Coffee is a reflection of its maker and its bearer
For coffee is the mirror of the hand
The hand that makes the coffee infuses it with the essence of its maker with every stir
and as such, a cup of coffee is a reading into the open book of the self
a seer, a witch that can reveal the secrets its bearer and the day ahead carry

I know my coffee
I know my mum’s coffee
I know the coffee my friends make
I know them from a distance
I know the differences between them
No two coffees are the same
In my defense of coffee, there is a specific uniqueness in each of them
You see, there is no such a thing as the taste of coffee
Coffee is not a concept
It is not a single entity
Each person has their own unique coffee
so different, so personal to the extent that I can measure a person’s taste
their elegance with just a taste

Mahmood Darwish

اعرف قهوتي
وقهوة أمي
وقهوة أصدقائي
أعرفها من بعيد
وأعرف الفوارق بينها
لا قهوة تشبه قهوة أخرى
ودفاعي عن القهوة هو دفاع عن خصوصية الفارِق
ليس هنالك مذاق اسمه مذاق القهوة
فالقهوة ليستْ مفهومًا
وليست مادة واحدة
وليست مطلقًا
لكل شخص قهوته الخاصة
الخاصة إلى حدّ أقيس معه درجة ذوق الشخص
وأناقته النفسية بمذاق قهوته

محمود درويش