep below it into the pot below. After a cup of brew sits a bit, you’ll find the bottom thickly coated as you drain the dregs, and these are truly dregs. All tolerable in this world of gradualism until it appeared to just quit working a couple of weeks ago. In desperation, I slapped it on the top and it suddenly sprung to life with its characteristic rumble. Just enough to spare its life for a few weeks while I shopped for a replacement. Yes, now I have to start it with a slap every morning and the first slap doesn’t always work. Sometimes 10 do not. I’ve developed an intuitive feel to know when a slap has worked, but I haven’t quite learned to do them consistently. I don’t plan to learn.
First I looked at other Bodum Santos makers, but they still list at $140. I found mine on closeout at Linens ‘n’ Things and got an extra $20 off that with one of their coupons. I still want an espresso machine, but have learned that you must spend around $600 for a decent one. Not now. I want a regular every day coffee maker.
The name “Zojirushi” began to jump out at me as I read dozens of online reviews. Where have I heard that before? I googled. Japanese appliance maker. Yeah..at that multi-tiered department store near the hotel where I stay when in Shinjuku. Rice cookers. Hot water pots (I’m surprised these things haven’t caught on here. Using a combination of thermal technology and plain ol’ electric heat, the keep water at the perfect temperature for tea all day with minimal energy consumption). Then my Bakers’ Catalogue came from King Arthur and guess who makes their number one favorite bread machine? Good guess! Yes, Zojirushi! I found the EC-BD15 on sale at Amazon for $65 (it normally retails at $99) and I ordered it. Check out their other stuff.
“Gracie,” the old Bodum doesn’t know it yet but she’s on a countdown to the landfill. Maybe she can sense it by the disdainful indifference of my start-up slaps since last Wednesday. She made a pot of coffee this morning, after the usual coaxing, and she’ll do another tomorrow. Monday morning, she will make her last and watch me carry it out in the Thermos as I head for work. When I return, I’ll have a box under my arm, signifying the Zojirushi advent. As I open it, she’ll look with some interest until she sees it is a coffee maker, then she’ll roll her eyes and say, “Oh, Paul, we don’t need one of those – we have ME!” Right, Gracie, lets start you packing.
9:11:30 AM 
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