NEGOTIATING: The Path of Java Jolt

Petr Kratochvil, Public Domain Pictures.net.

Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, 'Jesus! This cup is expensive!' Conan O'Brian

I stopped with a friend at a Starbuck's for a quick fix the other day. Her conversation with the young barista might sound familiar to you:


Friend: "I'll have a small coffee."
Barista: "You'll have a tall coffee."
Friend: "No. I just want a small coffee."
Barista: "Oh, yes. A tall coffee is a small coffee."
Friend: cross-eyed by now, "Ah, okay."
Barista: "Miss, will that be a decaf." (It was almost four in the afternoon.)
Friend: "No thank you! I just want a small, plain, caffeinated coffee."
Barista: "Okay, a tall, regular coffee."


Wow! I think it took me less time to negotiate the mortgage on my first house. And not to point a finger at Starbuck's, I believe it's a little like that almost anywhere these days. And that conversation didn't get into the challenges of flavored coffee drinks: "I'll have a small - no make that  a tall - decaf mocha with whipped cream - make that a nonfat, decaf mocha with whipped cream - no hold the whipped cream ... do you have soy? - I'll have a soy decaf mocha with whipped cream. Small. No! I mean tall. Make it iced. Oh, wait a minute. Is your soy gluten-free? I better not take a chance. I'll have a tall, iced nonfat mocha without whipped cream.Thanks! How much? An arm and a leg. Okay, and here's my right eye for a tip. Good job! Thank you." It's all a bit of a jolt: java included in the packaging.

HOW TO MAKE LEBANESE COFFEE, Al-Qahwa

Photograph: Tulumba.com

Lebanese coffee is served demitasse style in cups such as the one pictured here.

Photograph: Tulumba.com

Dark-roasted coffee beans are finely ground in beautiful etched-brass coffee-grinders.

Photograph:  Tulumba.com

Lebanese coffee is prepared in a narrow, long-handled brass pot, called a rakweh.

Lebanese Coffee, Al- Qahway, is generally served sweet (mazbuhtah), moderately sweet (wahsat), very sweet(helwa) or, at funerals, bitter (murrrah). The difference between traditional Turkish coffee and traditional Lebanese coffee is that the Lebanese is flavored with cardamom. If you prefer to have traditional Turkish coffee, follow the recipe, but leave out the cardamom.

The equipment used to prepare and serve Lebanese coffee can be purchased on-line at Tulumba.com, in local Mediterranean groceries, and at some department stores. You will find the coffee pot in product listings as "Turkish Coffee Pot."  These pots come in several sizes from small enough to prepare coffee for just two people or large enough to prepare coffee for up to twelve people. Traditionally the pots were made of brass but you will also find them for sale in stainless steel, which may be easier to care for but which I find prosaic and unromantic.  I prefer old brass pots.

You must purchase dark-roasted coffee ground for Turkish coffee, which is so fine it's like a powder. I use Peet's Italian Roast or Espresso Forté. The Espresso Forté is the stronger of the two. Only purchase as much coffee as you will use the same day.   It's best when it's fresh.

This recipe is for two servings. Just multiply the ingredients to prepare the coffee for more people.  This is an easy prep process.  Don't be intimidated.

Recipe

The ingredients:

For two demitasse cups, medium sweet:

• water
• 2 tablespoons dark-roasted coffee, ground for Turkish Coffee
• 2 teaspoons organic sugar
• 2 cardamom pods

The preparation:

Pour two demitasse cupfuls of water into the rakweh. Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat, and add the coffee and sugar. Put the pot back on the heat.  The coffee will foam up.  Remove from heat and let the foam subside.  Add the cardamom pods. Put the pot back on the heat and let it foam again.  Remove from heat.  Let the foam subside.  Do the process once more. Pour into cups.  Drink hot, hot, hot.


Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.