 Last Month Braun Household sent me their beautiful ID Breakfast Collection to test it and see if it is a fit for us. I was super excited because I am not only a fan of their products, but I have been having trouble with my own breakfast appliances because they didn't fit my expectations and needs. So here is my real review of the three and why they are a perfect fit for my family of three: 1. The Kettle: First, this product is beautifully designed. It looks gorgeous in my kitchen counter. It is made of brushed aluminum, and the grip is so soft to the touch. The kettle rotates 360 on the base, which makes it very easy to put the "pot" back on the base. Perfect for me, because sometimes I have a crying baby on my arms plus a bottle of milk. It has the water level indicator on both sides and is easy to fill with water as it has a double filling system. This beauty has a bottom to descale it as well, and it reminds you when to do it. But none of these features is the one that I love the most..  Since Otis has been sick for months and we finally find out that he is highly allergic to many proteins, We had to change to special milk. My pediatrician told me that this new milk must never touch the hot water. Anything above 40 degrees will make it so bitter the baby wouldn't drink it. I thought I could manage to use a regular kettle or mix hot and cold water, but it didn't work. I found myself throwing milk down the drain or euros to the garbage bin. This milk costs about 700 euros per month, so each time I had to throw the milk, it hurt.
This kettle has 5 different temperature settings. The first one being 40 degrees, and that is just awesome for us. The warm setting keeps the water at the set temperature for up to 30 minutes, so If I started warming water to prepare milk and I need to rush to change a diaper or pick up something quickly, I just hit that button. I don't need to boil the water all over again. I use the other temperature settings to make the perfect tea, hand brew coffee, and fill my pot with hot water for noodles, as it takes 35 seconds to boil water to 100 degrees. And no need to mention how amazed I am about how silent this kettle is. Sometimes I think I forgot to hit the "on" button!  2. The Toaster: This toaster is beautifully designed as his sister "the kettle," and it has excellent features like, it has a lid that prevents dust or dirt from entering the toaster so that it is clean at all times, a Bagel setting that toasts the bread on one side only. Thirteen browning settings, YES! 13! So it doesn't matter what your level of brown is, I can make it for you at home. But now why I think this toaster fit us:  You can defrost bread in it. It has a defrost setting! I usually freeze bread for Pepa because I can't eat regular bread, and a loaf will get dry or rotten if I wait for her to finish it, but defrosting bread is a hassle. I need to put it in the microwave, and it gets dry, or I need to plan in advance when and how much bread I let on the counter to defrost. Now I simply press a button and tadaaah! Ready! It has a warming setting as well in case we can't eat right away. Many times, we start making breakfast, and we need to stop and do something else. This keeps it warm and fuzzy until we can sit down again.
I don't eat toasted bread at home because I share the toaster with Pepa. I have celiac disease, and it is impossible to put the bread inside a toaster and keep the gluten away from it. The removable bun attachment helps us with it. I can toast bread for Pepa and toast my gluten-free buns without worrying about contact contamination... now I don't need to turn on the oven just for my bun.  3. The Coffee Maker:Coffee. I am a coffee addict. But I never had a regular filter machine because most of them look cheap and they are made with loads of plastic, they drip and let's face it, the coffee tastes dull in comparison with other brewing systems. But this machine exceeded all my expectations.  First of all, I can fit my reusable KINTO filter and remove the filter basket to clean in the dishwasher. This is great because it makes it zero waste. I use the coffee waste on my plants, and I don't feel bad about unnecessary paper filters in my trash bin. At the moment, I need loads of coffee because I don't sleep as much as I should. Life of a single mother of two, I guess. All the brewing methods I used need time and make just 1 or 2 cups. Here, I make 10 cups, and I am sure I won't run out of caffeine. I can make 1-4 cups on a good day using their "small amount" button as well. The water tank isn't attached, so it doesn't make a mess, and it has the same descale feature as the kettle.
About the flavor. I was stunned about the flavor. It has the AromaSelect that adjusts the intensity of the coffee to your taste: strong, normal, or mild. This implies no dull coffee, and it has an anti-drip system, meaning: no more drops falling off the filter once the coffee is made. Remember those old coffee filter machines that dripped and the drops burnt on a plate? This doesn't happen here. The filter closes immediately after the jug is removed so that you can enjoy your first cup without dripping before the end of the brewing process.  And last but not least: You might be wondering how a person can drink 10 cups of coffee in a morning. A regular coffee filter machine has a glass jug. So the coffee inside would be hot for, let's say, an hour. I can't for the love of god drink 10 cups of Joe in 60 minutes. But here comes the catch, this machine comes with a stainless steel thermos with a double wall. Coffee stays hot for up to 6 hours in the comfortably designed stainless steel vacuum jug. And to be honest, it remains "warmish" for the rest of the day after those 6 hours. Ladies & Gents, this is how I drink that amount of coffee.  So why is the ID Breakfast Collection perfect for us? Not only is it beautiful and fit with the design of our flat, but it saves us time, money and makes our everyday life better.
We prepare milk faster, more comfortably without waste. We save electricity because we share an appliance despite allergies. We save time and needless planning for breakfast. It helps a coffee lover single mom get through the day without settling for a dull flavor. I can use all of the appliances with one hand while carrying the baby, and they keep our stuff warm when we can´t enjoy it right away. This was a PR sample to test, but this is my most honest opinion, We LOVE Braun in our home and breakfast table, and we can highly recommend it.
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 Many people asked me about our gym mat. I used it so much for pictures and decoration. I was smitten with some mats online, but I didn’t have the budget to buy them, and they didn’t quite have the color I wanted. So I decided to make myself one. It was quite easy to make. You can use a sewing machine, but you can make it by hand as well. You will need: Foam Leather or vegan leather Thread on the color of your leather Thread in another color Scissors Needle Pins Pen Sewing machine (optional) and patience  Start looking for foam. You can buy it in hobby stores or on Amazon. The size and thickness it is your choice. For my mat, I went for an 80cm square and a 3 cm thick foam pad. I wanted to have a small one. But you can choose a bigger one or even a smaller one. After this, you need to get the leather. I went to Frau Tulpe in Berlin and got some vegan leather in cognac color to fit my flat decor. Any leather will work. But the thicker the leather is, the harder it will be to sew.  Start marking your leather from the back of the fabric. You will need two round pieces and a long stripe to make this mat. The size of the round pieces is the size of the mat you want plus 1cm. That means for an 80 cm diameter mat, you will make an 82 cm diameter piece. Cut to of them and set aside.  Cut your foam. You can make it a square, rectangle, or any form you want, but I love circle mats. So I cut my foam in the size I wanted: 80cm. You can use regular scissors or a carpet knife. Don’t worry if the edges aren’t perfect... this won’t be visible later.  For the stripe width, cut the thickness of your foam plus 1 cm per side. We are leaving this extra cm for sewing later. So if your foam is 3cm, cut this piece 5 cm wide. To know the length of it, use a regular math formula (and you thought you wouldn’t use math after school) The formula is: π x diameter= circumference so on my case 3.1416 times 80 would be the length I need plus 1cm per side equals 251,3 + 2 =253,3cm. Ergo: your stripe will be 253,3 x 5cm.  If you don’t have a piece as long as the diameter, just cut 2 pieces and sew them together until it reaches the length you need. Now you have three parts: the two round ones and the stripe.
Now we start assembling. First, we join the two ends of the stripe with a pin and sew them together 1 cm away from the edge. Sew inside out, please! Now you have a belt-like loop. You can sew them like in the picture, so it will look tidier.  Now take one of the round pieces and secure the belt with pins, so it is easier to baste (baste means temporary stitching). Using a thread color that is different than your leather, baste the whole round so it won’t move when you are sewing them together.  Now using a sewing machine or just by hand, sew with the same color of your leather 1.5cm away from the edge. And secure the ends with a knot.  Iron the hem, so it looks flat like in the picture. This will help when you introduce the foam at the end. You can use a hot gun for this is your leather won’t bend.  Now test with the foam to see if it fits appropriately on size before you continue. If it fits, do the same with the other side. Don’t forget we are sewing inside out. Add pins, then baste and sew, leaving a space to introduce the foam. I went 20 cm open for that.
Turn it to the right side, roll the foam, and put it inside. It is such an annoying process if you are using vegan leather as I did as the foam won’t slide easily. But don’t give up hope! Once you have the foam in place, proceed to sew the hole until its closed. Add a knot, and don’t cut the thread; just leave it inside of the mat.
Now you have yourself a mat that looks good just hanging around or laying on a wall.  But if you really like the mat and have no spare time to make it, you can buy yourself one at Lille Svend KBH or Gathre. I don’t know where you can get one with vegan leather, though. I hope this helped you guys! Don’t forget to tag me when you make this DIY. It would make me so happy! Happy sewing!
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June 2021
AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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