Greetings!
First of all, there was a particular meal my family believed in so much when we were growing up, and even today, the belief is still there, though it's not as strong as it used to be.
It's a common African food made from cassava flakes, and the belief was strong because it lasts in the stomach for a longer period, especially when used for farm work. Anything coffee-related was never a part of our diet because, to us, it was just like drinking ordinary water, which doesn't last in the stomach or withstand the stress of working on the farm. Yeah, we were known with farm work
It was my dad who introduced coffee to us, and it was basically used as a 'sweet treat.' Oftentimes, he mixed it with other things like raw eggs to boost blood production, as I once mentioned in one of my coffee post....There's something unique about Africans and personal medical ideas. Maybe the idea of getting blood via taking coffee is true because my dad took it very seriously.
Just as we never considered tea and bread as a meal at any part of the day, we never considered coffee as a meal either. Those of us who started drinking it in my family did so just for fun, and it was always whoever wanted it that bought it. Of course, you wouldn't expect my mom to buy and keep it in the house.
My siblings and I (three of us) later joined my dad in taking his 'blood-giving drink' when he made it a routine and ritual after working on the farm or whenever he had body pain and felt feverish due to farm work stress. Although my female siblings joined him first because I saw coffee as bitter, eventually, I got used to it, and the bitterness reduced—just a little because coffee is still bitter to me. That's why we add enough sugar to it.
Interestingly, my mom, to this day, doesn't take coffee because she considers it a meal for 'lazy English people,' especially how people drink tea and it lasts them a whole day. My mom loves minimalism and never found it worthy to buy coffee because it's a waste of resources to her. How can she take something that won't last in her stomach? But we managed to get her to taste it one day when my dad got honey from the forest he went to clear. That season, we had the purest taste of coffee. Coffee is best when mixed with honey...that's what I feel.
After my dad preached about getting a good quantity of blood from taking coffee mixed with honey, my mom decided to try it because she needed blood too. That's the only time I saw my mom taking coffee.
Well, things have softened a bit at home in the village, but even today, coffee is still not considered a meal or a family thing. Whoever wants to have coffee has to buy it for themselves and drink it.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to #spillthebeans prompt
Photos used are mine