Thursday 22 September 2022

Like So Many Of Us,

we both enjoy a cup/mug of coffee,


photograph Si Gam/Wikimedia Commonsbut this has just got to be the most unusual way to serve it, named Kupi Khop the coffee has been officially declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage (WBT) of West Aceh Regency, and its history can be traced back centuries, apparently the fishermen of Aceh who first came up with this unusual serving method were actually on to something, if you keep looking after the business of fishing your coffee could get cold, by keeping it covered meant it stayed warm for longer, not to mention free from dust, insects, and other impurities, Kupi Khop consists of coarsely ground robusta coffee brewed in a glass that is then turned upside down on a glass saucer, a plastic straw is then used to gradually extract the coffee from the glass without spilling it,

lifting the glass off of the saucer would just cause the coffee to spill and make a big mess, so a straw is slid under the lip of the upside-down glass when the drink is brought to the table, but locals have learned to slide it under the glass themselves, without lifting the glass from the saucer, once the straw is in place, all you have to do is blow gently into the straw, increasing the pressure inside the glass and causing coffee to ooze from it, when a puddle forms around the glass, you just use the straw to sip the liquid, then just repeat the process as many times as necessary as shown in the video above,

and as demonstrated here in this video, I could not help chuckling as this video unfolded, I am still not sure about trying this method of drinking coffee, the thought of making a slight slip would mean a lap full of hot coffee, it is certainly a different way to enjoy your favourite drink, but here is a thought, if this goes back a couple of centuries, what was used instead of a plastic straw?


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