Comments on: Coffee is the final judgment? Is it that powerful?

By: Eman

Eman — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:05:18 +0000

Hello Mona,

I absolutely adore your blog. There are some things that I can relate to.
Regarding the Turkish coffee, I drink it sometimes, its not bad, but i love my American coffee. Where I come from we drink Arabic coffee with spices, which is good too, but is nothing compared to my Maxwell House coffee with hazelnut cream, yummie!!
I’ve always wondered why it is so important in our arab culture that a young woman serves the coffee “properly”. Is that considered the basis to which they determine if she is the “right one”??
OMG, talk about ignorance.

By: I gave you twice the chance, and now it is my turn. | Rebellious Arab Girl

I gave you twice the chance, and now it is my turn. | Rebellious Arab Girl — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:15:52 +0000

[...] be something more than what society expects them to be. Like I mentioned a few weeks back about the coffee serving tradition. That’s how low Arabs have become. They judge a girl by her servitude to others. That’s [...]

By: imad

imad — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:32:42 +0000

hey guys why all this hate for Turkish coffee!!! I used to think like you but not until last year when I started drinking it @ office. I belive it’s the best thing we took from the turkish!!!
It smells much much better than any coffee I know! The effect of one shot of a good turkish cofee is better than drinking a whole jar of American cofee.
It’s magical, warm and better on my stomach.

Regarding the Arabian tradtion behind it yeah that’s stupid!!! But it’s stupid in a nice way! Anyway, these traditions are disapearing very fast in most arab countries.

Cheers

By: ES

ES — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:34:07 +0000

Arabian coffee surpasses all else although its popularity is confined to the traditional Arab world like Belaad Shaam, Iraq, Hejaz, Nejd, Yamaan. If people in the rest of the world knew how good it was, I think that they too would become addicts.

By: Moey Halawaty

Moey Halawaty — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:23:07 +0000

Yes! Yes! Mona you’re my hero!
I have some Turkish roots somewhere in my family tree(and so is 3/4 of the Egyptian population) and Turkish coffee is like the default thing you get served when you visit someone…

And yes we too have this stupid weird tradition… but WHY?? Seriously… WHY??

I’m pretty sure I’m gonna marry someone who WILL NOT make Turkish coffee that’s CLOSE to good… do I care? Not at all… Parents? Probably, yeah…
The coffee has to have this layer on top of it, whatever it is… and there are all these rules and stuff… its annoying!

We are obsessed, and its not cool anymore!

I like Arabian coffee, especially the Saudi way of making it, its the best! Here in Egypt, we don’t have an Arabic coffee recipe, and its not popular… but we’ve got the “Dallah” to make it, and those tiny cups, and the Saudi recipe because my family currently lives there, and its amazing! A legal drug indeed!

Anyways I still think that Starbucks is the shit! THAT’S what I call coffee! And I’m proudly obsessed with this coffee house

By: Mona

Mona — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:10:07 +0000

@Mrs.S – I feel sorry for you! You married into Turkish Coffee obsessing people.

@Malika – thanks! I just write about Arabian traditions that I don’t agree with and wish can be changed. Oh well, one person like me cannot make a difference, but at least I have the power to address it to the masses.

By: Malika

Malika — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:49:15 +0000

i love your ’stories’…

i recognize so many things !

especially the part about woman who walk behind their husband !

By: Mrs.S

Mrs.S — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:23:36 +0000

At the risk of being a gossip I will refrain from the sordid detials. Let me just say, though, as a Moroccan national married to a Palestinian I got a RUDE awakening the first time I served coffee to my in laws…a VERY RUDE awakening.