“In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”
And, surely, “In another life, I would have really liked to just drink a cup of coffee with you.”
Some thoughts and anecdotes from all the times I have been asked or asked another - “Let’s meet for coffee?”
September 2019, Oxford. The day after I unpacked my bags in my dorm room, I went to the kitchen to make some Chai. I added the Chai masala that mom had lovingly packed for me and I added mint leaves to my boiling water. I made the Chai exactly the same way as I would have back home, but my Chai smelt different and tasted different.
A constant, consistent reminder that sometimes it’s not the food, but the places that have a distinct taste and smell. Eventually, after days of trying and failing to make a decent cup of Chai, I reluctantly replaced my Chai with coffee. I would then often drink and enjoy a cup of coffee with my lovely flatmates.
And that marked the beginning of my affair with coffee.
April 2021. With a whisker, wide eyes and rolled up sleeves, as a normal resident of this civilisation, I made the viral Dalgona Coffee. Because failing to participate in that trend during the lockdown would have meant being ostracised from society. Not really! But, I had a lot of free time in the afternoons and I had binged a few too many reels on how to make that coffee.
Autumn 2020. One Frappe, One Capuccino and One Classic Cold Coffee, please. The lockdown was uplifted in parts and desperate to get out of our houses and to meet, even if meant being together for an hour, my friends and I started meeting for a cup of coffee, often. Late afternoons, before dinner, after dinner, just about whenever.
Coffee Fanatics! I am not a coffee aficionado and I most definitely cannot distinguish between good coffee and great coffee. My taste palette has surely evolved enough to comprehend a terrible coffee though. I also rarely, if ever, can differentiate between the types of coffee - brew, drip, instant, filter (or more). But I have interacted with enough coffee fanatics to know that you are never to utter the words - ‘I like Nescafe’ out loud. It brings about the same disgust in them as it does in me when someone says - ‘Let’s drink Paan- Chai’. Ugh!
Early November. I can still recall the off-white speckled ceramic coffee cup from a particular date. The taste of coffee has long been forgotten, but the giddy smiles and the jumbled threads of conversation from the long stroll along the beach after that coffee are still vivid in my head. Pyaar!
2 AM! A friend made some delicious cold coffee one night and carried it in a flask for us. On our late-night drive, the three of us went on a long drive and sipped the chilled concoction amidst laughter and gossip. Also, it was one of the rare times, I was driving past midnight. I discovered that drinking from a thermos while driving is a challenging task.
Supernatural. I can drink coffee at midnight and still fall asleep the next minute. Meanwhile, my Peurto Rican flatmate in Oxford, would pop caffeine pills to pull an all-nighter just before our final submissions. I am unsure which of us can’t function as a normal human.
Sorcery. Some afternoons, when mom is busy attending seminars virtually and I am busy brewing Chai in the kitchen, she would casually walk in, and request for a cup of coffee. Most times, I do happily oblige (sometimes I am just a brat and would make a face). I have made coffee for myself a few times, but for reasons unknown, the coffee always smells better and tastes better when I make it for her.
2018. I would meet my colleague (who is a lovely soul and now a dear friend) for breakfast once every fortnight and we would catch up on all the office politics over our combined passion for South Indian food and a strong cup of filter coffee.
2 Booklovers, 1 Vietnames Cold, 1 (Unordered) Cortado. The day I discovered the deliciousness of Vietnamese Cold Coffee was the day I met a childhood friend after years. That evening we discussed books, summer vacations and parallel universes.
Rainy Day! I follow this particular account on Instagram where this person posts the most gorgeous aesthetic videos of just him brewing or sipping coffee on rainy days. Dreamy and comforting.
30 Minutes. I can barely finish my coffee under 30 minutes, especially at Cafes. Though on a particular occasion, I downed a tolerably beautiful cup of coffee under 10 minutes because I couldn’t wait to leave. Obnoxious company is a rare privilege and I’d love to avoid it.
An hour turns to two. The lingering taste of coffee and intertwined fingers warmed my heart on a lovely stroll along the pool, surrounded by lush bushes, one pleasant winter evening.
Last Americano! I couldn’t get myself to stomach the coffee that humid afternoon, when I said goodbye to the lovely soul, who was shifting cities. The coffee tasted bitter, acidic and unpleasant. Perhaps because I knew that it was the last time we were sipping coffee together. One Cold and One Bitter.
A Table For One. The iced cappuccino that I once ordered when I was alone in a bookstore cafe tasted of solitude and warmth. It tasted of freedom.
A mixer. The first time I tasted alcohol in my coffee was at my friend’s annual Christmas Lunch. It was Irish. The second time was in the form of Amarula (Coffee Cream Liqueur). I enjoyed neither. Nescafe tastes better ;)
First Love! Chai. I love Chai. I drink Chai for itself. I can drink Chai alone and I drink Chai in company. Chai is a celebration for me! But coffee is different. Coffee is akin to having a relationship; I need another to truly enjoy it.
Recently, I came across this quote from the movie - Everything Everywhere All at Once:
“In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.” And, surely, In another life, I would have really liked to just drink a cup of coffee with you ;)
So until the next time, hope we all find the company that makes us want to say - Let’s Meet For Coffee?
And here’s a toast to the many, many cups of coffee and the many, many gorgeous souls who have helped me cherish and enjoy it.
Before you go, enjoy some favourites from my gallery!
Until the next one sending love and coffee that comforts you,
Krupa 🌺
