Sure, I knew this day was coming. I’ve been mentally preparing myself for it, while simultaneously ignoring the signs: the gasping sounds, the slow drip, the tinny taste. My coffee maker has been dying a slow, painful death and I’ve been turning a blind eye.

But now the day has come. It died honorably – simple refusing to brew another cup. And now I’m I’m forced to acknowledge the loss and move on.

My coffeemaker has been my morning pal for approximately five years. She helped me stumble to morning undergraduate classes at my Maine college. She was how I survived riding the B line (and all those BU students) on my way to graduate school, my part-time retail job in Fanueil Hall, my other part-time job at a South End non-profit, and all the other freelance/temporary/desperate jobs I held while living in Boston. She’s traveled with me to apartments in Beverly, Gloucester and Newburyport.

But now I’m at a loss. All my attempts to find a coffee maker have failed. When did Keurig become the only option for coffee? Why do people need to buy their coffee in little pods? Why doesn’t anyone make/carry a good, solid coffee maker with an enclosed brewing system that features a gentle keep-warm feature? (Yes, I’m picky). I don’t want conventional glass carafes, individual cup brewing, or any of this other stuff that Bed, Bath & Beyond is stocked to the ceiling with.

I guess I’ll scour the internet, keep my eyes open at my downtown shops, and ask friends for their advice. And until I find a respectable new coffee maker? Back to the good old French Press.