Voila!

Well, I admit Mensa hasn’t called begging me to join,

BUT,

Never before have I felt really inferior mentally until today when my new coffeemaker arrived.

I suppose the first clue was the unpacking. The box was so large it appeared I had ordered a refrigerator rather than a new coffeemaker.

Consequently, the first problem I encountered was finding the “flat service” mandated in the directions on the outside of the box. I located several flat services in my small apartment, but few large enough to accommodate the mammoth cardboard box.

Finally, I wrestled it into the bathroom where the tile floor was certainly flat, and yes, cold. When I opened the outer box (yes there were several) I noticed two booklets of instructions.

However, since only one was in my native language, English, I opened that with anticipation.

Several days earlier my once reliable coffeemaker had abruptly refused to make even one more mug of Starbucks Sumatra. I have readily admitted my caffeine addiction, but hadn’t totally comprehended how serious a problem it had become. That is until I faced a caffeine free morning.

Immediately, I contacted Amazon and ordered a new appliance. I had no objection to paying extra for delivery asap.

Now it had finally arrived after 48 hours without my morning jolt of java.

BUT I couldn’t get this highly praised new machine to operate.

I opened the box at 4:30 p,m. By 7 p.m. I was wondering if I had always been so mechanically impaired or if it was a new problem. No matter how often I followed the numbered instructions, nothing happened. Not a single drop of coffee brewed.

I was about to admit defeat, but then wondering how I could ever repack this rather unwieldy machine, I was motivated to try just one more time.

Voila, not only did the wonderful red brewing globe illuminate, but within seconds a steady stream of that wonderful nectar from the coffee bean emerged.

The irony of the saga, however, is that the amazing manual printed in two languages unfortunately neglected one vital step before turning the silent machine into a wondrous barista.

And the last time I tried, I didn’t read the manual with its numbers and arrows and warnings, I just did what I thought might work.

To my utter joy, the red light for Brew lit.

Most importantly, the coffee it makes is wonderful.