Wednesday, May 20, 2009

corner view: coffee in israel



i'm a coffee girl. but not much of a feinsmecker, i have to admit. i do own a moka pot and a french coffee press, but my daily coffee(s) is not that advanced. i start the day with taster's choice. lots of coffee, lots of milk, and yes, lots of sugar. and then i add some cinnamon. i'll probably have two or three more cups of instant coffee during the day.

coffee to me is a break. a moment to sit down. and relax, breath. these days we have 35-38 degrees celcius in israel. it's hot and calls for ice coffee. preferably to be enjoyed under the shade from the palm tree leaves and accompanied by ice cold water with fresh nana (mint) from the garden. so that's what i do. while the kids cool down with their feet in the blow-up pool or eat the pancakes they convinced me to make them in this heat.

or little D will reach out for my coffee cup, which means we're on to this conversation (or a variation of it):

little D: cham? (meaning "warm" in hebrew)
me: yes, it's hot.
little D: cham!
me: yes, hot.
little D: cham!!
me: yes. i know.

pause....


little D: cham?
me: mmm...
little D: cham??
me: yes, hot!
little D: cham!!
me: yes, i know.

pause....


and unless something else calls for his immediate attention, like some water that must be moved from one bucket to another, we could probably continue this conversation until i would be able to make a grand finale with something like "no. actually it's cold".

jane... i know, you asked for a funny conversation, but what can i do... this is pretty much the type of conversation i'm having these days, living far away from cafes and working from home. if you'd asked for a deep, serious, eye-opening conversation, well, this would have had to do too.

traditional coffee in israel is called cafe turkie (yes, that would be turkish coffee). that's the strong, strong non-filtered kind of coffee. and if you want a latte in a cafe, which is what i usually want, you ask for "hafuch". meaning "the opposite" in hebrew. the reason? because there's more milk than coffee. if you want two of those, you'll say "paamaim hafuch". and if you want the waiter to know that you're not israeli, you'll follow that order with a "toda".

i'll just add a little disclaimer here to any israeli readers i might have: i'm not saying israelies are rude or anything. because you'll usually smile and chit chat with the waiter while ordering. and you can always find someone you both know, or an aunt that went to school with your best friend's mother-in-law's cousin. but saying thank you is just so formal. and formality is not really big around here. more like "we're all friends. or family". or maybe more like "we're all in this together". i mean, you do also attend weddings in jeans, flip-flops and tees. that's pretty in-formal.

check out cabrizette's coffee post for the serge gainsbourg theme song video. or listen while reading isabelle's on lou et tom. love it!

other coffee corner views from around the world. :

jane, ladybug-zen, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virginia, april, rebecca, b

35 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I think thank you is the opposite in Utah. If anything it's over used. Oh and I loved the convo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting cultural insight...I love this detail I would have never known otherwise...thank you Trinsch!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved your post ... the funny conversation, the israeli part and especially the 2 pictures !!

    ReplyDelete
  4. i love your posts- i always learn something new about the israeli culture. hey and your conversation made me smile... i remember those days. thanks trinsch! besos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fantastic post. I need to say it again- I love the way you write.

    Also beautiful photos. I like visiting you here. Thank you for sharing :)

    Have a great day,
    Kasia

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ho, HO ! we learn lots of things with your lovely post !!! Thanks and have a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for that. I might try the cinnamon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The conversation with D is very, very funny! I will have to try adding cinnamon to my espresso.

    ReplyDelete
  9. saw these images on flickr !lovely spot for a sweet conversation
    ...
    elk

    ReplyDelete
  10. try the lingzhi coffe once with pure brazilian coffe beans,. they are amazing

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the post. Yes, I ommitted the funny conversation too! I am a stay-at-home mom of three! Only silly conversations around here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, I love your "java" post...I learned a lot. Thanks for sharing. I agree, coffee is so relaxing for me too. I love it cold or hot.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I don´t have children but I have silly conversations anyway...can´t even blame it on the kids.
    Beautiful pictures....so inviting. And I would love to have some of that cold water with nana!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for your special note !!! I'm glad you love Gainsbourg : )

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi there,
    I wanted to thank you for your comment and I will definatly check out that site you told me about, it sounds great:)

    I will be coming here alot.
    Keep up the good job:)

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  16. You made me laugh with your story about formality in Israel. Here in England, everyone sees thanks all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I agree with Jane:
    I always learn something reading your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  18. i love hearing what coffee is called in different languages, especially in the local slang. i'm a 'cafe turkie' kind of gal. as for the three-word child conversations - i have them every day! if not with my two year old, then with myself! some days i worry i won't be able to manage a real conversation with an adult.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sounds delicious with the cinnamon in the coffee ... and yes I remember distantly those kind of three-word conversations too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. lol! great post. thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. the first picture is perfect trinsch! enjoy your coffees! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the coffee theme, can't do without a few cups a day myself... it needs to be strong, with lots of hot milk.

    ReplyDelete
  23. lots of coffee, milk and sugar. Sounds like how I take my coffee.
    Wonderful Post!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love your writing! Beautiful photos... wish I was sitting there!

    Happy Day!

    ...Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  25. Awww, looking forward to having little 3 word conversations with the little boy I take care off...too cute!! Love the table cloth btw!

    -Ida

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ha ha! My boys are past the hot hot hot conversations, FINALLY!

    I don't think many people around say thank you (although I usually do)...people are too busy talking on their cell phones or texting (drives me nuts) to actually have eye contact or converse with their waiter. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love your post. And that conversation - so cute! My youngest is constantly asking Why? (varföör?). She would have added a why? to spice up the conversation a bit :-) Hot? Yes! Why?....

    ReplyDelete
  28. That conversation! Adorable.
    And I'm not a coffee person at all, but your post makes me curious about coffee. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Interesting post! Love the conversation and the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  30. oh i love that conversation bit - in fact, i'm still smiling! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. lovely post! thanks for sharing
    have a nice week and a good cup of coffee!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love these photos! Great coffee break!
    Stay cool and have a great weekend! oxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  33. lovely post - great writing and a fabulous tablecloth!

    ReplyDelete
  34. ha! well that's a good coffee post. i didn't get to this last week!

    ReplyDelete