Elixir

I grew up drinking only milk or milk along with the regular additives like Horlicks, Bournvita or Ovaltine. My mother never thought it right to give her daughters anything else but the above. To her tea and coffee were just taboo. She had a preconceived notion that the world’s most loved beverages contained nothing good but on the other hand were totally bad for health. She may have had her reasons for this view. She lived up to this conviction and during her lifetime never ever sipped a cup of tea or coffee. This was not the case with her daughters; the three of us, once we left her nest started to consume tea and very little of coffee. The reason for this could be the fact that ours was a Malayali household and like in almost all Malayali households, it was tea more than coffee. Coffee powder was kept as a stand by just in case somebody asked for it. Thus I grew up without knowing anything about what I later came to know as the “ELIXIR” to a large percentage of the world’s population namely the coffee.
Coffee as most of us are aware was first discovered in Ethiopia and Yemen during the mid fifteenth century. Due to its caffeine content it really did serve the purpose of an Elixir. Its medicinal values were plenty and thus was a sought after drink. Coffee initially travelled through the Middle East and then moved to Turkey and from there to Italy and the rest of Europe. Called a Muslim drink because of its place of origin, it took the Pope to pronounce it as a drink for the Christians. Once this was done there has been no looking back. I think coffee came to India through the Arab traders who frequented the western shores of our country. However it was during the British Rule that coffee began to be grown as a cash crop. India is one of the leading exporters of coffee in the world and one of the most sought after variety in the world market is the Monsooned Malabar. Most of the coffee is grown in South India and thus it became a staple drink for the people of the South. Being more expensive than the varieties of tea available in the market, it was a drink of the middle classes and those upwards.
When I was nine years old we moved to a colony were most of our neighbours were Tamil Brahmins. Of the many things I learnt during those formative years, one was surely the importance of coffee with regards to those who patronized it. As I reached my teens, it amazed me that so much of logistics went into the preparation of coffee. I won’t be wrong if I say that among all the food prepared in a normal household, the utmost care is taken in the preparation of the coffee. The Brahmins are true connoisseurs of coffee and thus are very choosy when it comes to buying the right kind of coffee bean. Each family has a secret recipe for the perfect brew. Some of the families buy the bean and then roast and powder it in the house thus making sure that coffee is fresh and that the aroma is in tact. There are others who buy the powder on a daily basis so as to make sure that every iota of flavor is well preserved. The trouble taken to make the perfect brew is unbelievable. I have been to various parts of the world and no where have I seen coffee being made with such precision as is done in South India read Tamil Nadu. Here the process of procuring the decoction begins the previous night. The filter in which the decoction is made consists of a two compartment cylinder which has percolations at the base of the top half. The required coffee powder is put in the top portion and the right amount of hot water is added. There is a press which holds the coffee powder down. During the night the coffee percolates and flows down to the lower portion. By morning the required amount of decoction is available for the day’s use. This decoction is wonderfully thick and almost black and to this is added milk and sugar as required. A cup of this rich aromatic coffee is enough to satiate the stomach as well as to rejuvenate the mind in the early hours of the morning. The caffeine in the coffee serves as the perfect stimulant. The coffee is so thick, that it is said that one could slice through it. At any given time to consume more than 150ml of this coffee would be next to impossible. This coffee would normally be served in the quaint “tumbler and davara set”.
Even though I was privy to good filter coffee, I never ever had it in my childhood, adolescence or for that matter until a couple of years ago. I regret thoroughly the lost opportunity. I switched over to coffee just a couple of years ago, more for medical reasons. Now when I want to make the perfect brew I am at a loss for I have no clue as to how to go about it. I did buy a filter and couple of times even bought fresh ground coffee, but somehow things didn’t fall in place and my coffee did not come out the way it should. I thus reconciled to the fact, that I was not destined to have the Elixir the way it should be had even though I live in the home of the drink. My magic potion comes from the bottled variety broadly labeled the “Instant Coffee”. However I don’t let go of any opportunity to have the famous filter coffee.
With globalization has come branded coffee shops and Chennai too has her share of the same. When these shops first made their advent, I equated them as “carrying coals to Newcastle.” However I have to take back my words for these outlets are doing exceedingly well. I must give it to them that they make the perfect brew and stock coffees from various parts of the world. My choice at these outlets is always the Latte for this is what comes close to the home made filter variety. One reason I attribute to the success of these outlets could be the fact that with the fast pace that life has taken in the metros, the art and the time for making the perfect brew must be fast disappearing from the young households.
In the Middle East where it all started, coffee is still made the way it was back in the 15th century. In keeping with the old tradition, it is still served black and is called the qahweh. This is served in a small cup with no handle. The qahweh is flavoured with cardamom and the resulting aroma is so pungent that even the famed ‘Attars’ of the region have to give way. Drinking of the qahweh is a ritual and a novice would well be spotted by his ignorance. Thus diplomats and others visiting the Middle East read Saudi Arabia are briefed on how to perform this routine correctly.
I am glad that I finally found this wonderful Elixir. Although it is the watered down version that I indulge in, it nevertheless peps me up and helps me start my day on the right note. I don’t expect my coffee to make me an immortal like what the Elixir does, however I pray that it will help me lead a healthy and an active life!!