Friday, September 12, 2008

A coffee break

This weeks prompt on Sunday Scribblings is Coffee

Many years ago pretty well every high street in England had a coffee retailer called Importers. Right in the middle of the shop window was a roaster tumbling coffee beans in a cylinder over a fiery gas burner. And low down near the pavement was a grill through which the aromatic fumes wafted into the street. That is where my love affair with coffee started.

The way we make a cup of coffee has certainly changed over the years. I remember my Gran making it with a thick brown liquid in a bottle – Camp it was called! She added hot milk and sugar. It was unpleasant! Then there was the original instant coffee powder, Nescafe. Soon after came coffee granules which smelt vaguely like coffee and are still around today. But when I first got married top of the wedding present list was a coffee percolator. A strange gurgling thing which converted that fabulous aromatic Importers ground coffee to a boiled and fairly unpleasant brew which tasted nothing like coffee at all! Then we moved on to a cafeteria which was a bit better and now a mini version of a commercial espresso machine is everyone’s must have gadget.

I love my coffee. Thick strong bitter sludgy coffee in Turkey, and strong black coffee in Greece. Coffee with passion in Italy, and coffee which bites back in South America. I like it simple, black, with nothing added. The way nature intended! You can keep your froth and your cinnamon. I don’t want chocolate sprinkled on top or steamed milk stirred in.

Writing this has made me thirsty! I’m off for a cup of tea.

24 comments:

  1. If you read my offering you'll see I need HELP!

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  2. oh! the best is filter coffee :) the south indian style.. ever tried it ?

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  3. Talking about tea ...
    A lot less hassle, drink it by the gallon.

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  4. tea .......yep mate ...
    Breakfast mate bacon eggs on toast and a pot of tea not coffee!

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  5. well, enjoy your eeermmm tea then... me, i like latte

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  6. well, enjoy your eeermmm tea then... me, i like latte

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  7. I am not so much a coffee person But I love tea!

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  8. seriously .. there are so many coffee lovers around the world.. I never had coffee before I started to work.. then I was drawn in.. but after getting married.. I begin my day with coffee every day.. or my day just refuses to jump start!!! I am back to writing prompts.. come read my take !!

    Coffee

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  9. Once you start reading your stuff it is difficult to stop. But I really am going for coffee.

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  10. I'm a coffee lover too. Having once owned a coffee farm, I know that it isn't just the method of preparation used that makes a good cup of coffee but also the variety of coffee beans used, usually a blend, a blend in which I prefer to find at least some Mundo Novo beans, roasted dark.

    I left you a message with my comment on your last week's SS. The comment was posted late. Did you get it?

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  11. I love coffee with chocolate on the top. Maybe it's a girlie thing.

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  12. Nice post! My grandfather started me drinking coffee as a young child. I splash of coffee, the rest milk, with a generous portion of sugar mixed in. Yum. As an adult, the community spoon at the office where I worked grossed me out. I now drink my coffee black, and love it that way. BJ

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  13. "gurgling" isn't that just a luscious word? I love the sound of coffee brewing and I really enjoyed listening to your how like your coffee.

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  14. Laughing at your final line! While I was reading your descriptions of coffee, I remembered things about it that I'd forgotten. Great post!

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  15. we Indians have a different way of making coffee..taste is very different from the ones I have tasted in the US :)

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  16. Mmmm... coffee... I grew up in a family that takes it's coffee very seriously - and preferably via intravenous!

    Off to help myself to some of the ice coffee I have chilling in the fridge now.

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  17. I enjoy coming here and reading your writing. My bond grew stronger with coffee once I went into job.....a good way to keep you awake once you are working :D

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  18. Great blog....I think I will have a cup of coffee right now. Oh, boy another excuse for having a cup of coffee!

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  19. I so don't understand the Nescafe over there. Visiting relatives throughout England, I'd be offered a brew or a coffee. I always had to made sure they were talking real coffee, not that Nescafe.

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  20. Nice one Keith, I love my coffee too and I remember those coffee smells coming from a local shop. But don't forget to drink plenty of water too..

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  21. Have you posted a poem, short shorty, essay or some visual art that just didn't get the love you'd hoped? We share our work and hope others enjoy it. Online, comments let us know our work has been read and appreciated.

    To celebrate older posts that got zero or few comments, leave a link at Little Lovin’ Mondays, hosted by Susan at Black-eyed Susan’s. And to show even greater appreciation for your fellow bloggers, how about commenting to a new piece while you there.

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  22. lol! You know, I grew up watching old Westerns with Grandpa and I believed that REAL men drank their coffee BLACK. hehe!

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  23. Really enjoyed your post. Made me smile. It also made me want a cup of coffee, but it's after 10 PM so I'd better hold off for a few hours.

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