"with strong black coffee in very small cups."
Recipe For Happiness Khaborovsk Or Anyplace - Lawrence Ferlinghetti | Brewed, Black Coffee
The Poem
Recipe For Happiness Khaborovsk Or Anyplace - Lawrence Ferlinghetti
One grand boulevard with trees
with one grand cafe in sun
with strong black coffee in very small cups.
One not necessarily very beautiful
man or woman who loves you.
One fine day.
The Beverage
Brewed, Black Coffee
It’s been another long week of this endless election. We’re almost there. I’ve voted already. You should go vote, too. We're so close to the end.
Then take a deep breath, and have a cup of coffee. I spent half of this last week staying up way too late watching baseball while wrapping up final projects for two classes and student teaching and working and being alive. Thank you, coffee. Coffee is wonderful, and today in Madison, it is warm enough to drink outside sitting in the sun. I did that this morning. It was lovely.
Ferlinghetti is right: strong black coffee in very small cups is a good ingredient for happiness. Not the only ingredient. But one that goes a bit of a way. I'm working on the rest of the recipe, but I can do the coffee for now.
Some options for brewed coffee:
Go buy a cup at a cafe. Drink it while sitting in a patch of sun. Or get it to go and take a walk. It's one fine day, indeed.
Make a pot of coffee yourself. Hopefully you have whole beans stored in an air-tight container. Grind those beans to the proper fineness for your preferred brewing method. Use filtered water. And pour hot water into your mug while the coffee brews, so your hands have something nice and warm to cradle while you stand on your porch, looking at yellow leaves against a blue sky, drinking your coffee.
I alternate drip and French press. You might be a Chemex person or a pour-over person. I'm not here to judge. Just make it strong. Drink it black.
Maybe you're into making Turkish coffee, dark on the stovetop. If so, can you come make me a cup?
I'm sure I'll end up getting into my opinions on stove-top espresso and milk frothers at a later date, but today I am here to advocate for a hot cup of black coffee. And also for voting.