In October, 2024, I published a post on making yoghurt muffins, and on a whim, my brother fed the post into the Google NotebookLM Podcast Generator, creating a podcast (in fact, two) in the process.
In the first podcast, one of the “hosts” remarks, starting at 3:49, “Like, imagine making a super detailed blog post, like, making your morning coffee.”
Well, here is the post that the “hosts” jokingly “suggested” that I create.
Note that I don’t actually drink coffee because I don’t care for it; I like iced tea (this web page was written somewhere between 1995 and 1997; while the page’s premise still stands some 28 to 30 years later, some of the specific information is rather out of date, principally the beer section: Nowadays, I adore Belgian dubbels, quadruppels, and German bocks — but I digress.) However, I regularly prepare coffee for my mom.
Note that there are a small number of photos which were either taken in a slightly different order, or which were recreated during the session, and one which was taken during a different session, but presented as follows for the sake of the narrative.
Update 20250106: I wrote a post about the trials and tribulations of attempting to make a podcast using Google NotebookLM about this post and its tongue-in-cheek premise.
Making the coffee:
I normally set up a coffee machine for my mom every day, usually the evening before.
Firstly, the coffee machine was taken out:
Paper coffee filters were taken out:
A single paper coffee filter was taken from the grouping of paper coffee filters:
The coffee machine’s lid was opened:
The paper coffee filter was placed in the plastic basket in the coffee machine:
Note that my mom finds “medium roast”, fine grind drip coffee machine coffee grounds meets her liking:
… which of course has suggested preparation instructions:
We keep coffee in a resealable plastic container in the fridge:
The coffee container was taken out:
The coffee container was opened:
Three heaping tablespoons of the coffee grounds were measured out:
The coffee grounds were transferred to the paper coffee filter in the basket in the coffee machine:
Just for fun, a paper coffee filter was placed on a kitchen scale, and the kitchen scale was set to zero:
… then the paper coffee filter was switched out, and the paper coffee filter with the measured out coffee grounds were placed on the kitchen scale, revealing that I’d measured out about 24 grams of coffee grounds:
The paper coffee filter and coffee grounds were returned to the coffee machine (photo from a subsequent setup):
The coffee carafe was taken out of the machine, and brought to the sink:
A bit of water was drawn into the carafe, and swirled around to rinse out the inside of the carafe:
The rinse water was poured out:
Two cups of water — about up to one of the marks on the side of the carafe — were drawn into the carafe:
Back to the coffee machine …
The water in the carafe was poured into the water reservoir at the back on the coffee machine:
The coffee machine’s lid was closed:
The empty coffee carafe was placed into the machine on the hotplate under the basket:
Since I normally prepare the coffee machine for my mom, I normally place a handwritten sign on top of the coffee machine indicating that all she has to do is turn on the machine:
I also normally place a coffee mug beside the coffee machine for her …
… and I normally also place a spoon in the coffee mug for her:
The following morning, a weekend day for me, I prepared the coffee for Mom, and served it to her.
I went up to the coffee machine, which of course was off (and, I noticed in the better morning light, that the machine itself could use a wipe down!) …
… and I turned it on:
The machine started operating, and liquid started flowing through the machine, and into the carafe, fogging up the inside of the carafe in the process:
After a few minutes, the machine finished, and the coffee was made:
I reached over to the compost bucket across the counter …
… to remove its lid:
The coffee machine’s lid was opened:
… and the paper coffee filter and wet coffee grounds were removed from the basket:
The paper coffee filter and wet coffee grounds were transferred to the compost bucket:
… and the compost bucket’s lid was placed back onto the compost bucket:
The coffee maker’s lid was also closed:
Mom likes to keep milk for her coffee and tea in a plastic container in the fridge:
The milk container was taken out:
Milk was poured into the coffee mug:
For fun, I decided to measure out how much milk I’d poured out, which was a roughly typical amount:
… leading to it being roughly two liquid ounces:
The milk was returned to the coffee cup:
The coffee cup with just the milk was placed in the microwave oven:
… and the milk was warmed for 20 seconds (1100 watts):
The warmed milk was brought back to the coffee maker:
Mom likes sugar in her coffee, so a sugar bowl was taken out:
The sugar bowl was opened:
For fun, I thought I’d find out how much sugar I put in Mom’s coffee, so I took out a kitchen scale, placed the spoon on the scale, and set the scale to zero:
The spoon was placed in the sugar bowl …
Sugar was measured out:
… and the sugar was weighed, proving to be about 4 grams:
The sugar was transferred to the coffee machine with the warmed milk:
Coffee was poured into the coffee cup with the warmed milk and sugar:
… until the coffee cup had been filled:
The spoon was picked up …
… and the coffee was thoroughly stirred:
The now-filled coffee cup was again placed in the microwave oven, because mom likes her coffee really hot:
The coffee was warmed for 25 seconds (1100 watts):
… and I served Mom her hot, fresh coffee:
And of course, Mom received a refill!