Small Addictions: Fresh Juice and Arabic Coffee

A few days ago while we were walking home from work along the beach boardwalk I confessed to Kenny that I could never leave Israel.  "How will I live without my fresh-squeezed juice?" I lamented.  I am completely and hopelessly addicted to purchasing juice made from fruit while I watch.  It is really amazing to go into a restaurant and expect that the lemonade was made from lemons--that day!  Is it so ridiculous to expect the same level of quality from my juice back in the states?  I know it's harder to make and more expensive and time consuming, but really, the product is amazing.  If there are any entrepreneurs out there reading this, think of how to make a market model work with fresh juice, please!  And while you are at it, try and get a decent pita-making oven as well.  Pitas in the states don't taste anything like the ones you can get here.

Yum!

I am also hopelessly addicted to Arabic coffee, but that piece of heaven I'll be able to take home with me, courtesy of some very heavy souveniers.  I didn't know the first thing about making coffee the Arabic way when I got here.  I fell in love with the Arabic coffee pot or dallah based on its unique shape and clean lines.  It was a piece of art and I wanted one to commemorate my time in the Middle East.  We found a lovely, heavy one in a shop just outside Petra in Jordan.  I liked its clean lines and tarnished brass--a real part of history.  You could look at the pot and imagine all of the people who might have used it and enjoyed it in the years past. 

Kenny believed that it still had some usefulness left.  Where I saw an art object, he saw a coffee maker, which I suppose is fair.  We cleaned out the cobwebs and looked up a recipe for Arabic coffee online: step 1, procure a dallah.

The secret to the unique coffee is a very fine grind of the coffee and the inclusion of cardamom seeds and possibly cinnamon sticks in the brewing process.  Coffee, spices, sugar and water all go into the pot and are brought to a boil.  Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer until the whole room smells delicious (30-45 minutes).

Our dallah on the stove

Then, the coffee is poured into another serving pot (keeping the "muddy" grounds in the dallah) from which it is poured into small china cups.  One cup is supposed to suffice for a caffeine jolt, but we generally liked 2-3 cups.  It tastes so good that I guess it's worth sacrificing my decoration for tasty utility.  Imagine putting an Italian pump espresso maker on display--not so good.

Pouring the coffee

Enjoying breakfast

Recipe for Arabic Coffee (Brand's style):
1/2 cup Turkish coffee (an extremely fine grind of coffee, like espresso)
8 full cardamom pods
1 large cinnamon stick
2.5T sugar
fill the pot 3/4 full of water
bring to boil, then simmer for 30-45 minutes