Opening the coffee tin in my office pantry today brought to mind a little event of my life from long back.
My aunt, Shashi chikki brought a jar of granulated coffee from Bahrain. Nescafe Gold, I think it was. The description said those were “coffee crystals”. Now every science student knows the difference between crystalline and amorphous substances, right? Who were they fooling? But this thing was so…nice, that I forgave them that mistake. The “crystals” were beautiful, with a matte finish, like miniature asteroids. I would place a few on my tongue and feel them melting. People in the past have witnessed the dawn of new eras, like the industrial era, or the Hippies era. I witnessed the granulated coffee era. The internet phenomenon was nothing compared to it.
This must have been, what, 8-10 years ago. It was the first time I had seen granulated coffee. Up until then, I had only seen powdered instant coffee. Well, to begin with I hardly ever saw instant coffee in any form, as none of our families had it. The only memories I have of instant coffee in my childhood are occasional glimpses of a little bottle of Bru, the contents inevitably turned into a solid block because powdered coffee hardens so easily, and the jar was hardly used anyway. Just kept there for “emergencies” that never came because the trusty filter coffee never let us down.
The coffee filter always has its own place on the kitchen platform, usually in a corner. Invariably, it is a battered and bruised thing, which means it is a well-loved instrument. I don’t remember seeing a shiny new one in any kitchen. I think a coffee filter is born bruised and battered, just like some people seem to be born old. I think my South Indian traits assert themselves strongest when it comes to coffee. Even now, I can’t help but be taken aback, and even feel a slight sense of betrayal when I encounter a South Indian household without a coffee filter or any other form of brewing apparatus.
There are some things you just don’t give up, no matter what.
Never.
Ever.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
A random observation or two
The other day my friend said, “Coffee? A new one by Nescafe. Got just half the caffeine.”
“Half the caffeine? Then please put twice the amount in my mug.”
Why would I want to drink coffee with low caffeine or no caffeine? What is coffee without caffeine? Decaf coffee tastes bad too, so you can’t even say you drink it for the taste of it.
Instant coffee is bad enough. But I do admit I drink the detergent at work because I cannot afford to spend six bucks everyday on real coffee. At work, it is purely for the caffeine.
And today I was working on a program called ‘New Inventors’ on the ABC channel. A man has invented an exhaust fume diverter for horse trailers so that the horses don’t breathe in the vehicle fumes while they are being transported. One of the panelists in the program who are supposed to scrutinize every invention on the show, and examine it from all angles, and generally try to look very intelligent, asks the inventor, “What research is being done on transported horses being affected by carbon monoxide?”
The inventor, a horse-lover, was quiet for a long moment and then said, “Uh...I'm aware of my own research,” and explains a few technical points and concludes with, “But in a nutshell, what common sense would dictate, actually happens in those trailers.” The look on his face told it all.
Do these ‘expert’ panelists really think about the questions they ask? Or are they just filling in the empty space with noise, hoping it sounds like a clever observation? Do we need research to prove every little thing? Is common sense such a disposable trait nowadays?
If that panelist saw me on the road having a fit, he would probably say, “There hasn’t been enough research done on helping Indian females on Australian roads. Better not do anything to help her.”
Sure, trust the researchers. All these years they said vitamin C fights the common cold, and now all of a sudden, nope. Sorry. Throw all those lemons away. New research shows that vitamin C has no significant effect on the common cold.
So, what can cure the common cold? The answer is a lemon.
“Half the caffeine? Then please put twice the amount in my mug.”
Why would I want to drink coffee with low caffeine or no caffeine? What is coffee without caffeine? Decaf coffee tastes bad too, so you can’t even say you drink it for the taste of it.
Instant coffee is bad enough. But I do admit I drink the detergent at work because I cannot afford to spend six bucks everyday on real coffee. At work, it is purely for the caffeine.
And today I was working on a program called ‘New Inventors’ on the ABC channel. A man has invented an exhaust fume diverter for horse trailers so that the horses don’t breathe in the vehicle fumes while they are being transported. One of the panelists in the program who are supposed to scrutinize every invention on the show, and examine it from all angles, and generally try to look very intelligent, asks the inventor, “What research is being done on transported horses being affected by carbon monoxide?”
The inventor, a horse-lover, was quiet for a long moment and then said, “Uh...I'm aware of my own research,” and explains a few technical points and concludes with, “But in a nutshell, what common sense would dictate, actually happens in those trailers.” The look on his face told it all.
Do these ‘expert’ panelists really think about the questions they ask? Or are they just filling in the empty space with noise, hoping it sounds like a clever observation? Do we need research to prove every little thing? Is common sense such a disposable trait nowadays?
If that panelist saw me on the road having a fit, he would probably say, “There hasn’t been enough research done on helping Indian females on Australian roads. Better not do anything to help her.”
Sure, trust the researchers. All these years they said vitamin C fights the common cold, and now all of a sudden, nope. Sorry. Throw all those lemons away. New research shows that vitamin C has no significant effect on the common cold.
So, what can cure the common cold? The answer is a lemon.
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