Caffeine Fiends...and in LOVE with Nespresso machines!

Ramadan is officially making mornings beyond hard for Duma and I!!! We have the best coffee shop (thanks to the staff of Carribou Coffee @ Bareeq Al Shatti) downstairs from our current location and we can't even drink it in the mornings due to Ramadan...boo!!! It just stares at me, calling me every morning when I wander downstairs for a random walk (since I'm not working right now, anything I can do to amuse myself and get away from MTV Arabia is a good thing!).

So, the cafes/coffee shops/eateries around town are closed until dusk everyday...which means we are getting our coffee fix around 8 or 9pm every night - which is exactly why I couldn't sleep until 3am this morning!!! So in the desperate search for a good coffee first thing in the AM during Ramadan, this girl did some investigation...

Duma and I had a Nespresso Essenza machine back gome in Oz and it was delightful to say the least...smooth and creamy coffees to our hearts content, quick and delicious at the touch of a button. But alas, we decided not to bring the 'other' love of our life to Oman, given the weight restrictions for luggage from Perth - Ireland - Oman.

In doing so, I think we lost a piece of ourselves, because it was a part of our foolproof daily routine, even in Ireland as we encouraged R&D to get one too...ahhhh the art of persuasion!

Segway - why don't businesses here provide a GOOD coffee machine at work instead of instant coffee??? Not everyone is a fan of tea or Turkish coffee w/ cardamon!

Back on topic - after looking in all the stores here and realising that noone sells the machines, I reviewed the Nespresso website and rang the 1 contact they have for the Sultanate of Oman...I was beyond disappointed when their GSM provider stated "this user is out of the area" - then the 1 contact for UAE was 'unable to reach on this number'.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME? I NEED CAFFEINE PRONTO!

So, in typical fashion (I love to give feedback) I emailed Nespresso Australia and told them that we were faithful consumers and dying over here without coffee. Thank God (or Allah), but they got back to me with contact details for a business here in Oman and low and behold, they sell what we need!!! :-)
They aren't cheap, but they are SEXY machines and will look great in our new apartment...so we are happy little Vegemites at the moment and should have our new machine but the Eid holidays.

I reckon I could work for Nespresso here and make "one million dollars" true Mini-me style, as I love the products THAT much!!! lol.

** On another note, I just want to give kudos to Rahoul and the staff @ Carribou Coffee in the Bareeq Al Shatti complex. They are nothing short of amazing...remembering our names four 4 whole months after we last visited Muscat and always greet us with a steaming cup of amazing coffee, some of the most genuine and heartfelt smiles you have ever seen, calling us 'Maam' or 'Sir' and such a wonderful work ethic!

You guys truly make our day, EVERY time we visit, and it is definitely a memorable experience.
So much so, that when we were last in London we bypassed Costa Coffee & Starbucks due to the reputation of Carribou in Qurum :-)

I may have only gone to Starbucks just to buy Lisa a packet of her beloved Morning Blend coffee...that is all!!!