Ever wondered how four basic ingredients can change lives?!
Coffee - the magic potion!
Coffee culture has always existed.
According to the history, back in 09-10th century, an Ethiopian goat herder noticed how his goats gained energy after eating red berries—big shoutout to the goats, and later, a Sufi monk discovered that they could be roasted and boiled to help with concentration during the night prayers. In the early times, coffee was chewed or consumed as a tea-like brew from raw berries until by the 15th century, the drink became popular in Yemen. However, some suggest that the coffee was first introduced in Indonesia in the 16th century.
I bet many of us didn’t know where it came from, perhaps we still aren’t sure because hey the histories clashing?! So I guess better to be grateful about its existence and move on.
Even though it’s been centuries, the way it is celebrated around the world even now is incredibly impressive. And I believe, rightfully so.
Coffee is like what a parachute is for a sky diver. I like to think of it as a live-saver. An energy drink, but with emotions. A good cup of coffee offers a lot more than it seems. It comes with coziness at first and a lot of warmth (even if it’s iced) that instantly makes you feel better and delighted. It offers you comfort and affirmation, like ‘you got this’ vibe.
It says ‘I love you’ on difficult days, ‘I’m there for you’ on low days, ‘you’re one hell of a guy’ on days with less motivation, ‘you deserve one’ on chaotic days, and ‘you did it’ on days when you sit after successfully completing a task.
Different occasions, different days, different moods, the drink matches the vibe and gives off whatever you’re wanting to hear!
Sometimes—a lot of the times—I like to buy myself (I silence the guilt that comes with paying for it because it keeps me sane, it’s like medicine, okay?), while sometimes, I brew it at home. And the times I do it home, it isn’t just a task, but a proper activity that I look forward to all day.
And I hope it doesn’t sound silly, but I actually plan it. Like getting done with emails and then making coffee so I can scroll through Instagram while sipping, or when I keep a book ready knowing all the work for the day is finished before going into the kitchen. IT IS AN ACTIVITY AFTERALL. Coffee and book = top tier combo.
Driving to a coffee shop with your loved ones to get a cup of your favorite thing, it’s like a love language at this point. I love it. It’s a beautiful every week ritual of us sisters and it’s something we all look forward to.
Even if it’s not sitting inside a coffee place, even the drive to and from is therapeutic in a way. It’s the time to unwind, to relax and to enjoy.
All in all, it’s like drinking a magic potion that has a power to make everything better. Like who knew four basic ingredients can create magic—coffee, brown sugar (taste better), water and milk.
I wasn’t a coffee drinker to begin with.
Until one fine day, I took a proper sip.
I don’t even properly remember when and how it happened. But that day was surely life changing.
In the early days of my caffeine habit, my intake of the beverage wasn’t very high. But you know how they say, when a habit is developed, it’s difficult to go backwards. Do they even say something like this?
No problem though. I’m not listening anyways.
I don’t want to give up on it, okay?
I mean why would I give up on the love of my life?
There was this one time I was in a city for almost a week and let me just mention, I go crazy on coffee while travelling. So there was this coffee shop—ok it was Starbucks but a controversial opinion? I’ve had way better coffee than Starbucks now. I don’t like it anymore—I was visiting it multiple times everyday, religiously. The shop was located at a corner, a little hidden from the main area, so we named it “Secret Starbucks.”
When it was my last day in that city, I had to go once again before leaving for the airport. This time, my brother and my cousin tucked along. I ordered the coffee along with some dessert before fetching for money in my bag. I was fully focused rumbling through things inside the bag while my brother went ahead and told his name to be mentioned on the sticker, to which the barista went like, “I don’t know you. I know your sister. So I’ll write her name.”
And I stopped. Now it wasn’t like David Beckham recognized me or something but for me it was a big deal. I felt like wow, the barista knows me. For a second I felt like I own the shop. Like you know that feeling, the happiness when you visit a place so much that people over there know you.
I whipped my head towards him and he said, “Roha, right?” I nodded in surprise and he went ahead with mentioning my name.
In my head, I won Oscar’s.
Now that my obsession level has creepily crept out and is now very clearly known to the world, let me tell you the best coffee places I’ve been to yet:
1)Blank Street, London - (their pistachio cookie is the craziest thing I’ve had—just saying its life changing)
2)Espresso Lab, Istanbul
3)Camel Step, Mecca
4)Row Coffee, Medina
5)Roasters, Dubai
6)Melbrew, Karachi (Sync as well)
7)Royal Mile Café, Edinburgh
8)Coffee Island, London - don’t forget croissant okay?
So now if you haven’t had your coffee dose today, consider this article as a cue.
See you soon. Till then, BRB, fellas!
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