Coffee

Since its discovery by excited dancing goats somewhere in Ethiopia, coffee has captured our attention and even commanded us to praise it in morning rituals around the world. Grinding. Scooping. Plunging. Pressing. Dripping. Percolating. Centrifuging. No matter what our methodology, to create the perfect eye-opening cup of deliciously brewed coffee is the common objective of this ritual. For some of us just waking up early enough to grind the coffee is too much of a daunting task. For these people an automatic grinder set to grind (and even brew) before they wake is optimum. Some of us, though I shudder to think, buy our coffee pre-ground. For us true lovers of this energizing seed from the "coffea cherry", the previous methods are not acceptable. Instead we will go to any length necessary to brew a respectable cup. Consider the Ethiopian method/ritual for the perfect cup. Brewing coffee in some villages is as much a social practice as anything else. What would we do if when we really wanted a cup of coffee we had to gather with our closest friends, sit and talk for about an hour waiting for that perfectly brewed hot elixir. We would go nuts. First, the cherries are hulled to extract the seed. Then the seeds/beans are roasted over an open fire in something resembling a shallow cast iron skillet. Next, the beans still hot are ground and and finally placed into hot water to steep. The hot coffee is then strained (or not) into a cup. Now, about 55 minutes later you may enjoy your coffee. 55 long agonizing minutes. We could have been Tweeting, Blogging, Texting, Facebooking or even better, sleeping an extra hour. Who wants to slow down enough to catch-up with the members of our community? Whats so damn important about sitting and talking to your friends face to face? Maybe...just maybe, before we sip to speed up we need to slow down to appreciate our small world.....gotta run!