Learn Hardcore Turkish: Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum. - While the washing machine is running, I make coffee and take a short break.

If the verb stem ends in a consonant: çalış
- ırken → çalışırken
If it ends in a vowel, typically: oku
- rken → okurken (while reading)

You use -ken on a verb to express that one action is happening at the same time as another:

Ben yemek yerken o televizyon izliyor.
While I eat, he is watching TV.

In the sentence Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum, çalışırken sets the time frame: during the time the washing machine is running.

Why is ben used here? Could we leave it out?

Turkish normally drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Veriyorum already tells us I am giving / I am taking (a break).

So both are correct:

Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum.
Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum.

Adding ben:

Emphasizes I (as opposed to someone else), or
Just sounds a bit more personal/explicit, similar to English “I, meanwhile, make coffee and take a short break.”

It is not grammatically required; it is a choice of emphasis or style.

What does the -ıp in yapıp do? Why not just say kahve yapıyorum ve kısa bir mola veriyorum?

Yapıp is yapmak (to make) + the converb suffix -ıp / -ip / -up / -üp.

This suffix:

Links two actions done by the same subject,
Has a sense of and (then) or and, often with a slight feeling of sequence.

So:

kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum ≈ I make coffee and (then) take a short break.

Compared to using ve:

kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum
feels like one smooth chain of actions, almost like a mini-story.
kahve yapıyorum ve kısa bir mola veriyorum
is more like listing two actions side by side.

Both are correct; -ıp is just more compact and natural here.

Why is it kahve yapıp, not kahveyi yapıp? When do we use the accusative -i with objects?

In Turkish, you add the accusative ending (-ı / -i / -u / -ü, or -yı etc.) mainly when the object is definite / specific.

Kahve yapıyorum.
I am making (some) coffee. (Indefinite, general)
Kahveyi yapıyorum.
I am making the coffee (that we already know about). (Definite, specific)

In the sentence, the idea is I make some coffee (not a specific, previously mentioned coffee), so:

kahve yapıp is correct and natural.
kahveyi yapıp would sound like you are talking about a particular coffee already identified, which is not the case.

Why does mola vermek mean to take a break? Literally it looks like to give a break.

Yes, literally:

mola = break, pause
vermek = to give

But Turkish has many light verb constructions:

yardım etmek = to help (literally: to do help)
karar vermek = to decide (literally: to give a decision)
mola vermek = to take a break (literally: to give a break)

In these, the meaning is idiomatic; you must learn them as a unit.

So:

kısa bir mola veriyorum = I am taking a short break.

You generally do not say mola yapmak or mola almak in standard Turkish for this meaning; mola vermek is the normal expression.

What is the nuance of veriyorum here? Why not veririm?

Veriyorum is present continuous (şimdiki zaman):

kısa bir mola veriyorum = I am taking a short break (now / at this time),
or it can also describe a habitual action with a sense of vividness:
When the washing machine is running, I (typically) make coffee and take a short break.

Veririm is aorist / simple present:

kısa bir mola veririm = I (usually / generally) take a short break.

So:

If you are describing a specific current situation or giving a more lively description, veriyorum is natural.
If you want a neutral, habitual rule, veririm is also possible:
- Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veririm.
  When the washing machine is running, I (usually) make coffee and take a short break.

Both are grammatically fine; the original chooses the continuous for a more “in the moment” feeling.

Why is it kısa bir mola, not bir kısa mola or just kısa mola?

The normal order for adjective + noun + bir combination in Turkish is:

[adjective] + bir + [noun]

So:

kısa bir mola = a short break

Bir is functioning like the English a / an.

Other options:

kısa mola
Means short break in a more general sense, without the a idea, often used in fixed phrases (e.g., kısa mola, like a heading or slogan).
bir kısa mola
Grammatically possible, but sounds unusual and marked; it would put extra emphasis on one particular short break, which is not needed here.

So kısa bir mola is the natural, everyday way to say a short break.

What exactly is çamaşır makinesi? Why two words and how does it work grammatically?

Çamaşır makinesi literally means laundry machine and is the normal term for washing machine.

Structure:

çamaşır = laundry, clothes to be washed
makine = machine
makinesi = its machine (machine + 3rd person possessive -si)

So it is a possessive compound:

çamaşır makinesi ≈ the machine of laundry
→ the laundry machine → washing machine

You will see this pattern often:

bulaşık makinesi = dish-washing machine (dishwasher)
kahve makinesi = coffee machine

Even though it is two words, together they function as one noun phrase: the washing machine.

Could we say Çamaşır makinesi çalıştığında instead of çalışırken? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could say:

Çamaşır makinesi çalıştığında ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum.

Here:

çalıştığında = when it works / when it is running
(çalıştı
- -ğında = when it worked / when it works)

Difference in nuance:

çalışırken = while it is running, focuses on simultaneous ongoing time.
çalıştığında = when it runs / whenever it runs, more like each time that it runs.

In this sentence, both are quite close in meaning, but:

çalışırken highlights that during the washing machine’s operation, you are doing other things.
çalıştığında sounds a bit more like a general rule or condition: whenever the washing machine runs, I do this.

Is the word order fixed? Could we move parts around, like Ben çamaşır makinesi çalışırken kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum?

Turkish word order is flexible, but the default is:

Time / setting → subject → object(s) → verb.

The original:

Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum.

Variations:

Ben çamaşır makinesi çalışırken kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum.
Ben kahve yapıp kısa bir mola veriyorum çamaşır makinesi çalışırken. (less natural)

All of these are grammatical; the differences are in emphasis:

Starting with Çamaşır makinesi çalışırken puts the time frame first: While the washing machine is running...
Starting with Ben emphasizes I: As for me, when the washing machine is running, I...

The verb veriyorum almost always stays at or very near the end; moving it earlier would sound incorrect or very marked in standard Turkish.