Remember those old commercials where a person is roused from their slumber by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee? Many swear by its magical powers; it is believed to calm frayed nerves or ease headaches. Former US President Thomas Jefferson termed it the favourite drink of the civilised world.
The story goes that Ethiopian goat herder Kaldi discovered the coffee berry by chance when his goats turned hyperactive after feasting on them and did not doze off as usual. Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long evening prayer. Knowledge of the berries spread, and the stimulating drink soon replaced the common breakfast beverages of the 17th century—beer and wine.
During my childhood days, coffee was consumed with jaggery, as sugar was very expensive. The golden clumps of gur were stored in a tall, air-tight tin container and would be refilled every month. We graduated to coffee with sugar much later, unaware that we lost the goodness of jaggery.
I will always cherish the memories of enjoying my breakfast with grandpa as a school-going lad. The cup of steaming filter coffee was the perfect accompaniment to the breakfast of soft, triangle-shaped chapatis and spicy tomato chutney. The flavour lingered long after and was just what the doctor ordered!
My late father’s favourite breakfast, unbelievably, was chapati with coffee. He would remove its soft ends, roll it and dip it into the coffee before taking a bite. The practice caught on with his offsprings. One of my great grand-aunts, my mother-in-law and my maternal grand-uncle loved to have their ambrosia in a tall, brass tumbler.
They were hardcore coffee addicts, and anything less than this measure would upset them!
The longest-running talk show in Indian television—Koffee with Karan, hosted by film producer and director Karan Johar—derives its inspiration from the brew. The coffee hampers given out to the winners on the show contain, besides other goodies, a personalised coffee roasted by Blue Tokai. There is also an English weekly aptly called Coffeeland News, printed from Coorg, the land of coffee. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart and respiratory disease, stroke and infections. It is indeed the ‘cup that cheers’!
N J Ravi Chander
Email: ravichander244@gmail.com