3 weeks ago I gave up caffeine entirely.
It’s had it’s problems.
Not the ones everyone was warning me about – headaches.
Everyone said “Oh take a couple weeks to wean yourself, you drink a LOT of coffee”
But that coffee was 2/3rds decaf already,sometimes 3/4 decaf, so just using straight decaf was a simple thing. No physical effects were felt at all.
Until a couple weeks later when my brain started taking longer to boot up in the mornings.
It’s a problem, but not a big one.
There is a bigger problem. The problem no one warned me about.
The coffee maker itself.
My coffee maker does not like straight decaf coffee grounds & throws up at least half time I make coffee.
By throws up I mean the coffee grounds overflow the filter & sometimes the basket & drip into the pot, clogging its openings (it’s a thermal carafe, keeps my coffee hot for 4 hours) causing the liquid to slowly drain down the outside of the carafe.
Makes a terrible mess.
So I bought a French press coffee maker. A cheap one from Wal Mart for now but probably I will invest in a thermal one. Maybe.
The press has it’s own issues.
It makes a good cup of coffee & the decaf grounds stay where they are pressed & don’t seep into my cup.
But cleaning it is a challenge.
We have a septic tank so I can’t keep washing the grounds down the drain, but getting them loose enough to come out of the bottom of the jar requires water.
But I can’t pour water into the garbage can because I never have a garbage bag that doesn’t have a hole poked into by something or other.
I try scooping it out with a spoon but half the grounds stick to the sides or I can’t reach them so then I swirl a spatula around the inside & try pulling what is left out that way
Any thing I try makes a terrible mess.
I suppose I could get a really fine mesh strainer, pour water into the jar, get the grounds loose & then strain them & thrown them away.
I’m trying to decide which coffee maker is less work to clean.
How do you clean out your French press if you use one?
