Day 81: Final Working Week

The Coffee Machine

We have a really fancy espresso machine, with a bunch of knobs and buttons and levers. Every time I walk it up to it, I feel like I’ve entered a steampunk universe. I can only imagine that the insides of this machine are filled with a mangled set of pipes and tubes and whatnot. Quite honestly, I don’t know what each and every button does, but I do know the sequence of steps I need to execute to produce a solid espresso in the morning and after lunch.

1. Get a wand (single or double depending on preference) that will hold the grounds for your espresso (already has a filter integrated in).
2. Smack it against the tray of used grounds.
3. Clean it with a scrubber thingy (at least that’s what I call it).
4. Depending on your preference, either press the button for single or double and press the wand against the grinder machine to get fresh grounds in the amount specified.
5. Place the wand into an open “slot” where hot water will filter into the wand filled with coffee grounds by rotating and sliding it in (line it up properly otherwise it will explode).
6. Press a button for your quantity (I choose either the symbol with one big cup or with two cups separated by a straight line).
7. Wait for it dispense hot water through the grounds and filter.
8. Voila! Your espresso is ready.
9. Quickly get out of the way for the next espresso addict.

Learning to use this machine is probably one of the hard skills I’ve developed over the last few years that I’m proud to put on my resume. But I can’t do any fun milk foam art other than my signature blob, so my coffees don’t always look very visually appealing. Plus, there’s some stiff competition amongst the teams. There’s no reason to embarrass myself. I’m a filtered coffee person anyways, so I’m good with my easy AeroPress at home. But I have to say, this machine has produced some fantastic espressos and led to some great conversations over the last few weeks that I will definitely miss.

Dinner

After wrapping up at the office earlier than usual (at around 5:30PM), I thought I would pop over to the pick-up location to grab my package. After enjoying my commute home to the stylings of the Gypsy Kings, I dropped my bag off at home and speed-walked over. Turns out, the store closed at 6:00PM, and I arrived at 6:15PM. I thought it was open till 6:30PM, but apparently I mis-read the closing time. I’ll try again this morning.

Sweaty from my speed-walk in the very humid and hot evening weather, I went back home to send out some final emails. Eventually building an appetite, I decided it was time to grub. The night before, I thought I would explore an another Indian restaurant in the Stuttgart city center to compare to my experience at Taj Mahal Indisches Restaurant, but I ended up going to a restaurant that’sright around the corner one block away called Sultan Saray, which is a Turkish restaurant.

I’ve been walking past this place every day (twice a day, actually) to and from my commute to work. I always see the tables are filled outside, which clearly means it’s popular, but I never stopped to try it out. I heard from friends that it takes an unusually long time to get your meal, so I’ve avoided it because after work, I’m ready to inhale food as quickly as I can. Today, I decided to give it a shot.

And I’m really glad I did. The food was delicious, and the service was good. Between the German names and the original Turkish names, I couldn’t really visualize the food in my mind while reading the menu. I asked the waitress, and she said “71”, referencing the menu item number. It was Hirtenpfanne (translation: shepherd’s pan). The German description is “Geröstete Lammfleischstücke mit Tomaten, Zwiebeln und Paprika, dazu Reis und Salat” which translates to “Roasted pieces of lamb with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, served with rice and salat”. In Turkish, it’s called Coban Kavruma. Pairing it with a Radler may not have been the best option (probably should have gone for a white wine instead), but it was the right choice to beat the heat. It’s another great restaurant to explore in Stuttgart.

Frieden und Liebe ❤️ (translation: peace and love)