I have loved the smell and taste of coffee, since the age of thirteen, when I was allowed an occasionally cup.

My parents drank instant, but I quickly acquired an appetite for the real deal at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Polished silver pots of hot perked coffee, accompanied by tiny white porcelain pitchers filled with heavy cream, were delivered on trays to the Banquet Office. I was a file clerk and felt special drinking the aromatic coffee from a bone china cup with the Plaza logo on it.

Our first coffee pot, a ten-cup corning ware electric was a wedding gift, and only used when company came. As time passed I finessed a four cup Farberware electric into our daily routine and said goodbye to instant coffee.

Once retired, Mr. Wonderful assumed many household responsibilities, and insisted we needed a Mr. Coffee. How could I refuse when the person asking was doing the food shopping and mopping the kitchen floor?

Life was good because, although Mr. Wonderful frequently wakes several hours before me and the new pot would turn off, he would have a fresh pot ready, and press start when he heard the toilet flush.

A good cup of coffee is more than a good cup of coffee, and Mr. Wonderful makes a great cup of coffee, smooth and never bitter.

Then along came the Keurig, the individual cup miracle machine. I had my first cup at my friend Christine’s house and fell in love with the red colored machine.
Christine explained that her husband, Angelo, was still working, so the additional cost per cup was not a problem and were planning for the added expense in retirement. They love their Keurig!

I shared her sentiment but responded nonchalantly. Mr. Wonderful’s reputation as a coffee brewer and his stock piling of BOGO Free Eight O’clock coffee would not translate into fifty cents a cup. Besides how do you tell the man you love you have found something better.

I wanted a Keurig, but kept my desire a secret. It would be ridiculous to complain, Bob makes great coffee, and cleans up the mess.

However, on February 17th of this year things changed. We stayed with my sister, Marti Gert and she had a Keurig! I did not scream YES, or do a happy dance and recall acting nonchalant as I went to bed feeling like Santa would arrive in the morning.

When I woke, Mr. Wonderful greeted me saying, “We should get one of these, it makes coffee better than I do.

We purchased the miracle machine shortly after.

Yes, the cost is close to double what we paid for a Mr. Coffee cup, but we are worth it and have advised our financial person to make adjustments for a lifetime supply of K-cups.