One of the things I was most excited to do in Jordan was drink coffee! I've watched Yaz sip coffee on video chat so many times and wondered... what is the coffee like over there?
So, naturally our first ever date was to a coffeeshop!
Alsultan cafe is only a short walk from where we are staying, situated on a bustling street with lots of restaurants and shops on it. I wanted to take some photos of the street view, but I felt it was better not to since capturing someone's photo without their consent is particularly rude in the middle east. We grabbed a table on the patio and Yaz got to translating so we could order.
We started off with double shots of espresso and the other reason we chose this spot- Argille!
I've always referred to this water pipe as a hookah, but I was informed that this phrasing relates to drug use in this neck of the woods— crack smoking in particular. 😬
We ordered a perfectly crack free Argille in a berry mint flavor. It was smooth and lovely in the cool night air. I got laughed at yet again for how I was puffing it, a decision I would end up regretting 30 minutes or so later when I got jittery as all hell. Was there maybe some crack in there after all?!
Nah, probably a combination of the high nicotine levels and a stiff coffee. Which brings me to the tcsp question for this week. I do normally take milk in my coffee. My preference is for plant-based milks, in particular coconut milk.
So far, I've yet to see this offered here. There is cow's milk on offer, however I don't mess with that stuff! In part it is about the flavor, however I'd say it's more about health concerns.
Not to judge anyone else, but in my opinion drinking the milk of another animal is very weird. Alongside the hormones used to keep cows lactating and the cruelty of such a practice, I absolutely cannot stand drinking it. Due to this, I've switched to drinking my coffee black 100% of the time.
All along the patio and the side room of this cafe were lanterns, giving the space some cute romantic vibes.
We watched the patio slowly fill up, however it never got crowded.
After some time a man walked around with plates of fruit: strawberries, figs, and grapes. Neither of us wanted any, however many tables around us picked one or more fruits from the tray.
It was interesting to people watch here, giving me my first glimpse of the social habits of Jordanians. I spotted a woman smoking Argille alone in the far corner of the side room, but everyone else had company.
At one table sat a child with three adults, which struck me as odd since children are strictly prohibited in establishments that allow smoking in the USA, be them far and few between.
I also noticed that many tables did not have any of these cafeteria style waters on them, I suppose we received water upon being sat since I am American.
It was only at the end that I remembered that water is not free in most of the world, an added bit of culture shock for me.
As we sat and smoked Argille, I began asking Yaz about the other types of coffee on the menu.
As he read them off to me, he got to French coffee. "What the heck is that?" we both wondered.
As it turns out, it was just coffee from France, unlike the American coffee, which came with milk and sugar. I guess they got us there, many in the states won't drink coffee without copious amounts of sugar. We ordered the French coffee and found it to be very basic.
It had a nice crema to it, but otherwise just tasted like strong drip coffee— something I've not had since I've been here.
Since being here we have been making coffee at home with a small open topped kettle thingy, which has a name in Arabic, but I guess is just called a kettle in English.
I'll have to come back to write a post about it, as well as the various grounds we've bought to make coffee with. So far, I've been more than thrilled with the flavor of the coffee in Jordan!
Since public displays of affection are illegal here, we both got antsy pretty quickly. It's difficult to wait over a year to see the one you love and then spend periods of time not touching them!
We took some time to savor our second coffee and argille, probably making those around us a bit uncomfortable with the way we were staring at each other.
I'm not sure our second batch of coals had time to gather much ash before we decided to get the check.
The dude who presented it acted very strangely about it, I suppose the service in general was pretty odd. I think the combination of a Syrian and an American throws people off here. Most are very kind, but we get some judgmental gazes when we walk around together.
Considering the cultural view point here, it's not surprising. I'm looked at as someone who has stolen an Arab man, and he's looked at as an American chaser. The first one is incredibly fair, as I was the one who actually chased him!
After cashing out we went to get some food, agreeing that next time we would check out a different location.
Lucky for us, there are TONS of inviting coffeehouses here. I'm excited to visit more, and maybe find some coconut milk eventually so I can enjoy a latte. Cheers to strong coffee and great company!
