Coffee wake break

So, after avoiding my favourite Lebanese coffee (ahwe) all day yesterday, I finally succumbed to a cup of deliciousness when I visited my mother's cousin up in the mountains. Damn, they make it so well here. It's the very finely ground coffee that's made in a rakwe (copper or steel pot with long handle), and can be served either morra (bitter) or with sikar (sugar) added. Now I remember why I was resisting the yummy coffee - for such a small cup, it sure gives a potent effect! I'm buzzing and am afraid sleep might not come till midnight!

You wanna know the secret to making a great cuppa? Add one heaped teaspoon of ground coffee for every cup you want to serve, and boil it. As soon as it boils, lift the rakwe off the heat and stir the fine bubbles down. Do this three times until the bubbles are normal size. Apparently (and I apologise to my Greek friends for this fact - but hey, when it's better, it's better) Lebanese coffee is superior to the Greek version because Greeks only let it boil twice. Clearly, the third time makes all the difference! By the way, Lebanese for 'three' is 'tlete'.

The rakwe

The hot-shot ahwe (I should have held it to show you the small size - so imagine it! About the size of an espresso).