I have been working with the Egyptian Embassy on a few things over the last little while. They had some constitutional reforms a while back, and according to some in the US government, they didn't do quite enough reforming....anyway.
One of my Embassy colleagues is leaving the US Embassy to go back to Egypt and work out that Palestinian/Israeli problem - easy, cheesy...again, anyway.
I bought him a small Congressional whatnot as a goodbye gift, and was invited to the Embassy to give it to him and for some tea. According to my sources, the Egyptians make some pretty sweet mint tea. I was planning on having that and enjoying the conversation.
Good plan, however, my Egyptian friend decided that I needed to try the Egyptian coffee. Now I don't really drink a lot of coffee, but I didn't want to be rude and figured when in Rome.
I'm not sure how many of you in cyberland have had Egyptian coffee, but it is very thick. It is not like Starbucks. You cannot get a Venti Egyptian coffee. They come in one size - small and potent. It has a very strong taste, but with enough sugar, it is not too bad. It isn't filtered, so it's sort of like eating coffee, but if you go slow enough, you can let the stuff sink to the bottom and avoid getting grinds in your teeth. And, as an added bonus, there are folks out there who dump out the stuff at the bottom and read your future! You can't do that with a tall, skim, frappachino.
One potential downfall is (I am not making this up) more than two a day is bad for your blood pressure.
I probably won't be drinking a lot of Egyptian coffee in the near future, unless of course, I am in Egypt and someone can read my grinds and tell me when I should play the powerball numbers.
2 comments:
its like moroccan tea, super strong
Yeah, here in Australia you can't just get a coffee. Black coffee, or even black coffee with milk in it, is just not found anywhere.
All they drink here is little espresso drinks, like lattes and cappuccinos, and something called a flat white, which is really just a latte. And a "long black" which is - I kid you not - an espresso with hot water added. WTF?
The only places you can get real, actual brewed coffee - outside of your home - are at Starbucks. Or the Qantas Club, for some reason. And when you describe what you really want to people, they immediately assume a) you're talking about Starbucks, which sucks, ergo all American coffee sucks, and b) you like weak, stale coffee.
Post a Comment