Skip to main content

Coffee


Picture: My caffe latte served with my wife's Raspberry and White Choc muffin


It began with a shy look.

A college student with barely two coins to rub together, walks past a Coffee Bean cafe and wonders how his some of his friends can afford to drink a coffee that costs as much as two whole meals.

He looks up at the price list, steals a glimpse of a straw touching a pair of luscious lips, and sees the dark, cool liquid move up the straw... and sees the person's eyes close with pleasure.

And he quickly looks down.

"One day" he whispers to  himself, "one day I will drink you".

It has been many years now since the college student made the promise. He is now a... well, he's still a student. Except he is now studying towards his PhD in New Zealand. He has drunk countless cups of coffee. Some coffees cheap and cheerful (and usually always upsetting to the stomach), some coffees more refined than others, and some coffees verging on being luxurious.

I am known as a bit of a coffee aficionado among my friends. My Canadian friend Brad calls me a coffee snob. Call it what you will, but I don't buy into the "All coffees are the same" philosophy. Because they're not. With some coffees you get a more earthy taste; with some a more caramel taste, and all the elements in between, with layers and layers of flavour and aroma. But you wouldn't know that until you've developed an appreciation for the dark, bitter bean. Until you've started buying whole beans, and grinding them yourself, enjoying the tantalising smells of fresh ground coffee. 

Fresh espresso, self extracted, with self-ground coffee. That's the way to go.

Oooh la la...




Labels:

Comments

♛ LORD ZARA 札拉 ♛ said…
Geng! Geng! Geng!

Not all the coffees are the same. Try Blue Mountain & you'll know why it's one of the expensive coffee in the world :D

My friend called me as caffeine junkie :D
August 12, 2012 at 9:32 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
All right! High five!

We don't get Blue Mountain here I'm afraid. We have (among my favourites): Grativity, Vittorio, Lavazza, Robert Harris, Avalanche, Hummingbird, and a few other that I can't get at the top of my head now.

Oh.. and you can get Nescafe if you want.. but I don't. It always hurts my tummy.
August 12, 2012 at 9:42 PM
Cat-from-Sydney said…
OMG! Uncle D, you're worse than my Mama. We admit, there's no such thing as instant coffee in this house and she even enrolled in an expensive barista course at the Sydney Coffee School. We have a full fledged Sunbeam expresso machine at home. None of the cafes we frequented, be they Starbucks or Coffee Bean or Gloria Jeans can make coffee like they do in Sydney. Teruk kan my Mama? But we'll be glad to make you caffe latte or cappuchino the next time you're in town. har har har *caffeine laden laughs*
August 13, 2012 at 1:51 AM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Cat! Your mama and me gang laaa...
WE'll have to swap coffee stories.. and a latte too when we see each other.. hehehe
August 13, 2012 at 3:04 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help is always far away

Help is never far away. That is the old adage that has been drummed into us ever since we were young. No matter where you are, and what difficulty you are going through, someone will be close at hand to help. Except they aren't. Many a time no one in your vicinity gives a rat's ass. Or could be in a mess of their own to even think that someone else may need the support. Just that little bit of assurance to show that they care. Sometimes it can be in the smallest things. A kind word. A check up of how one is doing. Yet help does come. Someone takes the time to respond, in short messages, all the way from across the Pacific Ocean. Someone does take the time to relate, and share their own experiences, and offers words of comfort from across the country. Yes, help is at hand, but it is always far away. *picture credit here
Post a Comment
Read more

The Forbidden Kingdom No More

Yesterday is a day that would forever go down the sands of time as... "The Day I Fed Two Hundred Ravenous Mouths with Bottomless Pits" Oh the horror!... The Pain!... The Suffering!!! Like a swarm of locusts they came, wave upon wave upon wave... Like a farmer protecting his crop I could only look on and stare, as they darkened the sky, before zeroing in for the kill... Tears streamed down my eyes as I watched them strip every last grain of maize and corn that I had planted at the begininning of the year... My knees thudded to the ground, as I numbly watched the carnage around me, my tired brain barely registering what my eyes perceived. "So this is what it feels like"... I thought in my brain... "This thing called Open House" . .. ... Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'm just being dramatic here ;) Yesterday was actually a day that I'm going to remember for a long time, simply because it was graced with the presence of those eager young minds I he...
36 comments
Read more

Premature Mid-Life Crisis?

"Sejak bila lu jadi mat rempit beb?" (Translation: Since when did you become a street racer?) Were the first words that blazed onto the screen of my Dopod PDA Phone when I told my cousin that I had bought a bike. I mean...Is it that strange that I happened to work my butt off, save up, and buy one of the meanest most beautiful bikes I ever set my eyes on? I mean...just look at it... Shiny jet black finish, laced with highlights of blazing red, topped with rugged racing streaks...  I think I just wiped a tear off my face... No, no, don't get all worked up... I haven't gone off the wall. It's just that with the increase in fuel price, it seems silly to spend RM600 just going to and from work every day... Think about it, that's a month and a half's pay for my maid! Just to get to and from work!  So, I figured this would be a good compromise - maybe 2 or 3 days a week going to work by bike, and going to the local stores, local eateries, and even the local mosq...
28 comments
Read more