SLOW

 

Kopi

 

Coffee and love taste best when hot

~ Ethiopian proverb

 

Each day starts with hot, freshly brewed coffee. Later in the day there might be more, perhaps covered in warm, frothy milk.

Kopi goes well with kopje watching at Magpie. It’s a chance to slow down. Sometimes a sundowner will be a cocktail of vodka and expresso or maybe Khalua and milk.

In Nairobi, a good friend appointed me the job of mixologist at her birthday party. I created a variation of the original White Russian, the Mexican who came to Kenya; vodka, fresh coffee, Kahlua, coconut milk and fresh Zanzibar cinnamon. We all downed pitchers of the stuff!

Two of my favourite desserts contain coffee, both Italian dishes, tiramisu (‘pick me up’) and affogato; that delicious contrast between the velvety, creamy cold gelato with the dense, warm espresso.

Coffee is enjoyed all over the world. We SLOW down to consume it, then it gives us a boost! I like the thinking in Rome, where there’s no take away espresso. You stand and you drink it there.

Stop, slow down, savour.

In truth, who is that busy that they can’t stop for one minute to enjoy an expresso?

By chance our work has taken us to three countries that all produce great coffee; Zambia, Kenya and Indonesia. We’ve been lucky we’ve not had to drink anything less than good, local coffee for many years!

Forget the trendy plastic pods. I don’t want my coffee freeze packed into tiny capsules that end up adding to our substantial environmental damage.

I just want local beans, freshly ground, no gimmicks.

I’m reminded of a very cool café in Swakupund, on our first trip to Namibia almost two decades ago. Baristas wore t shirts that said ‘life’s too short to drink bad coffee’.  I agreed whole heartedly with that sentiment then and now.

In Ethiopia we were given a coffee ceremony as a thank you gesture from a community school where we had been working. It was an occasion to see the whole process, from bean to cup. The swirling, roasting and grinding, all right in front of us.

The coffee was brewed and shared. It was the freshest coffee I have ever tasted, served with a dose of clean, Bale mountains air.

In Zambia we bought lots of fine quality coffee, which always made great gifts for family and friends. People were always a bit surprised, not knowing that Zambia produced coffee.

In Kenya we were spoilt for choice! It is by far my favourite coffee, it’s distinctive earthiness, a connection to the vast and luminous continent.

A unique Kenyan cup was the early morning safari brew. We’ve not experienced that anywhere else. On any weekend away from work, if we booked a morning game drive, you would be woken at first light with a flask of piping hot coffee left outside the tent.

Our local coffee shop in Nairobi served one called AAA, which was certain to give you a lift. When I saw the word Java on their packaging, I never imagined then, that Jakarta would be our next move.

Indonesia was an unexpected move, one last contract somewhere else. We were far; far from home, from people, from everything.

But we binged on travel, curious to experience as much of S.E Asia as possible. We worked hard. We travelled as much as we could.

Good coffee was a welcome surprise.

In Indonesia, there are many different types of coffee. There is everything on sale, from $2 a bag to $20 a cup for pure, kopi luwak.

I was never taken in by the story of pure luwak coffee. I had seen a civit cat on display in Bali. Its caged, sad eyes met mine. I didn’t need to see more. Drinking that would have left a bad taste in my mouth!

At times Indonesian kopi has been a bit bitter.  We had to learn more to seek out our favourite bean. The best was definitely in Sumatra; bold, heavy, herbal.

There we sniffed out a special coffee shop, which offered tastings of their many varieties of beans.

And in Java we stayed at an old coffee plantation for an anniversary weekend. Walking around the coffee plants, we realized how little we knew about this bean that we consume every day.

We left at least knowing the difference between a Robusta and an Arabica bean. We got a little coffee class, a bean education.

Wherever we have lived, we have tried as much as possible to buy fairtrade. Empowering communities via trade not pity.

Do you buy fairtrade? Do you think that makes a difference?

Today as I sip my coffee and stare out over the coast, I’m thinking, we came from there, from the other side of the Indian ocean, from Java to here.

It’s a time to reflect on another chapter that has closed, three years of living and working in Indonesia. Many years away from the Mother City.

I can still feel a little sad if I think of the friends we have left there. So many goodbyes.

I shall seek solace in this cup.

But today is a new day. This is my favourite cup in my favourite place, with the mountains of Somerset West in front of the bay and the kopje behind me.

I’m nestled in the Western Cape’s beautiful landscape, where we are spoilt for choice of beautiful vistas to accompany your cup of Java.

The coffee is no longer as local, but it’s lekker.

Do you buy fairtrade?

Do you think that makes a difference?

 

 

Maggie M / Mother City Time