One Simple Cup
Savouring the small, yet beautiful moments in this life
In Canada and the US, we drink big cups of coffee. I first learned about the difference between us and the rest of the world when I was in Europe and I didn’t see anyone walking around with a cup of coffee.
Then when I found refuge in London, England, the giant paper cups branded with Costa made their return into my visual field of view.
In Colombia however, whenever I opted in for pourover (drip) coffee, it often came in a carafe with a smaller glass near it. Think of wine aerating in a container before being poured into its glass and that’s what I’m talking about here.
However, it wasn’t until I discovered a cafe named Rituales, a place where they go out of their way to not only serve coffee in a small cup without a handle (similar to how the Japanese drink tea), but they also made a point of describing why they serve the coffee this way.
And it was here that I started to drink a small cup of coffee in a meditative state. It became not something that I will drink so that I can get over my mental blocks about doing work or getting started. Or something that I will drink with work. But something to be enjoyed on its own.
Because inside that cup was the blooming flavour of a bean that came from a cherry-like fruit, and is roasted just enough to be ground and brewed with hot water.
Yet when we start with poor quality beans like a large portion of the world is being offered by large coffee corporations, then there’s not much we can do to bring out that flavour.
As such we need to burn the coffee in the roasting process. And then when we lose the beautiful taste, there is nothing to savour. With nothing to savour we just drink more and more of it, upping our tolerance to caffeine.
So while it looks like I’m talking about coffee here, I’m really talking about what happens when we get away from the root essence.
Whenever we do something in excess or we do it in a rote manner, return to the craft or activity at hand and really savour those small moments.
The simple intervals that we can mix together on the piano.
The elegant brush strokes that have no intention to end up in a gallery one day but are simply an expression of you in this moment in time.
Swimming becomes less about doing lengths back and forth, but feeling your muscles and joints loosen up with every stroke you take.
This week I ask you to go deep into the simple things.
So yes, I used to drink a “large” cup of coffee, which was really 2-3 cups in a large mug. And now I drink one small cup of coffee that I can really contemplate.
If I want more coffee, I can always go back and make more, but I’m going to have to work for it by grinding more beans and going through the rigmarole all over again.
Bonus content: Elliott pouring his own coffee at lovely restaurant named Santa Leña.
Thanks for savoring every word ✌🏼
This is lovely. Thank you for sharing!