The Pursuit of Coffee

As I have probably stated in other blog stories, coffee is found here in India, however, that being said, it is not easy to find "good coffee." Coffee is typically instant here, not brewed and it is indisputably filled with lots of milk and/or ice cream and sugar to mask the bitter taste of what we in the west actually like which is called coffee! So despite the fact that I have a little coffee shop here that I consider my "office", I frequently long for the taste of "American-style" coffee. I found somewhat of a solution to this problem when one of the doctors I work with explained that he went back and forth to Mumbai and offered to pick me up some coffee from the Starbucks at the airport there. That is a funny story in and of itself. He graciously did offer to get the coffee and I specifically wrote down what I needed him to buy. Had to be ground, wanted a light roast, etc etc. In order to get the coffee he told me that he would never remember once he arrived in Mumbai unless I texted him at the exact moment that he would be getting off the plane. Ok fine, I will acquiesce to your request. So I set an alarm for August 4th at 5:10pm to remind myself to text Dr. Manish about coffee.

When the day arrived, as soon as I texted him, he called me to assure me that he was in Starbucks and he told me that the barrista needed to speak with me. So he handed the phone off and I struggled to have a conversation with the Starbucks barrista. He told me that they only had dark roast or Italian. Fine, I will take Italian roast. Then he proceeds to ask me what kind of grinder I have. Which I quickly try to explain a multitude of times that I have NO grinder and need them to grind it there at the store. When I believed that we finally understood one another, he then very politely asked if he could get me anything else with my order, such as a frappaccino or maybe a mocha. I laughed as I thought to myself, "Do you deliver? To Calicut?" But I just said, "No, thanks. He will be bringing this coffee by plane to Calicut." As I was having this hilarious little chat, I asked the new English teacher who had just arrived and happened to be in my apt while I was on the phone if she also would like a bag of coffee and she said yes. So I asked Dr. Manish to please get two bags of the ground coffee (exactly the same). He seemed fine with that and I thought we were in the clear. Well, he called back about 2 minutes later exclaiming, "How could coffee cost this much? It is 700 rupees per container (approx $11)!!" He said that he didn't have enough cash with him and would have to get the second bag of coffee on his return trip to Calicut. He then told me I would need to text another reminder on such and such date at the exact time he would arrive at the airport. Jeez Louise! This was turning into quite an ordeal for some coffee!

Well the good news is, we now have coffee. For the past couple of weeks, we have either used it a friend's house that had a coffee maker or we've been traveling and haven't needed it. But Summer and I have decided it's time to invest in a coffee maker. So today we go shopping at a store that we are pretty sure would carry them and sure enough, there are about 5 to choose from. But they are crazy expensive, much more than I wanted or would have expected to pay. So we see this little guy on the end and it's a single serving cup coffee maker which is actually perfect for what we need. Excitedly I read the price tag and it's way more affordable. I tell the store assistant that this is the one we want. She then tells me that they are out of stock. Ok, fine. I ask if she could please order one. She says no. I ask why. She says they are no longer going to carry this style. Ok, next question. THEN WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE IT ON THE FREAKING SHELF? Ai yi yi! So I then ask, "Could we please purchase this last display one?" She says, "No, that is not for sale. It's damaged." I look at it and see that there is a cracked cup and ask if that is the only damage. I ask if we were to remove the cup, would the coffee maker still work and she says, "Yes." Great, we are making headway. So I then ask, "Can we purchase this display model without the cup? We have our own cups." She says, "No, it's only for display." I then just start to chuckle because this conversation is going nowhere and I ask, "Could we please speak to a manager to ask if we could purchase this model?" She says, "No, that is not possible." Ok, lady. I give up. You win. We are not going to get the single serving coffee maker. hahahaha I laugh as we walk away thinking, "Well, that's the first time I've ever been told a straight up no for trying to talk to someone higher up." So needless to say, we are going to continue our shopping research around the city and see if we can possibly find what we need. Never again am I going to take for granted a Starbucks on every single corner. My coffee now sits in my fridge mocking me, knowing I have no way to consume it. I see it each day and I hear it calling to me...one day! It's gonna happen! :)