A Cultured Buzz, Take Two

Other than its dizzying array of top-quality, trend-setting merch, our favorite part of living on St. Marks is the boundless opportunity for grubucation. We have no idea what bellflower and wildweed are, but, thanks to JasMart, we know they make a damn fine, if eccentric-looking salad. One of our absolute favorite pick-me-ups of all time is the sweet, thick coffee found in the Middle East and Turkey. Until we moved, Turkish/Arabic coffee was a rare treat; now we can get it at Cafe Rakka for $2 whenever fancy strikes. The only problem is that the 6 oz. (2 in a little shot called a fincan, and 4 waiting the in coffee pot, or ibrik), is not sufficient for our venti-tastes. So we were delighted when, last week, our Arabic teacher told us how to make it. We don't (yet) have an ibrik, but our saucepan seemed, to our American 'buds, to work just fine. Below, the recipe, courtesy of one M. Kasaab. You are not supposed to drink the grinds at the bottom, but we kind of like to. For one 20 oz. serving:

1. add 2 cups water to 3Tbs finely ground Arabic coffee and 3Tbs sugar 2. bring to rollicking boil --the surface should be frothy 3. just before the froth crests, take the pot off the stove, stir until the froth goes down, and then put it back on the stove 4. repeat steps 2 and 3 at least once; four boils is optimal 5. serve, making sure to let the grounds settle before you sip Testemtiaa bikum!

[A Cultured Buzz]