The Journey of Fine Culture in Greece: a talk about Greek Cafe

Coffee was born in Africa in the 13th century, was exclusively enjoyed by Arabs for three centuries and spread to Europe in the 16th century. The habit of drinking coffee has been popular in Europe and the United States for centuries, and gradually developed a "coffee culture". There are very different coffee cultures in the world: the romance of France, the elegance of Austria, the enthusiasm of Italy, the quickness of the United States. Each coffee culture is a microcosm of the social state, reflecting the living conditions of the local people.

Greek coffee is not the same thing as coffee from other countries in Europe and the United States, but is the same as Turkish coffee (Turkish coffee). Its traditional cooking method is to put the ground powder of coffee beans in a small coffee pot and bring to a boil, then pour the water into a small coffee cup. When brewing coffee, a spoonful of coffee with a tablespoon of sugar is called moderately sweet, two tablespoons of sugar is called sweet, and no sugar is called "pure".

Greeks like to meet friends in a coffee shop, and it takes a quarter of an hour to wait for the coffee to be cooked. When the coffee is served, it will take another quarter of an hour to wait for the coffee to settle completely. People use this time to greet each other, parents, and communicate with each other. This kind of coffee cup is very small, the content is very small, and half of it is the end of the coffee, so Greek coffee can definitely be called "kung fu coffee". With such a small cup of coffee, the Greeks can drink it for most of the day. The more you go down, the more you end up, and so does the gossip. In the end, some old Greek women will make divination based on the shape of the end of the coffee left in the cup, which sounds unreliable but highly accurate.

The Greeks (presumably) learned coffee from the Turks during the 15th and 19th centuries when large tracts of Greek land were ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Don't prove that to the Greeks! The Greeks admit that their ancestors invented wine, olive oil, sports, medicine, philosophy, drama, democracy. How can such a great nation drink Turkish coffee (Turkish Coffee) every day? Therefore, there are two names for a kind of coffee in the world, and it is difficult for even UNESCO to judge which is right. But one thing is true, that is, if you order this kind of coffee in Greek Coffee, you'd better say "Greek coffee". In Turkey, you can say whatever you want.

The traditional Greek coffee shop is just like that small cup of bitter "Turkish coffee" with soup. It is generally shabby, with a few marble countertops and a pile of cheap wooden rattan chairs; in the corner of the room is a TV that never turns off, regardless of whether anyone is watching or not (except when there is a football match, of course). The walls of coffee houses are usually hung with old photos or yellowing posters.