Every coffee shop has its resident sociopath. He — and it usually is a man — is subtly or grossly at odds with his surroundings. He stares at you too hard and too long. He hoards all the newspapers. He acts as if everyone is intensely interested in everything he’s doing.
He talks too loud on his cellphone. As a matter of fact, every time you walk in the place he’s there, parked at the best table, nursing his free refill; he’s on his cellphone, yelling at the cable company or haranguing one of his ex-employers, and he’s still there when you leave. The baristas and cashiers seem to act as if they don’t notice him, but if you ask them, they have a nickname for him (“Psycho Boy,” “Cellphone Schmuck”), and a few choice stories.
That guy with a cellphone is one of the reasons I don’t go to coffee shops anymore.
Twenty years ago, when I started hanging out in coffee shops, they were quiet, agreeable, semi-public places to write or read or daydream. Now, for me, they’re only slightly more pleasant than airplanes.
But the other reason I don’t go to coffee shops any more has to do more with the coffee: nobody makes better coffee than my wife, Yasmin. My wife is a perfectionist about coffee as she is about everything else. She used to own a bakery/coffee shop in Arvada called The Pastryshop. It closed 10 years ago, but at Duo, we still get former customers of the Pastryshop who get the same dreamy look on their faces when they mention it.
At home we drink French press coffee, but every once in a while my wife will make this Middle Eastern specialty. Coffee with Cardamom is usually made in an ibrik, a small pot exclusively dedicated to making this coffee, but if you don’t have an ibrik, a small saucepan will work as well. In the Middle East, offering a guest this coffee is a sign of welcome, and they say that the amount of cardamom in your coffee indicates how welcome you are.
John Broening cooks at Duo Restaurant, .
Coffee With Cardamom
Makes 1 cup.
Ingredients
1 cup water
2 heaped teaspoons of extra finely ground good quality coffee (powder consistency)
1/8 to 1/4teaspoon ground cardamom, or 2 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
Directions
First place the sugar and cardamom in your ibrik. If you do not have an ibrik use a small saucepan. Add the water and place coffee on top of water but do not stir. Place over low to medium heat and heat up just until coffee starts to foam. Then remove your saucepan from the heat source and gently stir the coffee until the foam subsides. Return saucepan to heat and allow coffee to foam again. Remove from heat. Repeat a third time, but this time after the foam rises, remove from the stove and do not stir. Pour into demitasse cups (with or without some foam) and allow to sit for a few minutes for the grounds to settle to the bottom of the cup. Don’t pour out the last drop since the bottom of the ibrik will be sludge. Cardamom pod may be served in cup for added flavor.
