Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
3 December 2011 Cafecito and the Greek Way
Coffee seems to be the most popular drink in Greece. It is always accompanied by a glass of water. Drinking coffee here is more of a public communion where loved ones, co-workers, friends and elders gather in groups around tables and share their public lives. After church, at market time or before or after the noon hour - any break in the day, seems to be “cafecito time” here. You can see the glasses of Frappe or little demitasse cups next to the cash boxes at the vendor tables in the agora. I was in the post office the other day around 9 am to buy stamps and I saw a young man walk in with a tray of coffee for the clerks.There are cafe/tabernas in every town. Some have strips that are a whole social world of their own. We are currently in Kalamata and every block has a cafe or two. There are some where men gather to drink coffee, ouzo or wine and seem to spend the day debating the issues of the day until the football game starts and then the coffee house becomes a theatre with all the chairs turned toward the television. There is a pedestrian only street we call “eyeball alley” where the tables spill out from the cafe-clubs and you see mostly young women and men in their 20's sitting in groups of 4-8 sipping frappes while they listen to loud music, stare at whoever walks by and then return to their conversations, and they do this all night long. I am writing my blog piece at Fuente, a cafe-club at the Center Plaza on Aristemenou. We can order a coffee here and remain all day if we want to. Coffee houses line the plaza and every night the locals descend on the area for coffee and conversation. This is a country in crisis so there are currently regular demonstrations and strikes. There are days when all public buildings are closed and the locals come to the center, give a few speeches, pass out flyers and stand around talking and then they walk over to the coffee houses to sit and continue to share and rise above the personal, and share struggles and victories. More than anyplace else, we see the ancient Greek philosophy alive here-the idea of free individuals unified by spontaneous service to the common life. There is room for all Greeks at these coffee tables and for a few Xenophons like us who wander into town thirsty for the unknown.
Bueno y como se hace un cafe griego? Greek Coffee for Two:
There are, that I know of, three ways to order a Greek coffee. “Sketos” - strong without sugar. “Varis ghlykos” strong and sweet. I order it “Metrios,” medium strength with a little sugar. To make your own you will need a “briki”. The “briki” is a small brass pot, broad at the bottom, narrower at the neck with a long handle. You can use any small pot but it won't froth - the mark of a well made coffee.
Add 1 cup of water, add 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired, and bring to boil.Then add 1 teaspoon powdered coffee (expresso ground). Let it come back to a boil, frothing at the top and serve immediately. To make it stronger, remove from heat when it boils to the top and then bring it back to boiling point again - a third time will make it stronger yet. Keep watch that it doesn't boil over and spill the froth. The coffee is served pouring a little at a time into each cup to divide the froth equally. “Yassou” Cheers from Greece!
While you sip your cup of cafe eliniko, here's a poem by Yannis Ritsos, my favorite Greek poet. Neruda called him the greatest living poet. We visited his home in Monemvasia where he wrote when he was not in jail.
“Fundamental Difference”
In the middle of the road they got hungry, they sat
down for their lunch,
there, near the grass. A feather from a passing bird fell
on their bread. One of them
saw it and was astonished. He stopped. The other
continued to eat voraciously. There they separated.
Sylvia
Coffee seems to be the most popular drink in Greece. It is always accompanied by a glass of water. Drinking coffee here is more of a public communion where loved ones, co-workers, friends and elders gather in groups around tables and share their public lives. After church, at market time or before or after the noon hour - any break in the day, seems to be “cafecito time” here. You can see the glasses of Frappe or little demitasse cups next to the cash boxes at the vendor tables in the agora. I was in the post office the other day around 9 am to buy stamps and I saw a young man walk in with a tray of coffee for the clerks.There are cafe/tabernas in every town. Some have strips that are a whole social world of their own. We are currently in Kalamata and every block has a cafe or two. There are some where men gather to drink coffee, ouzo or wine and seem to spend the day debating the issues of the day until the football game starts and then the coffee house becomes a theatre with all the chairs turned toward the television. There is a pedestrian only street we call “eyeball alley” where the tables spill out from the cafe-clubs and you see mostly young women and men in their 20's sitting in groups of 4-8 sipping frappes while they listen to loud music, stare at whoever walks by and then return to their conversations, and they do this all night long. I am writing my blog piece at Fuente, a cafe-club at the Center Plaza on Aristemenou. We can order a coffee here and remain all day if we want to. Coffee houses line the plaza and every night the locals descend on the area for coffee and conversation. This is a country in crisis so there are currently regular demonstrations and strikes. There are days when all public buildings are closed and the locals come to the center, give a few speeches, pass out flyers and stand around talking and then they walk over to the coffee houses to sit and continue to share and rise above the personal, and share struggles and victories. More than anyplace else, we see the ancient Greek philosophy alive here-the idea of free individuals unified by spontaneous service to the common life. There is room for all Greeks at these coffee tables and for a few Xenophons like us who wander into town thirsty for the unknown.
Bueno y como se hace un cafe griego? Greek Coffee for Two:
There are, that I know of, three ways to order a Greek coffee. “Sketos” - strong without sugar. “Varis ghlykos” strong and sweet. I order it “Metrios,” medium strength with a little sugar. To make your own you will need a “briki”. The “briki” is a small brass pot, broad at the bottom, narrower at the neck with a long handle. You can use any small pot but it won't froth - the mark of a well made coffee.
Add 1 cup of water, add 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired, and bring to boil.Then add 1 teaspoon powdered coffee (expresso ground). Let it come back to a boil, frothing at the top and serve immediately. To make it stronger, remove from heat when it boils to the top and then bring it back to boiling point again - a third time will make it stronger yet. Keep watch that it doesn't boil over and spill the froth. The coffee is served pouring a little at a time into each cup to divide the froth equally. “Yassou” Cheers from Greece!
While you sip your cup of cafe eliniko, here's a poem by Yannis Ritsos, my favorite Greek poet. Neruda called him the greatest living poet. We visited his home in Monemvasia where he wrote when he was not in jail.
“Fundamental Difference”
In the middle of the road they got hungry, they sat
down for their lunch,
there, near the grass. A feather from a passing bird fell
on their bread. One of them
saw it and was astonished. He stopped. The other
continued to eat voraciously. There they separated.
Sylvia
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