Coffeetime!!! Ena kafe metrio, parakalo!
DeepblueGreekceramicKafemugs. Xania, Crete. June 2004 © Priya Tuli
Axx, coffee...but no, no more rhapsodies. Just the facts here today. And not too many, just enough to put a few hairs on a few chests.
I discovered Greek coffee has much in common with Indonesian coffee, or Java as the cognoscenti prefer to call it. (Java is actually just ONE variety...there's Bali, Toraja, Arabica, Robusta, Mandehling...and many more that I can't even remember, much less pronounce.) Mostly because they're both served strong, black and thick with coffee grounds.
In Greece, coffee is prepared the traditional way in a "briki", which is a dinky little copper or brass pot with a long handle. I think it has a neutral coating of tin on the inside, so the coffee doesn't react chemically with the copper/brass.
I'm no cordon bleu, and I could be wrong but I think this is how it happens: you put water in the pot, throw in some fresh ground coffee and some sugar, boil it up and pour it into a cup, mug or even your cupped palms, depending how masochistic you're feeling. Ouch, hotttt! And then you wait for the grounds to settle before drinking it, unless you want to spend all of next week picking them out of your teeth.
So basically, as you may have gathered, it's a thick mess with the grounds still in it. Much like Turkish coffee, but don't tell the Greeks I said that. The grounds were a bit unnerving for a friend I was travelling with, who shall remain anonymous. One sip, and that was the end of the whole affair. She went on a nomorecoffee jag for the rest of the trip, I think. It's fairly strong stuff, and yes you could stand a spoon or three in it, if you were that way inclined.
Indonesian Kopi Tobruk, which is how most Indonesian coffee is prepared, is less complicated because you just toss everything together in a mug: hot water, coffee, sugar if you want it. Now give it a good old stir. Again, you need to wait for the grounds to settle. Now, drink. Also fairly strong stuff, which makes me wonder how my Decaf-loving friend would take to it. Must remember to ask. Lin? Did you drink any in Crete at all? Or did you wimp out?!? Me, I grew much hair on my chest that trip...good strong coffee will do that to you.
Axx, coffee...but no, no more rhapsodies. Just the facts here today. And not too many, just enough to put a few hairs on a few chests.
I discovered Greek coffee has much in common with Indonesian coffee, or Java as the cognoscenti prefer to call it. (Java is actually just ONE variety...there's Bali, Toraja, Arabica, Robusta, Mandehling...and many more that I can't even remember, much less pronounce.) Mostly because they're both served strong, black and thick with coffee grounds.
In Greece, coffee is prepared the traditional way in a "briki", which is a dinky little copper or brass pot with a long handle. I think it has a neutral coating of tin on the inside, so the coffee doesn't react chemically with the copper/brass.
I'm no cordon bleu, and I could be wrong but I think this is how it happens: you put water in the pot, throw in some fresh ground coffee and some sugar, boil it up and pour it into a cup, mug or even your cupped palms, depending how masochistic you're feeling. Ouch, hotttt! And then you wait for the grounds to settle before drinking it, unless you want to spend all of next week picking them out of your teeth.
So basically, as you may have gathered, it's a thick mess with the grounds still in it. Much like Turkish coffee, but don't tell the Greeks I said that. The grounds were a bit unnerving for a friend I was travelling with, who shall remain anonymous. One sip, and that was the end of the whole affair. She went on a nomorecoffee jag for the rest of the trip, I think. It's fairly strong stuff, and yes you could stand a spoon or three in it, if you were that way inclined.
Indonesian Kopi Tobruk, which is how most Indonesian coffee is prepared, is less complicated because you just toss everything together in a mug: hot water, coffee, sugar if you want it. Now give it a good old stir. Again, you need to wait for the grounds to settle. Now, drink. Also fairly strong stuff, which makes me wonder how my Decaf-loving friend would take to it. Must remember to ask. Lin? Did you drink any in Crete at all? Or did you wimp out?!? Me, I grew much hair on my chest that trip...good strong coffee will do that to you.
posted by Priya Tuli at
5:21 am
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