My mom said that her mother usually said something. That whatever didn’t make us sweat to achieve can never be truly enjoyed. Of course, that may not be true right now and a lot of people enjoy things more when they don’t have to work for it. But I got her reason behind that statement and the meaning of it.
The joy derived from watching something unfold before your eyes, knowing that you worked hard to get it there is a more sublime feeling than if it was just granted to you. Like labouring for a plant that had little odds of surviving and having the satisfaction of seeing it overcome all the negativities that was thought to overshadow it.
It’s the way I would have viewed coffee in this scenario. We hardly ever have a steady power supply here so it kind of makes talking about a lot more easier. Lol. But moving beyond that, it got me thinking of what I would do if something as crucial as electricity was made illegal in relation to coffee.
Because if electricity was illegal, it meant that there would be no machinery to grind coffee with. But to be honest, a lot of us, at least in this part of the world, still make use of the old methods to get the right texture that we want. As I said before, in these parts, there is hardly electricity. So making use of the old methods to grind won’t only be effective, but we won't need to bat an eyelash cause it is the norm. Even for those who’ve managed to have power supply readily, we never let those go cause you never know when you might need it. And that’s what I would use.
So I get my good old coffee beans. Luckily, they haven’t banned us from getting the brands we want. Then, I’ll get my trusty mortar and pestle. Of course, I could say that I would use a grinding stone, but sadly, I’ve kind of evolved beyond that one. Lol. Grinding stuff like coffee beans wouldn’t be so bad with a mortar because even though it isn’t quite perfect, a lot of times, it gives us the consistency that we want. That is if you know what you’re doing.
It’s easy to use even though it is guaranteed that you will exert yourself physically. But it’s therapeutic if you like, and for someone like me who could zone out a lot, you may not even be aware of when you get it completely ground. But I wouldn’t want to do that since there’s a tendency for it to jump out of the mortar if you do it carelessly.
So, with all my love, I would pound my coffee beans, making sure to ground them right down to the consistency I want. And when it’s all ground up, I could apply any of these two methods. I could put the ground beans into a cup, pour steaming water into it, and leave it to settle for a bit before getting a sieve and filtering out the finer liquid that I would drink. Or I could, like I’ve seen someone do, put the powder in the sieve which is over a cup and pour steaming water into it, probably press a spoon to the sieve to ensure that I get the most out of the coffee without letting the particles in.
I’ve not tried any of these before and I think I may make a total mess of what is required and waste valuable coffee. But it would be rather fun trying this out. I forgot to add the fact that because of the absence of electricity, I won’t be making use of an electric cooker which is just right since most families possess natural gas anyway. So, we can fall back on that while waiting for when electricity would no longer be illegal, if ever.
When my coffee is successfully made, I will add the usual milk and sugar, stir it and enjoy my coffee while watching the sunrise and contemplating the more changes that would be made in this new dystopian world, grateful that I have my coffee regardless of what happens.
Jhymi🖤
Images are mine unless otherwise stated.
