Saturday, May 28, 2011

Coffee, Kafe, Cafe, Kofe



However you spell it, it is a daily habit for millions of people around the world. Agreed?

Granted, caffeine is said to have its disadvantages, but in the fast paced world we live in, it seems to provide just enough juice to either open our eyes in the morning, or get us through a tedious afternoon.

Personally, I can't drink "regular" coffee black. Regular meaning, any coffee existing except Armenian. Now, Armenian coffee is a different story, all it needs is a pinch of sugar, and thats added during the "brewing" process. No electrical appliances needed here. No investment in disposable coffee filters. All that is needed is a Jazzve  -- a cute tall and skinny "pot" if you will.

Per Serving:     One teaspoon sugar, one teaspoon super finely ground coffee ( or Armenian Coffee found in specialty stores) one cup ( pictures to the right) of water, and lots of love. As you can see, the cups resemble espresso cups in size -- its not much larger than a rosebud!

Every "good" ( ahem -trained) Armenian girl knows that to make a really good coffee means there is kaf -  or foam on the top of every cup poured.  If for some reason you can't get every cup to have the sought after kaf,  you serve the eldest in the family and/or the guests the "perfect cups" of coffee and you reserve those that didn't quite attain the kaf  for yourselves.

Of course you can't talk about Armenian coffee without talking about the old tradition of "reading" the coffee cups -- particularly if you have an Armenian Grandma. After drinking the coffee, you find there is a thick residue on the bottom -- don't try to drink this part, you will most definitely regret it. Instead, you flip the cup upside down in the saucer and let it drip dry.

Shortly thereafter you kindly ask your Armenian grandmother if she will read your fortune. It is almost guaranteed that if you are a girl, she will see a party or wedding in your future :) ( She may mention this every time for years on end until it happens)  There will also be mention of goals and aspirations which will lead to success as well as a warning to be careful of those around you who are jealous.

Whether or not it is something you believe in, it certainly is an experience.

2 comments:

  1. Correction: "Kaf" is the persian word... and being of persian-armenian decent I automatically referred to it. The Armenian word I should have used is " prpoor"

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  2. I say "kaf," too. Nothing wrong w that. :)

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