Coffee In Greece

Today we watched A Touch of Spice, a Greek film focusing on a family deported from Constantinople in the late 50s. In the movie, the family had a hard time becoming acculturated in the Greek culture and struggled to find their identity in a world where the "Turks sent them away as Greeks and Greeks received them as Turks". Fanis, the main character and talented chef, learned to find his identity through food. The movie also focused on talking about the things you can't see. This can be taken in a literal sense by discussing the spices that go into a meal, or in a metaphorical sense of acknowledging what goes on behind the scene. During my stay in Greece, I have greatly enjoyed my dining experience as well as the individuals who impacted my journey.

Those of you who know me know I'm an avid coffee drinker; soy mocha to be precise. After realizing that mochas do not exist in Greece, I had to find a option B. One day, in search of lunch, Christine and I walked past a small, very dim coffee shop, filled with smoke all coming from a cranky looking, old man. In retrospect, I have no idea why we went inside. There were several things, including a shady, red-neon sign that should have told us that this was not a stereotypical cute and quaint coffee shop. When we were inside I told the man hiding behind a smoke cloud to surprise me with coffee. He smiled, and laughed at the thought of surprising me with coffee, and did his best to dress up a standard cup. That moment was what beginning of our relationship. Now every time I pass his shop we wave and I'm planning to back soon for another cup. This cup of coffee tasted very good, but that wasn't what made it memorable. It was my new friend, the smoky, old barista is what I value most. Each coffee run makes for another memorable experience. Our conversation usually starts after I embarrass myself. Whether its not being able to open the door or not realizing who the waiter is has always seemed to break the ice. I'm very fortunate to get to know the invisible barista behind every cup; that memory lasts longer than the coffee.