Here’s a tribute to a lot can really happen over coffee... Why? Because it was around this time last year when I was told that I should put all that I had written out there for people to read… and the idea of ‘a lot can really happen over coffee’ was born. This year, same time, I am embarking upon a very crucial journey... of moving out of the home I have lived in all my life, into a space of my own. This month and year mark a shift in the way I live, think, consume and more.
My relationship with coffee is a unique one, it may have been obvious from the home page of this blog site.
I moved into my own space on the full moon of May. With a new home comes a new environment and new experiences. I was looking forward to all the newness, but wanted to keep my morning coffee experience intact. So much so that in spite of the fact that my home was ready on a Sunday, I decided to move on the following Wednesday. When I wondered why I delayed the move-in process, it struck me that the cause for the delay was not having the required arrangements for my morning coffee. So, the first thing I did was ordered a water purifier, a stove, last but not the least a ‘mini-coffee maker’. The water purifier will help me with fresh drinking water that can make the decoction, the stove of course to heat the milk, milk can be locally sourced, coffee powder I had already stolen from my mother’s kitchen. Now about this mini-coffee maker – oh what can I say. I was looking for coffee machines online on amazon. Since I was going to mostly be living by myself, I wanted something that’s non fussy, reasonably priced and that makes about one to two servings at a time. I found just what I needed but hadn’t understood how pretty it was until I actually received the package. It is called the BURRDOFF coffee filter. It has been made to typically function like a traditional coffee maker that is used in south Indian homes to make the decoction from the filter coffee powder, this one however has only the top half; the bottom half can be the cup in which you will serve the coffee given that this mostly serves one or two people. On its arrival, I knew that it is going to be my priced possession for a long time. To enhance the experience, I went to a home store to buy a new coffee mug the evening I arrived at the new home.
Morning 1 and the local store actually ran out of milk at 9.30 am, can you believe it? So much for all the hard work gone into getting a cup of homemade coffee. This happened after a lovely morning meditation (this one was with a friend I met recently, she was nice enough to be part of my guided online meditation session), a walk cum run around the new locality, some carnations for the new home and then stepping into the dairy. I gave up on the homemade coffee given that I had to take a shower and get ready for an e-meeting. I ordered a cappuccino from a neighborhood café and made my peace with it.
A welcoming neighbor had offered me to come make coffee, breakfast or anything that I may need given that my kitchen was being set up. The same afternoon I took my neighbor up on the offer. So here I was with a small bag that carried my newly acquired coffee machine, some jaggery powder, the mug I had recently purchased and a spoon. My neighbor provided the milk and I started making the coffee. Given that I was handling the machine for the first time, the coffee was just about okay. Since I was using the mug instead of the traditional davara tumbler, the foam was missing which made it a mediocre experience. I muttered words of gratitude to my neighbor who seemed to have enjoyed the coffee (I guess) and went back home to continue with my client calls. While the lack of milk didn’t come in the way (given how kind my neighbor was), my lack of experience of using new equipment made it an under-whelming experience.
I woke up a bit anxious on Morning 2, also very late. It had dawned upon me that I had moved out, and I wasn’t taking it very well. I was so looking forward to this experience, the fact that the anticipation of having the experience of living by myself was not as good as the experience itself made me wonder what the hype was all about. Call it teething process or being resistant to change, I wasn’t feeling bright and sunny like I did every morning. Meditation that morning was a boon, not in disguise. I knew it will transform my state of anxiety. It gave me back the calm and peace that I had hoped for.
I was just making one cup for myself instead of the two cups that I had made the earlier day with my neighbor, due to which I got the quantity of the powder and water wrong. The ‘coffee in new house’ feeling was so intense that I would have actually enjoyed it with just the imagination of perfect taste if I was not interrupted by this little adolescent kitten that was brought in as a house warming experience.
He wailed away wanting to get a lick of my coffee. While it was adorable, and I am grateful to my friend for bringing the kitten for a couple of days to make the experience memorable, it didn’t do much for my coffee experience.
I started Morning 3 on a positive note, the Saturday vibe had made its presence felt, my friend who had got the kitten was nice enough to help me out with errands - while making a house look pretty is a completely irreplaceable meditative experience, getting the basics in place like a dustbin, detergent, broom, cooking oil and so on had me on super checklist mode for the last few days, therefore getting help was a blessing in disguise. Just as I sat down with my coffee that day, my friend and I had a tiny tiff and I was all teary eyed. The house moving experience has been an emotional one for me at many levels, so all that was needed was one word and I could have tears rolling down my cheeks; also, not getting the coffee right was getting to me. We made up and what I had waiting for me was cold coffee.
Morning 4 – Today!
My friend and cat had bid me farewell the previous evening, I had finally slept well giving up the anxiety of a new place when I got back to my night ritual of writing gratitude (it had taken a break with all the moving in madness). I meditated and went into the kitchen with anticipation like never before, ‘Will I get it right this morning?’
2 spoons of coffee powder went into the mini decoction maker with piping hot water just halfway to the top. The milk was set to a boil. I instinctively took out the ‘Davara Tumbler’, a traditional replacement to a coffee mug, that I was used to having coffee in ever since I can remember. In went the jaggery powder, the freshly brewed coffee decoction and the boiling milk. I knew I had got the proportions right given that I was making it in the traditional mug. My anticipation was building to know if it would taste as right as it looked. I spotted a spot in my tiny balcony, one that was adorned with a circular rug that came in the previous evening – oh so pretty (more on where I sourced it later). I sat on top of it carefully laying my creation (the coffee of course) on the floor. I took my phone out, clicked a picture, still not knowing if I had made it.
I opened the notes app where I had rambled on about the first 3 days, typed ‘Morning 4 - Today’ unsure of whether I am going to report a success or wait another day before I publish this article. I used the Davara Tumbler to mix it all together until the foam sat on top of the coffee in the tumbler and felt my anticipation begin to fade away… (the feeling when you know what’s going to happen, just before it does).. One sip, Lo and Behold… we had won!
When holding the cup in my hand, just before the first sip, here is what I had realized - not just the anticipation of getting the right coffee, but even the anxiety of moving into a new place had faded away. Suddenly, at that very moment, it all felt right!
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