I Guess We're Not in Starbucks Anymore...
Israel is a funny place - most easily compared to the only coffee beverage I can successfully order. Cafe Ha-fuch - translated simply as "Coffee Flipped/Upside Down" - is neither latte nor coffee, nor espresso by its lonesome. What is it? Tasty. Caffeinated and cheap if purchased from the HUC lounge. Really, I'm not even sure what it is - but I do know how to order it.
I'm a huge fan of iced coffee - the beverage of choice that I injected into my veins via syringe in order to stay awake throughout my various post-college jobs - a true Starbucks rat, if you will. Alas, my desire for iced-coffee faces two extreme challenges in Israel. First, there's simply no ice in Israel. If you ask for a cup of ice water, you get a cup of water. That's it. It's so hot here that even if ice cubes did exist, they'd melt immediately in order to cool themselves down. (I'm envisioning a new pixar film.)
The second glitch frustrating my coffee habits: freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee is hard to come by in Jerusalem, so naturally, going back to the absence of frozen water, neither does ICED fresh brewed coffee. You can order "Cafe Kar" - literally "Cold Coffee" - but it consists of a shot of espresso poured into what my classmate Hannah refers to as 85% milk. If you can imagine pouring a cup of cottage cheese into your coffee beverage of choice, you can understand why Cafe Kar generally makes me nauseous.
In other coffee news, yesterday morning I took my first shot at Nescafe - instant coffee. True to its name, Nescafe was instantly bad coffee.
After taking a 6 hour recovery nap on Thursday afternoon coupled with additional bouts of Shabbat napping, I was sleep-drunk and needed to get out of the house this afternoon. When God created the seventh day for rest, he was gracious enough to exempt a few non-Kosher restaurants, allowing them to remain open for business and we eventually found one where we could purchase a cup o' Joe. What did I order, you might ask? After my diatribe about coffee which I actually started writing a few days ago while awaiting inspiration for my blog, the barista explained that the perfect cup for which I was searching was called "Iced-Americano." I was certainly grateful for her help. The anticipated moment arrived....and yes, you guessed it. The drink was PERFECT.
That is if you describe perfection as watered-down, instant coffee curdling with extra fattening milk.
And God said it was good, Ki Tov.
I'm a huge fan of iced coffee - the beverage of choice that I injected into my veins via syringe in order to stay awake throughout my various post-college jobs - a true Starbucks rat, if you will. Alas, my desire for iced-coffee faces two extreme challenges in Israel. First, there's simply no ice in Israel. If you ask for a cup of ice water, you get a cup of water. That's it. It's so hot here that even if ice cubes did exist, they'd melt immediately in order to cool themselves down. (I'm envisioning a new pixar film.)
The second glitch frustrating my coffee habits: freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee is hard to come by in Jerusalem, so naturally, going back to the absence of frozen water, neither does ICED fresh brewed coffee. You can order "Cafe Kar" - literally "Cold Coffee" - but it consists of a shot of espresso poured into what my classmate Hannah refers to as 85% milk. If you can imagine pouring a cup of cottage cheese into your coffee beverage of choice, you can understand why Cafe Kar generally makes me nauseous.
In other coffee news, yesterday morning I took my first shot at Nescafe - instant coffee. True to its name, Nescafe was instantly bad coffee.
After taking a 6 hour recovery nap on Thursday afternoon coupled with additional bouts of Shabbat napping, I was sleep-drunk and needed to get out of the house this afternoon. When God created the seventh day for rest, he was gracious enough to exempt a few non-Kosher restaurants, allowing them to remain open for business and we eventually found one where we could purchase a cup o' Joe. What did I order, you might ask? After my diatribe about coffee which I actually started writing a few days ago while awaiting inspiration for my blog, the barista explained that the perfect cup for which I was searching was called "Iced-Americano." I was certainly grateful for her help. The anticipated moment arrived....and yes, you guessed it. The drink was PERFECT.
That is if you describe perfection as watered-down, instant coffee curdling with extra fattening milk.
And God said it was good, Ki Tov.
if you haven't had an "iced aroma" (or whatever those crazy israelis call it ;-) you are missing out. I can't even begin to tell you how much I crave that drink when I am in Israel. Like a frappichino, only way way better.
ReplyDeletemissing you muchly from ohio!
++ on the Pixar shoutout. 'Melty' ?
ReplyDeleteFacing similar problems, I also often turned to an americano for a break from the delicious but often too creamy hafuch. (Though i don't know that i ever had it iced, hmm.) And now back in a world void of cafe ha-fuch and where americano is considered a specialty drink, i really miss both!!
ReplyDeleteIf you want a Frap type drink go to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Rehov Yafo, across from the Cafe Hillel. It's very expensive and very American but hey, all the more so like Starbucks.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to agree with Elyse and say that Ice-aroma from Aroma is the superior coffee drink of Israel. However, if memory serves me correctly, you do not have an Aroma nearby...If cafe hillel is close, their blended ice coffee is also pretty good.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog! Enjoy and know that I'm VERY jealous!