Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Crazy Coffee

Today we woke to some very humid weather.
My friend, Emina, and I tried out a new restaurant this morning called Majnoon Qahwa which literally translates to Crazy Coffee.
The restaurant has a nice ambience with a beautiful blue decor.
Unfortunately, since I don't eat meat or dairy products, my food options are often quite limited, so I ordered zaatar manaeesh and a fruit salad (which I thought was very overpriced).
My coffee was a Brazilian pour-over blend.

Speaking of crazy coffee, yesterday, my friend, Melissa, whom I've know for about 17 years now, invited a couple of us over to her new diwiniya for breakfast.
Diwaniya means gathering place and traditionally was used by men but, of course, with time, everything evolves.
She recently visited Indonesia and brought back some of the most expensive coffee in the world.
If you've not heard of it, the civet cat eats whole Arabica coffee cherries, but only digests the outer layers surrounding the coffee bean.  The fermented beans are then excreted, collected, separated, sun-dried, roasted and turned into coffee grounds.
The verdict:  I've definitely had a much better cup of coffee, but now I can say that I've literally tried some very "shitty" coffee.

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!

26 comments:

Lotusblommans vardag said...

Beautiful place and the bread looks very delicious.

I do enjoy different kind of coffees, and all kind
of warm and cold drinks with coffee in it, and my hubby is
a big COFFOHOLIC, so all the info you gave is interesting.

You are having so much fun!
The tiny village I live in is sooo boring...

Have a great day!
Sussie

Susan said...

Oh Tammy. That's funny. I don't know if I'd be so brave. I do like a nice cup of strong coffee, that's for sure, though. Glad you are going out for fun excursions. Susan

Betsy said...

Well the blue colors in the decor at the first place is absolutely gorgeous. I am not a coffee drinker at all, and after the story you told about the last coffee there is no way I would ever drink that! Ha ha! You are a very brave woman my friend. Have fun to spend time with your friends though. Blessings, Betsy

Linda said...

You've successfully cracked me up for the day. :D Love it.
I like the fun things you try.

Quinn said...

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but the exception was a little restaurant I went to when I was spending lots of time in a city about an hour away. It was the size of a small diner, there were travel posters on the walls - the only one I recall was from Lebanon - and the restaurant was run by a family. Only "the man" was seen in the front, but there were at least two women, one older, working in the back. The food was delicious; I remember a simple spinach-bread thing (pardon my lack of food vocabulary) that was exquisite. The friend who introduced me to this restaurant insisted I try the coffee, so I did, just to be polite. It was served in tiny cups with a bit of sediment in the bottom. It was FABULOUS. The owner must have noticed my reaction, because he brought me a second cup, unasked, later. I visited again any time I was in the area, and the man always greeted me with "Hello Lady," which I assumed was his standard greeting for a female customer. But once I mentioned this to the friend who had brought me there originally, and she just looked at me blankly and said she had gone there dozens of times and he never said anything at all to her. Apparently she was just an ordinary customer, not a "Lady" like me! ;)

Maya Kuzman said...

Haha.. shitty indeed. As a coffee addict I wouldn't mind trying that, although I've tried many different types of coffee and still like ours the best. We make it by boiling coffee into a special pot- similar (or the same) to the ones Turks make.

Mia said...

Tammy, I am coming to have a coffee in this wonderful place! Kisses, my friend.

Melanie said...

Ba ha ha - this was great! I don't think I'd want to try that "shitty" coffee, lol. The new little shop you went to has beautiful ambiance. I have one particular friend where she and I love to try new coffee shops. She said a new one just opened in her town by the train station, so we'll be checking it out soon.

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Tammy,

You can't beat a good cup of coffee.
Have heard of this coffee before but never tasted it
Hope you are enjoying the week
hugs
Carolyn

Kit said...

No way!! Really??!! Yikes! As a coffee lover, I don't know if I could drink it knowing where it came from. Lol Like I have not been able to eat chocolate cream pie since reading The Help...lol Loved her space tho. :) Kit

Createology said...

Oh thank goodness I have never drank coffee. I would gag just knowing how that cat coffee is obtained. Lovely time with friends dear. <3

Blondie's Journal said...

I'm chuckling, Tammy. Over the coffee.

I have eliminated dairy as well...that hunk of cheese in my fridge is calling my name. I have had almond milk in my coffee and have yet to make a smoothie with a protein powder but plan to. On a low carb regimen, eliminating cheese, cream, cottage cheese, and whipped cream takes away a lot of my pleasurable treats. I'm waiting to see if I feel a difference.

I enjoy your posts, so things I don't quite understand but I think it's amazing (to me) that you have embraced and learned a whole different way of life.

Jane x

Rostrose said...

Oh, dearest Tammy,
you are the first person I know who tried the "Monkey-cofee"! I've heard a lot about it but never got the opportunity to try it my own - but now it sounds like that this coffee isn't REALLY the best in the world ... ;-)
Lots of hug, my dear
Traude
http://rostrose.blogspot.co.at/2017/08/anl-20-apfelmarmelade-bananenkuchen.html

Nieprujsietak said...

Słyszałam o tej kawie.nIestety cena jej mnie przeraza.Pozdrawiam serdecznie.

Teresa Kasner said...

That was a very pretty restaurant.. how much did they charge for the fruit salad? I love the tent your friend invited you to.. so pretty. But I agree, you are brave to try that coffee that went through a monkey's butt! LOL! Thanks for doing the product testing for the rest of us.. now I can pass if it's ever offered to me. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Tanna said...

Ha! I've heard of that coffee, but have never known anyone who tried it! LOL! You're an adventuresome soul, Tammy! Love Melissa's diwiniya and that y'all have taken it to being for women also. blessings ~ tanna

Genevieve said...

I read your whole blog today, but the end was a killer. So funny, nearly spit out my French roast coffee! Thanks for the laugh and I will be coming back again. Blessings

Mereknits said...

You make me laugh! I love that you are meeting with friends even if that involves drinking questionable coffee. Take good care Tammy.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Tammy,
Haha, you had me laugh about your 'shitty' coffee!
Like you, with my diet restrictions due to my CKD, I have to be very careful what to eat.
On Fridays we go out for lunch with Church friends, after a noon Mass and I usually eat salad bar, with my own dressing that I have in a tiny Tupperware in my purse. Pieter and I mainly eat vegetarian meals and also fish and rarely chicken.
Trying to keep a low cholesterol and a low sodium diet is not very restaurant friendly...
Indeed you woke up to a very humid day! Do you have air conditioning inside your home? That would take the humidity out of the air and take care of that.
But you at least had a few new adventures together with friends!
Sending you hugs,
Mariette

Caterina Giglio said...

ewww! I have heard of this, too bad it wasn't fabulous!! so funny!!

Angie said...

LOL!!! Thank you for really giving me a belly laugh this morning. I read your post to Man with Hat, and he knew about this coffee, which I had never heard of! I am also so glad to hear that the diwiniya is evolving - progress! It is a beautiful space ...

Happy@Home said...

Ha Ha! Now that is something not everybody can say. It reminded me of something I saw on tv once about a similar thing with goats. The end product in that case was some type of oil that people are flocking to. I think it was argan oil.
Your friend's diwiniya looks like a magical spot for sharing coffee with friends.

Cheryl said...

Shitty coffee...lol... your so funny. I don't like any coffee at all... blah. I like tea though... with a bunch of milk and a bunch of sugar....So, basically, the tea just colors the milk and sugar :-)

Poppy said...

I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in my mid 40s, and now, I need to limit myself to two a day: an aromatic hazelnut concoction in the am.m and a Greek/Turkish one in the mid afternoon. How I lived without it for 40+ years, I don't know!

That 'blend' you tried, is quite eclectic, to say the least; kudos to you for being so adventurous!

Happy Thursday!

Poppy

September Violets said...

Love the breakfast setting of your friend's! I've heard of that coffee, but didn't know the details ... hmmm. I'll just take your word for it that it isn't the best. The best coffee I had was an espresso in Italy. We were waiting to visit the Greek/Roman theatre and were very early. There was only one tiny cafe opened and my son and I decided to have an espresso ... the atmosphere of this beautiful village seemed to be infused into the coffee :)
Wendy

Jodiebodie said...

Hahahaha! Yes, had heard of that civet coffee before and never had the urge to try it once I heard how it was processed! I admire your sense of adventure, Tammy. Your friend's new 'gathering place' looks very opulent and luxurious. Lucky ladies!

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