When the King closes a door, he opens a window. 4
 |
Earlier this year, Scott and I got into an embarrassingly ridiculous fight in front of his family.
Over a coffee maker.
Remember my Tassimo single cup coffee brewer from this post about my favorite things?
My beloved.
Mr. Tassimo was a Christmas gift from my younger brother Janss. Despite retailing for over one-hundred dollars, Janss was able to snag him brand new for five bucks when the store he worked at had a major Tassimo surplus. From day one, it was a match made in heaven. I’ve always had trouble brewing coffee in a traditional coffee maker. Primarily because my lack of barista skills means I’m quite capable of destroying even the simplest pot of joe. Also, Scott doesn’t drink caffeine — since using a 12-cup machine to brew a single mug of coffee seemed pointless, I would always make at least four cups and then feel obligated to drink them.
The Tassimo solved for both of these problems — messing up my coffee was nearly impossible, and I could make one cup at a time–which meant I avoided the 4-cups-of-coffee-jitters that would make my hands shake well into the afternoon. It was perfect!
But not all was well in the Taylor kitchen. Someone had a serious problem with Mr. Tassimo, or perhaps more accurately, a serious problem with Mr. Tassimo’s single-serving coffee disks. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that this person just so happened to be my husband Scott, the King of Composting.
“Katrina,” the King complained, “Those discs are so wasteful. You can’t recycle them or compost the coffee grounds. Why can’t you just use a regular coffee maker like everybody else?”
“Ummm….because the coffee I make tastes like cat pee, and it’s a pain in the butt to make one cup at a time?”
Apparently this answer wasn’t good enough. (It also made the King suspect I had tried cat pee before.)
In an effort to win the King over, I tried opening up the discs to compost the coffee grounds and removing the foil so I could recycle the plastic. After sitting on the floor for ten minutes, attempting to slice off the top of a single disc with a steak knife, I threw in the towel. It was a complete waste of time, and there was a pretty good chance I was going to end up in the ER with a chopped off index finger. (A chopped off index finger that I’m sure the King would insist we throw in the compost bin.)
So, I returned to my daily Tassimo habit, throwing the discs away in the trash and hoping Scott wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, King Taylor has a weekly ritual of emptying our trash bag on the floor, combing through its contents for items I forgot to recycle. One day in May, he discovered my stash of used Tassimo T-discs. He promptly announced we would be giving Mr. Tassimo up for adoption.
I wasn’t having it.
The argument went on for weeks. Both being extremely stubborn individuals, neither one of us was willing to compromise, and the conflict escalated. Things reached a breaking point when I made the mistake of recounting the dilemma to Scott’s family over Memorial Day Weekend.
“He’s insisting I get rid of it even though it’s my favorite thing in the kitchen, and was a gift from my brother!” I exclaimed.
As predicted, everyone took my side, lecturing Scott on how it was completely unfair to take Mr. Tassimo away from me.
Then things got ugly. I truly think it is hands down, the worst fight Scott and I have had in our nine years together.
And it was over a freaking Tassimo.
Eventually, I chose my husband over my coffee maker. We sent Mr. Tassimo to Omaha so he might live peacefully at my sister-in-law’s house. They take good care of him, he gets used every morning, and I even get to visit him when we’re back in Nebraska. The fact that he stayed within the family was comforting.
I returned to our old-fashioned coffee maker. After a while, it wasn’t so bad. My coffee-making skills improved, and I finally came to terms with the fact that it was perfectly acceptable to make a single cup of coffee in a 12-cup brewer.
But a few weeks ago, everything changed. Scott himself approached me with a proposition.
“Katrina — what would you think about getting a Keurig? They make a K-cup that’s reusable…you fill it with your own coffee grounds and wash it out after each use. I know you miss the Tassimo, but I think the Keurig would be even better, plus it wouldn’t be so wasteful, and we could compost the grounds.”
Ten minutes later, we were online selecting my new Keurig. Much to my surprise, Scott insisted on upgrading to the Platinum model. “It’s the most aesthetically pleasing.” he explained.
Mr. Keurig arrived in the mail yesterday, I’m already smitten.
My new boyfriend.
Sir Keurig makes hot or iced beverages in six different sizes. His temperature is adjustable. You can auto-program him and even adjust how strong your coffee is. At this point, I’m pretty sure he’s related to the iPhone. Sure, Mr. Tassimo will always have a special place in my heart, but Mr. Keurig pretty much blows him out of the water.
I think this story proves that compromise truly is good.
And that the King isn’t all bad.
********
In the market for a Keurig? We saved over sixty dollars by purchasing ours through Costco. They include the reusable K-cup for free, and have a special rebate going on until the end of the month!
|
Oct 12, 2012 @ 09:57:02
Sheesh. Wouldn’t let you have your beloved Tassimo because of the t-discs not being recyclable? Wound tight a little much? You do realize, that even though the Tassimo is being hosted on someone else’s counter top, it still is out there, filling up the landfills. The overall reduction in carbon footprint is nada. Wait till you have babies and suddenly a daycare has thrown up all over your household with plastic. He would probably faint with the thought of disposable diapers.
Note*- I have a Tassimo at home and we have a Keurig at work and the Tassimo….. SO much better!
Oct 12, 2012 @ 10:08:06
So far, I actually prefer the Keurig…but I think that might have something to do with the fact that we had a REALLY cheap Tassimo and one of the nicer Keurig machines. Honestly, the coffee tastes similar to me…I just like that I have more options with my Keurig. Again, that’s probably because I had the most basic Tassimo you can get.
If I’m being totally honest — the recycling thing was only half the battle. (I did bring up the fact that whether we used my Tassimo or somebody else did, it would still be creating trash.) The other issue was that the T-Dics, as I’m sure you know, are EXPENSIVE! Although we spent more to replace it with a Keurig, I think the idea is that we’ll save money in the long-run by using the refillable K-cup with our own coffee…? We’ll see how that pans out.
So, yes…I am married to an extremely obsessive recycler. It can be kind of ridiculous. But then I remind myself that he could be obsessed with video games or NASCAR and don’t feel quite as annoyed.
Oct 15, 2012 @ 07:05:01
We went through this when deciding on buying a Tassimo last Christmas ourselves…. My Hubby is not the biggest fan of spending money and thought it was frivolous as well. We have a regular 6 cup coffee pot, plus the Tassimo now. We look at the cost as somewhere between Starbucks ($4-5-6!/cup!) and a regular pot of home-brewed coffee ($.50/pot?). He’ll make a pot every morning, and I’ll have a t-disc most mornings. He’ll make a decaf t-disc some evenings. The Keurig at work is okaaaay, I’ll use it to make tea occasionally, but I don’t care for how you have to wait for the water to heat up (maybe it’s a clunkier version?). My mom (former barista and coffee shop owner herself) has a Keurig and likes it, especially the refillable k-cup. When I’m at target and look at the WALL of k-cup selection and then down at the teeny row of t-discs, it does make me a little sad. But we’ve gotten creative with syrups and Tassimo’s can make lattes as well. Pros/Cons.
True dat on marital perspective! Maybe one of the main reasons I married my husband is that he doesn’t snore. At all. Ever. But sometimes I might want to stab him due to his ahem, ‘thrifty-ness’.
Oct 12, 2012 @ 12:44:46
I think its great that he thinks about “It’s the most aesthetically pleasing.” That is so wonderful! Plus, brainerd is getting a costco on October 24 and I can’t wait to get in on the action!