There is something very deliberate about this machine. Clearly, its newness precludes it from being a familiar hand-me-down or tenement inheritance (as is too often the case with coffee makers).
But its deliberateness is not a mere matter of having actually been decisively purchased. Rather, its authority it drawn by its stainless steel, shining triumphantly against the pastiness of the all-too-white kitchen. It’s a machine that demands that the rest of the kitchen must eventually conform to it; the room must bend to its look, not vice-versa. The relatively antiquated General Electric oven and the plastic-coated pressed-wood ensemble of cabinets and countertops are not meant to last long. The Cuisinart DCC-2000, on the other hand, has a gravity that serves as statement that things will change. Perhaps one day, this room or another will house countless other stainless steel appliances to match; it’s a promise for the future—a promise the owner made to herself.
And while this machine is very forward-looking, it is also a tribute to the past. The combination of analog and digital controls, the prominence of the circular gauge atop dwarfing an LCD display below, allow us to see more complexity in the person who chose it. The machine, much like its owner, looks backwards and forward, and perhaps Rachel sees time not a succession of separate drops, but perhaps in a very linear and coherent manner. The past is always informing the present and just as the latter informs things to come. Not only would this make Rachel something of a retrofuturist, but also a subscriber to the aesthetics of steampunk—an artistic and fictional movement that is known for its optimism in humanity’s ability to be scientific without losing its sense of style. While steampunk works are often subversive or anti-establishment (hence the “punk” in the name), it is not destructively so.
The maker’s practical qualities should not be overlooked: the drip grate, the absence of a fragile carafe, and the deep, double walled reservoir. Its drip tray makes it looks almost like something that would be found in the food services industry—an industry in which the owner has prolonged experience. The double-walled reservoir keeps the coffee hot for up to four hours, allowing for unexpected changes in plans or a changing number of potential guests. Hence, Rachel adapts to change easily. In lieu of the carafe, coffee is dispensed via a lever and nozzle. This ease of access and the ability to use any container also show her adaptability. “To go” can have the same quality of comfort as staying in. Her living room is wherever life happens to be.
