You might have coffee or tea like you are used to in you home country or you choose to try the local way of preparing coffee and tea.
Coffee
Coffee (Al Qahwa) is prepared very much like Turkish coffee. It goes back to bedouin traditions. Usually it is boiled with cadamom seeds and the sugar is added afterwards but before pouring the coffee into cups. You will also find coffee boiled without sugar at touristic spots (ask for saddah - no sugar) [1]. Don't add milk – actually you won't be tempted in Jordan. And coffee to go is a no go in Jordan. It's something you do to relax, talk to others and therefore you drink it from small cups to be refilled.
Honoré de Balzac is an author well known for consuming lots of coffee. My contact in literature to the Turkish way of brewing coffee comes from reading Heimito von Doderer, an Austrian author [2]. When I've read „Die Strudlhofstiege“ I also used to brew coffee in this style; easy as in Cologne all you need you find in one of the Turkish supermarkets (my parents looked across the garden to the back part of one). In Vienna I specifiacally went to the Strudlhofstiege, but that's another story. So the coffee in Jordan evoked nice memories in literature. But I admit you can drink the coffee and be happy without any literary connotations.
Tea
Tea is boiled in the pot with sugar and herbs. There is sometimes mint added or thyme [3]. You might know the tea, which is brewed in the Maghreb region (Marocco, Algeria etc.), where they use green tea and mint and brew these together. In Jordan only black tea is used. In the traditional way it's served in glasses. To my surprise I found thyme in tea bags as an infusion like camomille, verbena or others.
But I liked best the tea, which had been prepared with a range of spices. Black tea and sugar are boiled and then cardamom, cinnamon (sticks) and sage are added. We sometimes drink sage as an infusion. This form of black tea was very tasty especially in the Wadi Rum after a sunrise in a hefty wind, much like depicted in the movie „The Martian“.
Take home messages
* try to brew coffee or tea as mentioned
* if you have the chance, visit Jordan (COVID won't last forever)
Links:
[1] https://wonderstourism.com/blog/coffee-in-jordan-art-and-culture/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimito_von_Doderer
[3] https://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/jordan/articles/a-guide-to-ammans-tea-and-coffee-culture/
.
No comments:
Post a Comment