The best coffee I ever had

Is the cup I brew for myself every morning.

I am a coffee addict. And as an addict I am very particular about my coffee.
Great coffee starts with the beans – I like Arabica beans with a mild roast, French or dark is too acidic for me.

The beans must be ground as fine as possible. Most importantly- they must be ground fresh. All you need is a coffee grinder- no need for any special equipment or machinery! I have tried coffee brewed by high-end Italian/German/Swiss coffee machines, even in Italy or Spain – yet I still like my version the best, which is actually a Turkish style coffee, brewed in a simple cezve (in Russia we called it a джезва, pronounced ‘djezva’). It has the rich strength I need, the piping hot temperature I like and the perfect portion size.

The recipe was once given to me by a friend: I add a very tiny dash of salt, and a tiny slice of butter (enough to cover the tip of a knife). Trust me – this will not make your coffee salty or oily. Instead, it will make your coffee very smooth, almost gooey and syrupy. It becomes a rich, fragrant beverage that awakens you from the very first sip. I like to sweeten it with a small spoonful of brown coconut palm sugar.

But what to enjoy your cup of coffee with?

When I was a student I read a book called Bonjour Tristesse (in French- “Hello, Sadness”) by Françoise Sagan. One morning the heroine was drinking her coffee and digging her teeth into an orange between sips. The contrast of the juicy orange flesh and the burning sweet coffee was depicted so vividly that I tried it the next morning. Just like that, it became my daily breakfast, and it still is several decades later.

Try it – a good, ripe, juicy orange with your burning, hot, strong, coffee (make sure the orange is not cold- your teeth will thank you) – you just might be hooked too!