Get it Wrong to Get it Right

Anika’s Zen and the Power of Gratitude. Right here for you, weekly, every Sunday.

 

I used to love tea. I used to really love tea. In fact, I loved tea so much that I made a ritual out of making it, starting with the boiling of the water itself. The spices had to be right, the water temperature had to be perfect and then the infusion of the tea itself, with just the right amount of milk, if needed.

Tea to me was never about the tea itself. Inspired by the Japanese tea ceremony, tea has always been a ritual – a reason to pause, to gather, to share, to muse, to savor.

 

Coffee Commitment

 

 

And then I discovered coffee a year ago. Meaning like really discover it. My coffee journey started with me sipping what most ardent coffee drinkers would never even think of touching – Nescafe instant coffee. A little bit of that instant magic, a few drops of milk and a lot of water was my daily sipping staple. It helped me get through the day and was my aide to help me stick to my intermittent fasting. Thus began my journey into coffee and I have never looked back since.

Once my taste buds got used to the promise of coffee, I graduated to machines that freshly ground it and poured what can only be called coffee stories from faraway countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, amongst others. The aroma that filled the room with those fresh grinds, the sound of those machines percolating what can only be defined as perfection, one cup at a time and finally the taste of an entire country in a cup…it all came together as the beginning of my committed relationship with coffee.

My ask was simple. Coffee, a tad of fat-free milk and no sugar or sweetener of any kind. Brewed and poured just right.

And then I discovered filter coffee, a specialty from India.

 

Filtered Journey

 

 

 

Filter coffee, also called pour over and drip, tends to be less acidic, drawing out the more intricate flavors of the coffee. According to Wikipedia, this makes it a popular brewing choice for single origin coffees, since it allows the drinker to appreciate all the flavors and aromas.

Unlike espresso, which is known for its density and layers, good filter coffee is clean, clear, and consistent. This is because more water is allowed to absorb coffee oils and fragrances in its own consistent time and pressure, instead of by force. In addition to lower acidity, this also gives it a milder mouthfeel, at least when compared to espresso.

I learnt while making the Indian version of filter coffee, that it is a process that needs patience. Let’s just say, it is a cup to wait for, also because you have no choice! The process begins by wetting the grounds and waiting for the coffee to “bloom.” This allows the release of carbon dioxide and facilitates better water flow during the process itself. And there you have it – filter coffee!

 

Indian Beans

 

 

Legend has it that coffee arrived in India from Yemen in the 1600s. It was brought by Sufi Muslim Saint, Baba Budan. It has since then been grown in the country, with the most popular beans being arabica and robusta. Lore says that he smuggled seven coffee beans from the Yemeni port of Mocha in his garments. Returning home, he planted the beans on the slopes of the Chandragiri Hills in Chickmagaluru district, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka). This hill range was later named after him as the Baba Budan Hills.

Coffee in India was made popular by Indian Coffee Houses in the mid-1950s. From there, Indian filter coffee migrated overseas in the early 20th century to Malaysia and Singapore, where kopi tarik (pulled coffee) is a close cousin of the Madras filter coffee-by-the-yard, and was introduced at roadside kopi tiams run originally by Indian Muslims.

My newfound love for coffee, especially Indian filter coffee (it’s my go to at any Indian restaurant), made me what to try making it. Now, most people would start their journey on YouTube, looking at how to make the coffee, what equipment to buy etc. I, being one of them who rarely reads instructions, walked into the Indian store, to buy the filter coffee grinds and the percolation equipment.

Armed with both, equipment, and coffee, I came back excited at the possibility of making one of my favorite beverages, in the style I like it the most. So here I was, ready to make it the way the 90 second YouTube video demonstrated. After all, how difficult could it be?

 

90 Second Learnings

 

 

What did I learn from trying to make it? For one, it takes forever. The coffee percolation can take at least 30 minutes and there is no way for you to speed up the process. By which time, my need for coffee almost made me want to drive to my local coffee shop to order it. Instead, I took a nap. No kidding!

For another, by the time the coffee actually got made, it tasted terrible and the ‘natural’ chef in me had a hard time swallowing that fact. After all, it had been a while since I had made something that bad, especially something that took hours to be ready. And to think it all started with, “You got this Anika. After all this isn’t rocket science!” Ending with “It’s an absolute disaster and please take a pause before redoing it!”

Just to be clear – the coffee did get made but it tasted nothing like the Indian filter coffee from the restaurants.

 

New Experiences

 

It was a simple coffee making disaster of an evening. But I took away so much from it.

For one, there is something to be said about pushing yourself to have new experiences.

New experiences rewire your brain in ways old ones can’t and don’t. They are a little bit like tricking new muscles for workouts. New experiences keep us young and teach us that it is okay to make mistakes, to fail, get up and try again. What a great remind, especially in the corporate world. As one continues to climb the ladder, mistakes are harder to make and even harder to be forgiven. There is a need to learn new skills, while continuing to hold onto the old ones with aplomb. With so many eyes on you, it is hard to make mistakes and learn from them – even though, in a digitally disruptive world, the need is now more than ever.

 

Gratitude for Coffee

 

 

So, I am grateful for the opportunity to mess up making my filter coffee. The percolator is still here and so is the remaining beans. All I need to do is give it another try. And while making it, I need to remind myself that my almost-perfect tea had the luxury of my entire life to get it right. My coffee journey on the other hand, has only just begun and I cannot have the same expectation to have it perfected just yet.

In some countries, people read tea leaves. It looks like the making of my cup of filter coffee has given me an entire book of learnings. I am going to be kinder to myself, I am going to forgive myself more easily and I am going to allow myself to indulge in things that take time to get right.

Especially as those opportunities are fewer and far between in other areas of my life, especially my professional life.

Will I be attempting to make filter coffee anytime soon? You bet. But for once in my life, I am actually looking forward to, perhaps, getting it wrong…giving me yet another opportunity to finetune my relationship with the beans, the percolation, the boiling milk…all coming together in just the right way to make a cup that hums.

 

Read my previous blogs below:

• Anika’s Zen and the Power of Gratitude
• Sack Full of Breaths
• The Power of Silence: A Date with Myself
• Travel Through the Glass
• The Elusive Trophy
• The Joy of Everyday
• Does Love Have a Color?
• My Neighborhood, My Tribe
• The Snow Persisted
• Lucky Me, a Woman
• Science, the Real Hero
• Where Diamonds Fail
• An Optimistic World
• This Thing Called Blah
• Hope Springs Eternal
• The Prodigal Returns Home
• Living in the Past
• People Being People
• A Muscle Called Willpower
• Vibrating Higher

 

 

Anika Sharma is a digital thought leader, a mother, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. She was recently named as one of the top 150 digital global leaders to follow in 2021. When she is not busy working or raising her two teenage children, you can find her planting herbs in her garden, meditating with her friends, swimming long laps or filling rooms with her cackling laughter. Contact her at anikadas@gmail.com or on twitter

 

If you enjoyed this blog, read about the Many Benefits of Gratitude, Covid-19: How I am Learning to Cope, Seven Ways to Manage Your Emotions, Covid-19 and Beyond and the Rules of Simple Living.