I’m one of those people who loves the smell of coffee, but hates the taste (I’m more of a tea girl), so it was no hardship to me when Grant’s coffee grinder broke.
But for those for whom coffee is the essential start to every morning, you’ll understand his panic. You’ll understand that having freshly ground beans is non-negotiable. And you’ll understand why, on the morning that the grinder broke, he opted for the next best option – a hammer and a paper bag.
Besides creating a racket, a hammer reportedly does a mediocre job of coffee grinding.
The next morning, still intending to buy a new grinder or at least look for a second hand one, he came up with another option: the cast iron mortar and pestle. It’s heavy enough to grind beans and deep enough to stop them from popping out, it uses zero electricity, and it makes much less noise than either the hammer or the electric grinder.
Apparently the grind is not fine enough to make a satisfactory espresso, but it works perfectly in the french press which means that our fancy espresso machine is going on craigslist, our broken coffee grinder is going to the e-waste depot, and our household is suddenly lighter by two appliances.
I’m sure glad he didn’t just rush out to get a new grinder.
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