Coffee Culture -- country Culture 10-30

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Coffee is more than just a drink,

Let us see how it can be used as a deodorant, fertilizer or to remove the odor of Garlic


Coffee Culture - Country Culture

( The article , still in making last part)

This is the final part of the making process of the article. this deals with how coffee ground (coffee powder) can used as a deodorant, fertilizer, as a filler for fixing scratches in furniture, for removing the smell of garlic from the hands and many other ways the grounds can be used. 


Please read on to know how coffee grounds can be used in the day to day life. Of course the actual effect of the coffee ground depends on the intensity of the coffee. More intense the coffee, more the action. Most of the African brands are intense, Indian brands are intense. European brands are less intense. If you are in North America, Europe or Caribbean countries, you have roast levels on the packet.  You can select the dark roast for better results. Some brands have the flavour of fruits, which kill the original aroma of coffee and may be less effective in some cases.

Sweeten Smelly Hands

Keep a small cup of coffee grounds near your sink, and use them to scrub your hands after you’ve worked with garlic, onions, fish, or other smelly items. The grounds will absorb the odor and also help exfoliate the skin.

Fix Scratches

Use coffee grounds to minimize scratches and scuffs on dark wood furniture. Start by placing some damp coffee grounds on the scratch, then work them in with a cotton swab. Let the grounds sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then buff with a clean soft cloth. You may need several applications, depending on the darkness of the finish. You can also rub coffee grounds on light wood furniture to create a weathered or antique appearance.

Dye It!

The tannins in coffee grounds make them effective for dyeing Easter eggs, fabric, or paper. Mix grounds with a little bit of water to create a slurry, and then dip the objects to be dyed into the mix. The longer you leave an item in the mixture, the darker the shade of brown you'll obtain. To create a streaky, antiqued look, rub the grounds into the fabric or paper.

Natural Deodorizer

Use dried coffee grounds as a natural deodorizer for the refrigerator, freezer, closets, or car. Dry a batch of coffee grounds, and then place them in an open container to absorb odors in the fridge or freezer. For closets and cars, place dried grounds in a piece of cheesecloth or a section of old pantyhose; tie off the ends and then hang.

Fertilize Flowers

Coffee grounds are acidic and therefore can be a great natural fertilizer for roses, azaleas, evergreens, rhododendrons, blueberry bushes, camellias, and hydrangeas. Adding coffee grounds to the soil around hydrangeas can produce vibrant blue blossoms, because the extra acidity helps the flowers absorb aluminum, leading to a deep blue hue.

Attract Worms

Everyone knows that worms are great for the lawn and garden, but what you may not know is that worms are attracted to coffee grounds. The grounds are gritty, and worms need that grit to aid in their digestive process. And if you are using worms as fishing bait, mixing coffee grounds into the soil in the bait box will help keep the worms fresh and wriggling all day long.

Your Compost Pile

Coffee grounds are chock-full of nitrogen, which helps speed decomposition by feeding the microorganisms that break down the biological material in the bin. Coffee grounds also contain other trace nutrients, including potassium and magnesium. Just pour in the grounds, mix, and walk away.

Repel Slugs and Snails

The same gritty texture that attracts worms to coffee grounds acts as a natural repellent to slugs, snails, ants, and other creepy-crawly bugs that can’t stand the acidity of coffee. Sprinkling coffee grounds on the soil around sensitive plants or mounding up a ring of coffee grounds a few inches out from the base of those plants will keep these pests away.

Scat, Cat!

You may love the neighborhood kitties, but it's kind of gross when they use your garden as a litter box. Sprinkle some coffee grounds around your flower and vegetable garden beds to encourage cats to go somewhere else. You also can place coffee grounds around your indoor houseplants to deter kitty from snacking on the leaves.

Freshen the Fireplace

Before you clean out your fireplace, sprinkle the ashes with damp coffee grounds to minimize flyaway dust and debris. When cleaning the hearth at the end of the season, sprinkle a layer of dried coffee grounds along the back and sides and leave them there to eliminate any leftover smoke odors.

26-12-2015
Every coffee has a tale to tell !!!!!
(Coffee Culture - Country Culture the article still in making)

Every coffee has a tale to tell !!!!!

You just need to ask …….

I asked and here is what it has to say…..

A Telltale from coffee……

Coffee Culture Country Culture

( The article still in making ) 

When I published the first post in the making process in October 2015, I received a surprisingly large inquisitive audience. The first post dealt about the Bambawallahs in Tamil Nadu and the five feet coffee. I  am grateful to people who appreciated my intention to work on this subject. fortunately no one thought I was wasting time, mine and theirs.

After that I ventured into the coffee cultures across the countries and the Continents. Being in Canada facilitated my access to the tastes and flavours of various countries.

The noting I have made, the data I have collected will evolve into the article that I will publish in March 2016 after returning to India.

I can however share some interesting titbits here…

We have heard the scooters and the cars being sold over a cup of coffee. But have you heard the scooter brand being used to sell coffee. 

No...

Here is an example...

In Italy where the brand “Vespa” is a National pride, a coffee brand is using the image of a scooter on coffee pack to sell their coffee. The “Vespa” helps people to identify it as a distinctly Italian brand. It stands out among the brands from various countries. Just like “Taj Mahal” brand identifies the tea with India.

Zavida the responsible coffee growers. Responsible towards Environment and sustainability.

Next brand is Zavida the environment conscious organization from Canada. This organization promotes organic cultivation. 

Please hear what they have to say.

"Celebrating 7 Years, this is the original 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Organic Arabica coffee blend exclusively from Zavida. All natural, great tasting organic coffee promoting environmental sustainability, social responsibility and worker care. Considered a "coffee for the professional", this coffee is rich, well rounded, with subtle aftertones and a nice clean finish... Delightful! "

Some of its certifications

	CERTIFIED ORGANIC BY QAI. Organic coffee is grown without the use of non-organic synthetic pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers on special isolated farms committed to using sustainable agriculture techniques.
	THE RAINFOREST ALLIANCE CERTIFIED™ seal ensures the coffee comes from farms where forests, rivers, soils, and wildlife are protected; workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, properly equipped, and their children are given access to education and medical care.
	CARBON NEUTRAL CERTIFIED BY TREES FOR THE FUTURE™ we plant enough trees in the developing world to offset all of our carbon emissions on an annual basis. Over 150,000 trees planted

Another brand uses the Komodo Dragon (Huge Lizard) as a brand ambassador for marketing its coffee. While people can easily relate the coffee to its origin in Indonesia, people who actually see the picture or video of the animal will not drink coffee of any make. The animal is so repulsive in look, you wouldn’t feel like eating anything for a few days. It is so huge that it hunts and kills animals and mammals.

Video of  Komodo Dragon in action.

But it still makes Indonesians proud and is displayed on its coffee product. Similarly an Elephant features on a Kenya Coffee.

There are many other brands with very distinctive brand ambassadors with that relate to the country culture.

Finally does the coffee reflect a country's culture??

Yes it does and you will also agree after reading the article.

There will be many such facts events and history related to coffee from various countries in this article.

Please read the article in March and share your insights with me.

Best wishes,

Shyam

30th October 2016

Coffee Culture - Country Culture

The making of the article

Can we evaluate a country's culture by its coffee culture ???

Can a discussion over a cup of coffee make the entrepreneurs more inclusive? or can coffee make people more forthcoming and participative, when working on inclusive projects. 

Can coffee really help the change agents or Can coffee itself be a change agent??

Crazy thoughts occurred in mind and I started the research, tasting the coffee from different countries and getting inputs from people from the time I landed in Canada and this will continue till Feb. 2016. My article will hopefully be published in March 2016.

We cannot diminish the value of coffee. 

We already know that more problems have been resolved over coffee than by gun. 

Java program would not have been created, but for the continuous intake  of the brazialian coffee by James gosling. or at least it would not have been this fascinating without the coffee component. We have to ask Vinod Khosla as to how much he paid towards their coffee bills. 

While working on that, my thoughts naturally went to India its coffee culture.

In my childhood (in Nagpur Maharashtra),we had the people raving about the filter coffee being served in South Indian hotels.

People returning from South India tour, used to speak about the tasty coffee and the Bambawallahs serving the coffee (Bamba is a colloquial term used for the copper boilers used by them.) They also used to talk about the coffee in terms of length 4 feet,5 feet coffee. We also had some Punjabis wondering as to why this coffee was not served in Patiala quantities (large glasses like Lassi.) This was in 50s and 60s when not much was known about South India in that part of the country and we were all bundled under a name Madrasi (From Hyderabad to Kanya Kumari).

I wonder why this important aspect of India (5 ft coffee) is not covered when they promote Indian culture. When you talk so eloquently about the Dabbawallahs, why not the Bambawallahs.

People may ask, how about the countries that don't have coffee culture?

Can we evaluate them by their whisky culture ? May be yes, but since whisky is an uncharted territory for me, I will stick to countries with coffee culture.

In case you have any inputs on this topic, please do email it to me at cbdsee@gmail.com . Any input small or big will be useful and valuable for me.

Thanks and please read my article in March 2016

Best Wishes,

Shyam