Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Thursday 20 November 2014

My newest Tamagotchi

©Brigitta Huegel

A 'domestic animal' - in Berlin? Even if you call it a 'house pet' it would not be happy here: only one big balcony (l)imitating nature, a flat with many square metres, but on second floor, so you won't draw a dog from the woodwork with that...
Instead I bought a pet machine. A sort of Tamogotchi. (You remember the Tamogotchi, created in the late 1990s, a virtual chicken that needed as much attention as a real animal?).
More precisely: I just asked for a coffee machine, a good one which can make coffee, espresso, cappuccino and latte macchiato. Till now we had a Nespresso machine, which worked quite nicely. (We started drinking coffee only a few years ago - and Nespresso even did an interview on TV with me, but I think some of you still have to wrest yourself free from 'Roger Moore and I', two posts down, so I will spare you this one).
I wanted to wrest myself from Nespresso. It started so harmless:
I only wished to recycle the Nespresso capsulesIn the Nespresso shop - which is very handy in the emporium KaDeWe six minutes away - they gave me - reluctantly - a solid brown plastic (!) bag. 
When I saw at home how quickly it filled up, I thought: oha!!! (This German cry of astonishment might best be translated to: Wow!
Then this woman started to calculate: one capsule costs 39 cents. If we buy (very good) fresh coffee beans, we will have generated the price of the 'Porsche among the coffee machines' depicted above in two or three years (don't try to prick a needle into my little bubble's daydream: contrary to my normal behaviour I even bought an assurance for the machine).  
So I bought it.
Husband arrived with Knut, my little red Fiat 500, and schlepped the machine to the car.
And that was the first time I should have become suspicious: I had to walk back, while the machine was driven home comfortably!! (the big box with the coffee machine refused to take a place in the backseat).
At home La Macchina got unpacked. I read the user's guide. Carefully.
Not much to read - mostly lovely pictures. Drawn like a comic. I proceeded to action.
Espresso: wonderful! Cappucchino: bellissimo! Then I got daring and tried my luck on Latte Macchiato.
At that moment the wild animal in the machine woke up.
First error of judgement on my side: it was not the Imposter of House-Pet-Dog  - which I thought at first and thus tried to house-train by stern discipline to show it who is The Master ( = Me).

No: It is a cat. 

(TBC)


17 comments:

  1. Dear Britta - that is certainly one very handsome machine - more like a lion than a pussy cat. I am still a plain old Cafetière person, but I could be converted to a pet machine like yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rosemary,
      you are so right with guessing it is a wild beast! It has to be tamed - and never put your back to it, you have to look into 'The eye of the tiger'...

      Delete
  2. You could open a trendy cafe with that, Britta!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Tom,
      you are invited as my Special Guest.

      Delete
  3. A timely post for me, Britta, as I have been thinking of buying some such machine. Bewildered by choice, I've retreated to the tradition octagonal pot on the stove for now, but I am eager to hear how you get on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mise,
      the coffee it makes is wonderful - but don't trust the little User's Guide - insist on seeing the DVD (more than 70 pages - the machine demands a high degree of caring - which is only a question of routine, time and tears of frustration - and a degree in precision engineering, Master preferred :-)

      Delete
  4. Your Tamagotchi cat got to the milk before the coffee stained it? I can barely wait. I know your whip will curb it and put it back on the counter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Joanne,
      you got the point immediately! I am still a strong-minded beginner - and who cares about the few scratches I already got (will wear my gloves) Husband longs for a Latte Machiato, but one doesn't own the Black Belt after a week of training...

      Delete
  5. I do not like coffee but I could become addicted to Chai Tea which is made in a similar way to some of your coffees. However I am happy for you. You have a pet that can give back something you enjoy. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Emma,
      it came as a surprise for us - life-long tea drinkers, when a few years ago we suddenly started to like coffee the Italian way. It depends on the mood and time of the day - I love a good tea in the early morning or afternoon.
      My 'pet' still has to be convinced that it has to give back something I enjoy - but I stroke it, and then it is in the mood. Mostly.

      Delete
  6. I guess sometimes it pays to be behind the curve, as we usually are!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Sue,
      I only can guess what 'behind the curve' means - in case I am right: a hearty 'Yes!', because then you might profit from the little book I am writing: 'How to Tame Your Coffee-Machine',

      Delete
  7. Some years ago my daughter gave me an espresso machine and said it would make a lot of the same noises I make. She was right and I like it a lot. Your machine is far more complex than mine and might intimidate me but it sure is impressive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Geo.,
      hahaha - the noises it makes when (if, IF I should write, because it still has a will of its own) the milk foams out are like that of a dragon - IF it isn't me, fuming when it doesn't :-)
      I'm absolutely sure that it would purr from the very first moment it comes to you.

      Delete
  8. Elaine, I'm happy to welcome you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know Britta, that you will tame that beast of a machine in time and will never look back !! Just looking at it I know it makes delicious coffee ! XXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jackie - yes, a silver lining is coming up...

      Delete