Maryam in Marrakesh, perennial discoverer of good things, points to this recipe for Moroccan coffee. I don't know how Moroccan it actually is, but it sounds delicious.
Dear Bill
I just can't help sighing on reading such thing. Gone are the days when rich and poor alike used to "respect" their guests. That was before the invasion of our homes by the gas bottle. If you were a guest in those old good days, you would be invited -even begged- by your hosts to sit on a haydoora (a thick sheep's skin with its wool on) in the best place in the house, and then the master or the mistress of the house would send someone to the kitchen to prepare all that's needed to prepare tea: the teapot, the tray, the mint, the sugar, the tea powder, etc. You would then have the pleasure to see water boiling on a brazier in front of your eyes, while the hosts are saying the best words to you and asking you about everything and nothing, until the water is ready. Then you would be asked -if not begged- to prepare the tea by yourself. You would be in great embarrassment if you didn't. Those were old times gone for ever. Now the tea is hastingly prepared in the kitchen, and everybody hastens to get his place back in front of the television set! Idem for coffee.
Thank you for your very thoughtful and heartfelt comment. Perhaps the old days are gone forever, but I know that there are many places in Morocco where their spirit lives on. When I was in Morocco, particularly in the country, I found the hospitality I received to be quite extraordinary, unlike anything I had experienced in America.
You made a winning point there. That's
perhaps because the gas bottle and TV
invasion has been slow on the country front.
I wonder whether you've had had a glance
into my tale, "The Tailor"; you'd have then
noticed that it's set mostly in the (Shiadma)
countryside, where my parents come from. Up to
this day I prefer roaming the country surrounding my hometown of Mohammédia rather than
sitting at a cafe downtown. Maybe you remember
this poem which I posted elsewhere on this blog:
Tout près de grand-mère
Non, on ne met pas de farine
Dans un tajine;
On n'y met que la meilleure viande
Et les meilleures légumes,
De l'huile aussi,
Des épices, et du sel.
Ne me dis pas que tu ne sais pas
Ce que c'est qu'un tajine.
Tu sais bien que c'est un régal
De prendre place
Autour d'un tajine
Cuit à feu doux sous un olivier
Loin des vaches et des coquelicots
A l'abri du soleil de midi.
Et après le tajine,
On prend du thé:
Mais du thé à la menthe et à la chiba.
Oh comme il est doux!
De manger et de boire au douar
Tout près de grand-mère
Et des petits.
Sorry to hear it, but thanks for bringing it to my attention. I know the Turks and some other countries do make spiced coffee, but I do not remember having any while I was in Morocco. I wonder if it is ever done?
As far as I know, very little attention is given to the nature of or the way coffee is prepared in the midst of the popular sections of society I belong to -unless it's Ramadan, of course. Perhaps it's the case in the upper classes, where I have never been. But, you know, there are always, everywhere, people (few as they may be) who approach their food and drink in a particularly meticulous way. What's curious, in the case of Morocco, is that the people who have "the best" taste with regard to cooking are the descendents of African slaves who served sultans and prominent rulers in their palaces. Also, (and I was startled to hear it) people originating from Andalusia (Muslim Spain) tend to eat what only poor people like us would eat generally (eg. bissara)! And once I made friends with a son of a rich family in Mohammedia who lived in a smart house and had several other houses and a farm, etc. I had expected their food to be as impressive, but I realized that they ate less than what we used to eat in our poorest days.
Hi Mohamed!
I utterly disagree with you. It's a common popular practice that many people even from the lower classes spice their coffee in Morocco. As you know, many people spice their tea with "takhlita" which can include herbs like "âabdi", "merdaddoush", "fliyoo", "salmiya", and sometimes absinthe. Likewise, many a Moroccan peeson can spice coffee with many items like ginger, pepper, "habbat hlawa", etc. I can even invite you to drink spiced coffee with me. I'm keen on that, and believe me that you will enjoy it and even recommend it to your family.
Dear Bill
I just can't help sighing on reading such thing. Gone are the days when rich and poor alike used to "respect" their guests. That was before the invasion of our homes by the gas bottle. If you were a guest in those old good days, you would be invited -even begged- by your hosts to sit on a haydoora (a thick sheep's skin with its wool on) in the best place in the house, and then the master or the mistress of the house would send someone to the kitchen to prepare all that's needed to prepare tea: the teapot, the tray, the mint, the sugar, the tea powder, etc. You would then have the pleasure to see water boiling on a brazier in front of your eyes, while the hosts are saying the best words to you and asking you about everything and nothing, until the water is ready. Then you would be asked -if not begged- to prepare the tea by yourself. You would be in great embarrassment if you didn't. Those were old times gone for ever. Now the tea is hastingly prepared in the kitchen, and everybody hastens to get his place back in front of the television set! Idem for coffee.
Dear Mohamed,
Thank you for your very thoughtful and heartfelt comment. Perhaps the old days are gone forever, but I know that there are many places in Morocco where their spirit lives on. When I was in Morocco, particularly in the country, I found the hospitality I received to be quite extraordinary, unlike anything I had experienced in America.
Salam Brother Bill
You made a winning point there. That's
perhaps because the gas bottle and TV
invasion has been slow on the country front.
I wonder whether you've had had a glance
into my tale, "The Tailor"; you'd have then
noticed that it's set mostly in the (Shiadma)
countryside, where my parents come from. Up to
this day I prefer roaming the country surrounding my hometown of Mohammédia rather than
sitting at a cafe downtown. Maybe you remember
this poem which I posted elsewhere on this blog:
Tout près de grand-mère
Non, on ne met pas de farine
Dans un tajine;
On n'y met que la meilleure viande
Et les meilleures légumes,
De l'huile aussi,
Des épices, et du sel.
Ne me dis pas que tu ne sais pas
Ce que c'est qu'un tajine.
Tu sais bien que c'est un régal
De prendre place
Autour d'un tajine
Cuit à feu doux sous un olivier
Loin des vaches et des coquelicots
A l'abri du soleil de midi.
Et après le tajine,
On prend du thé:
Mais du thé à la menthe et à la chiba.
Oh comme il est doux!
De manger et de boire au douar
Tout près de grand-mère
Et des petits.
you've had had (!)
Sorry.
Sorry to hear it, but thanks for bringing it to my attention. I know the Turks and some other countries do make spiced coffee, but I do not remember having any while I was in Morocco. I wonder if it is ever done?
As far as I know, very little attention is given to the nature of or the way coffee is prepared in the midst of the popular sections of society I belong to -unless it's Ramadan, of course. Perhaps it's the case in the upper classes, where I have never been. But, you know, there are always, everywhere, people (few as they may be) who approach their food and drink in a particularly meticulous way. What's curious, in the case of Morocco, is that the people who have "the best" taste with regard to cooking are the descendents of African slaves who served sultans and prominent rulers in their palaces. Also, (and I was startled to hear it) people originating from Andalusia (Muslim Spain) tend to eat what only poor people like us would eat generally (eg. bissara)! And once I made friends with a son of a rich family in Mohammedia who lived in a smart house and had several other houses and a farm, etc. I had expected their food to be as impressive, but I realized that they ate less than what we used to eat in our poorest days.
Hi Mohamed!
I utterly disagree with you. It's a common popular practice that many people even from the lower classes spice their coffee in Morocco. As you know, many people spice their tea with "takhlita" which can include herbs like "âabdi", "merdaddoush", "fliyoo", "salmiya", and sometimes absinthe. Likewise, many a Moroccan peeson can spice coffee with many items like ginger, pepper, "habbat hlawa", etc. I can even invite you to drink spiced coffee with me. I'm keen on that, and believe me that you will enjoy it and even recommend it to your family.
Aziz, thank you for your spiced lecture.