This post is dedicated to my friend Nicole, who is all about coffee. Even before she became the mother of identical twin boys, which in itself requires copious amounts of coffee, not to mention wine (she likes that too), Nicole was a supreme coffee aficionado.
We’ve come a long way from the days of the Mr. Coffee machine and the likes of Yuban coffee (yuk), so I thought it was high time to delve into the world of coffee — how to organize your appliances, accessories, supplies, etc. I even rounded up a few fun new products to add to the coffee fun.
So make yourself a latte, relax and read on.
Nowadays, the biggest challenge, if you have more than one coffee appliance, is where to store them. They can take up a lot of real estate on the kitchen counter, and let’s be honest, not all of us have a lot of extra counter space. While us coffee lovers dream of having a “coffee shrine” — a dedicated area exclusively for everything coffee, reality offers space for only one or perhaps two coffee machines on our kitchen counter.
I suggest setting up a coffee zone. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or take up a lot of space. If you are lucky enough to have a drawer located below the counter where you house your coffee maker/s, use it to store your coffee filters, sugar, sweeteners, pods (if you have a Nespresso or Keurig), coffee measure, etc. I found that these little organizers works great to keep sugar and sweeteners nice and tidy.
If you are using an upper cabinet to store your coffee supplies, you might want to check out this little container, which ironically is called a coffee station! It’s perfect to house filters, sweetener and stirrers.
While visiting a friend a few months ago I discovered a great and inexpensive way to make a latte without having a fancy cappuccino machine. It’s a little electronic latte foamer. For about 20 bucks and a couple of batteries you are set to make a latte in 20 seconds or less! Simply heat your milk in the microwave, insert the latte foamer into your cup and foam away. You can store your latte foamer with your other coffee supplies or in your utensil drawer.
If you own a Keurig or Nespresso machine in addition to your regular coffee maker, you might be challenged on the best way to store the pods. I have a Keurig machine and just keep the pods in the box they come in. I open the boxes and keep them stacked in my pantry. I simply grab a pod when I need one, no muss, no fuss.
The Nespresso pods are a bit trickier. The boxes are long and thin and don’t always fit easily in a drawer and the pods themselves don’t stand upright on their own. The boxes can be stacked in a pantry but you have take each box out to find the pod you want, which can be a tad cumbersome. Here are a couple of options for storing the pods, either in a cabinet, pantry or on the counter (if you have room). First up is the YouCopia CafeStack 60-Capsule from Bed, Bath & Beyond,
Or for something a bit more streamlined, try this little number from The Container Store,
As for storing various coffee appliances and apparatus, if you can dedicate a portion of a cabinet or area of your pantry, that will work best. Keeping like items together, whether in the kitchen or elsewhere always make use and retrieval easier.
For items that will lay fairly flat in a drawer you might want to use some drawer dividers to keep things neat and tidy. I am a big fan of using drawer dividers everywhere. These Linus drawer organizers can be found either at The Container Store or Bed, Bath & Beyond,
For storing coffee itself, I have heard conflicting recommendations. Some say to store it in the freezer to keep it fresh, or the fridge. My recommendation is to keep it in a cool, dark place. For everyday use, I keep my coffee in this Orly Kiely Canister and store extra coffee in my pantry.
Time for my mid-morning caffeine injection, so