STATUTORY CAUTION: COFFEE IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH
In India, my motherland, esp. in the Southern part of it, the day begins with the smell of Coffee.. On the one hand I would be so lazy that I never feel like pulling out the covers to smell the coffee but on the other I enjoy the fumes through the perforations of my quilt. Mom would have already prepared the decoction of the 60-40 chicori mixed powder crushed from coffee grains of Velmurugan coffee stores, a shop near my place where one would smell coffee and nothing else.
A strong syrup of the decoction filtering out from the small holes of the upper part of the bronze or steel filter mixed with 3-4 tea spoons of sugar and boiled milk would make my day begin pleasantly. If not at home, this is the same experience of many people in South India. Coffee business is 24X7. I come out of the house and find my friends having coffee in a saucer, poured out of a 3/4th filled small glass at stalls on the road side. Coffee is the one element in the society that both high class society as well as the low sector people have. Only the vessel, rather the cup is what that differs.
If you had read 'My American dateless Diary' of R.K.Narayanan, you would know how passionate one could be about coffee. My grand parents and people of their generation would consume coffee atleast thrice a day, each quantum being atleast 300ml. Ofcourse though I am not a coffee freak, I do enjoy it once a while.
As a child, I knew Brook Bond Green Label coffee. Then came the Sunrise (manchi ruchi tho udayam kotha Sunrise), followed by Bru (ye Bru hai maa),
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJLAl2UDW_I), and so on..
As I grew, the flavours, companies and products also have increased. Today I see Cafe Coffee days, Barrista, Coffee pubs, Coorg coffee, Coffee in pizza huts, etc. in different blends and flavours. I first heard the names Cappuchino, Espresso, Frappe just 4-5 years back. The very thought of having cold coffee was dreadful to me because I never have hot coffee if it becomes cold (rather luke warm). But to my surprise I liked the taste of Cold Coffee with frappe (ice cream). Love at first sight..oops..taste!!
Coffee is a global choice. Through out the world, people enjoy coffee in various blends. I dint realise this until I saw with my own eyes, sori tasted with my own tongue.
Ask a person in US about coffee. The first sound that is emitted is "Star Bucks". I never thought or imagined that there would be atleast 100 varieties of coffee. In reality there are many hundreds of flavours and blends. When ever I feel like having coffee at my work place, the toughest challenge I face is to select one flavour from among 15-20 varieties. French Roast, French Vanilla, Almondo, Milky way, and many more (names I dont remember, but tastes I do).
Poor old generation never knew how fast decoction could be made since they never were acqainted with percolator. The process of preparing decoction itself used to take atleast 30 minutes and 20 more minutes to prepare their customised filter coffee to fit to their taste. But it had its own taste, which we miss daily in the machinary coffee. It included many steps.
1. Mix chicory grains and coffee seeds in the proportionate ratio and crush them to powder
2. Boil water in a beaker
3. Based on the quantity required, add coffee powder in the filter (made of bronze or steel)
4. Pour the boiling water in it
5. Wait till the decoction filters through the perforation of the upper portion of the filter or a cloth and settles down.
6. Boil milk
7. Add hot decoction to hot milk in the required quantity
8. Add sugar
9. Mix thoroughly to and fro from a tumbler to a steel beaker (famously called davara) until you get required frappe
Today we see coffee machines installed in every IT company because efficient software cannot be developed without coffee. Coffee preparation became very easy these days. In fact, its just a three step process.
1. Select the flavour you want
2. Add creamer
3. Add sugar and stir with a couple of straws.
1. Select the flavour you want
2. Add creamer
3. Add sugar and stir with a couple of straws.
Whatever the mode of preparation might be, people all over the world cannot live without it till they/it become(s) exinct.
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