Another day, another grind...
Waking up to a fairly warm, bright and sunny day, hyped as ever. After all the new year celebrations and holidays, it's now time to get back on the grind. 2023 so far seems fairly bright and hopeful. I've been away for quite a while; travelling, visiting friends and family during this fairly lengthy holiday of mine. I just got back yesterday and had to be present at the office today, and I surely don't mind it, I've had my fair share of relaxation already.
The fact that I don't hold a job that I entirely detest is also a plus point I'd say. Our workplace is fairly calm and tolerable too; so I'm actually looking forward to heading back.
My routine starts with me waking up at 7AM, prepping up some breakfast and coffee, getting ready, and then heading out. Fortunately, my office is close by, not the usual walking distance, but I'm fit enough to cover that extra bit. Usually I'm out and on my way before the clock hits 7:40AM, then it depends on my walking pace. In my own moderate pace it takes me about 15 minutes to reach our office building.
So, there I was, ready as ever to tackle life, starting with my very repetitive routine; yet, an extra dose of enthusiasm was flowing through my body today. Which all felt overly positive I'd say, a bit too good to be true.
After getting up and freshening up, I headed towards my kitchen to make some breakfast. A nice omelette with cheese, tomatoes and spinach felt like the perfect meal for today. So as I started slicing and stirring, I went ahead and tried to start up my coffee grinder, but it was acting oddly. It would only run for a few seconds and then stop completely. After shaking and beating the poor machine for a minute or two I decided to give up.
I just knew something would go wrong; life was being a bit too kind, and everything felt in place.
Now, after taking my first defeat of the year, I went back to making my omelette. I was having to leave and start my first day at the office in 2023, without a taste of coffee; such a dreadful way to start off the work-year.
As the clock hit 7:20AM I was all set and ready to head out, which was a bit too early for me. I usually head out at around 7:40-7:45AM, after I've enjoyed some slow sips of coffee, assisted with some calming morning music.
Now I really had nothing to do, no point in reaching the office so early either.
So, the tech geek inside of me decided to give the coffee grinder another look. Everything looked fine from the outside, so I decided to open it up. It's not one of the biggest thingamajigs, so it didn't take much time to tear it apart. After getting inside everything looked alright, as if it's a well functioning machine. But then my "bright" little mind remembered that the issue was with the grinding process. When it was turned on, it struggled and stopped, sometimes even repeating the process, but not enough power or run time to grind some coffee beans. So I decided to give the motor a check, that's what makes the blades spin, which then grinds some beans.
As I started testing the motor, I found it struggling to spin smoothly. There was a bit too much friction, which was not allowing it to work in full force. So I went to my kitchen, got a dab of olive oil, smeared it on the motor's shafts and gears, and every other spinning thingamajig that was present. This method usually works with such contraptions. When I was a kid, I've handled smaller motors, ones that would be present in toys and others devices. I guess I still have that mad little scientist within me, somewhere; the one who likes to tear everything down to the bone, just to see and figure out how a toy actually works.
The moment of truth, after reassembling the grinder, followed by a little prayer, while having my fingers crossed, I turned on the machine. At first it was the same old problem, a few seconds of grinding and then coming to a stop. I gave it another go and it seemed to have improved a bit, working for a few seconds longer. At this point it was just getting frustrating, what a waste of time! So I gave it the classic hit, one hard blow at the bottom, the go to solution for us humans haha. I then went ahead and gave it one last try. Third time's the charm, eh? We will see.
One last go! And whaddayaknow? It's working and grinding through those beans like it's nothing.
This mad scientific experiment of mine had cost me 15 minutes or so, which means I now had about 5 minutes to prep my coffee; I would have to be on the move at 7:40AM sharp. Thus, I wouldn't be laying back and enjoying my morning coffee, no time for that.
So after all the grinding and brewing was done, I poured my laborious cup of coffee in my travel mug and was on my way to the office.
A bit of olive oil taste to the coffee may be a good compliment to the overall taste… I can try to spray my beans with it the next time I grind… and also it will lube the grinder internals, right? 😁
Just a dab on the end of the rotor, not the grinding compartment and blades, you won't even feel like it's there. 😉
But spraying olive oil on the blades next time before grinding, it surely sounds like another mad scientist expedition. 🤔
Olive oil and a few well aimed whacks! I must remember your mad-scientist procedure. Haha, what a good giggle!
I must say that the whacks are way more consistent, works 8 out of 10 times, no matter the device. 😂
I shall follow the mad scientist tips without questioning 👍
We all should, once in a while at least. 🔥