Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Universal Love of Coffee

Coffee is one of my best friends in the world!  It lifts me up when I am down and comforts me in times of stress and times I would rather not mention in a public blog.  Almost everyone I know is in love with coffee.  And the love of it does not stop at the American borders...oh no...it is universal, baby!

It seems like almost everyone is a slave to this little concoction.  In Mexico they usually drink Nescafe instant coffee.  The coffee in Italy and France is so potent that one sip of the thick sludge will have you pumped for hours.  If you happen to find yourself in Europe, ask for AMERICAN coffee...guess we aren't as tough as the Italians and French.  Haitian coffee is also amazingly strong....I'm beginning to think the Americans need to toughen up a bit.  When I was in Haiti eight years ago, they didn't have coffee shops/cafes.  Women sold the coffee from huge pots (like we cook soup/stew in) on the streets and ladled it into a cup....in fact this was the "profession" of Peyton's birth mom.

Ethiopia + Kaldi Legend + Goats = COFFEE!!!  Kaldi, a goatherder from Ethiopia, was chilling with his goats and noticed them eating certain berries from a tree.  After indulging in the berries, the goats would be bouncing off the walls.  Kaldi applied some deductive reasoning and came to the conclusion that the berries were powerful.  He reported this finding to his superiors (aka...some monks), and they in turn told the Arabs.  Everyone was stoked because the "brew" they created kept them awake for prayers and such.  You see, alcohol was banned by the Koran, but coffe was not....guess the Muslims haven't figured out that caffeine is a drug...just a legal one for all ages.  (We will keep that our secret...) 

We were the last ones to discover this awesome revelation....probably the reason our coffee is so weak.  The process has been filtered through many cultures, and we received the bottom of the barrel.  Oh well, I love it, love it, LOVE IT!!!!!  Cream and sugar with my cup of Joe, please....or if you want to be super nice, bring me a vanilla latte from Starbucks, and I will love you forever!!!

Source:  http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=68

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