Greek Coffee for Kiwis 2

 Cross her palm with silver and she will predict a long life and a tall blonde stranger. A cup of Greek coffee consists of an inch of coffee and another inch of grounds at the bottom.  If you want some fun, turn the cup upside down and my daughter, Danae,  will tell you your future

Gary and Tony

Preparing to learn their fate

We took our visiting kiwi family up to the Monastery cafe for 'coffee'. 

After their cappuccinos and cokes we ordered a Greek coffee so Danae could look into their future. 

Proprietor and friend, Meletis, brought us 4 big spoons and the four of them each sipped a couple of spoonfuls

This is the photo of the coffee cup ready for reading .

What can You see in that black mess?

Is that a dragon and over on the left  a genie with a teapot?

You'll read in a minute what Danae saw.

Sherryn and Gary having a first taste of thick grainy Greek coffee 

Danae saw a lion and a giraffe and a map of Africa.  They were obviously all going on  safari after their Greek trip .

A dragon? Sudden changes. That happens when you're travelling from the southern to the northern hemisphere. 

And she remembers seeing a koala????

Koala is not on Danae's list of greek symbols naturally but a bear is.  I know you're not supposed to call them koala bears but it's close enough.

A bear means a trip.

Those kiwi visitors do a lot of tripping around so she was right there 

Soon they'll be tripping to a Safari park in Africa.

Right????

And an octopus.

The octopus symbolises good luck and happiness.

 Good luck to have relatives on an exotic Greek island. 

Happiness guaranteed after a few ouzos and a plate or 2 of Ks traditional octopus meze.

Danae with me

So how much of that came true? 

The Octopus and ouzo!!! 

Reading the Grounds 1

 A teller of tales.

  

 Reading the dregs of a small cup of greek coffee is a fun way of ending a morning of coffee with friends. Most of us prefer a freddo (iced coffee) but now and again we order greek coffee for a special ritual

  One of my daughters, Danae, is really good at this.  Not only has she got a great imagination but she can see things we can't.  And often they come true

If she's not sure what somethings means, a fish perhaps or a flower then she consults her online oracle and all is made clear.

It's an ancient art called tasseography, or cafemanteia in Greek.

A greek coffee is served in a small cup (think espresso) and has an inch of dregs (mud) at the bottom.  To have your cup read you need to leave a little coffee or you'll just get a big black cloud.

Swirl the coffee and the dregs around and then turn it upside down and rest it on the saucer.

The end of the coffee with its dregs

Let it sit on the saucer for a few minutes so the grounds drip down and leave you a tell-tale pattern on the inside of the cup

Find an interpreter with some imagination 

Turn the cup up the right way and listen to your future

This particular coffee cup belonged to my other daughter, Elli. 

So this is what her sister says

She's going to have a few obstacles in her path.  But it'll all turn out well and she'll have success.

That's all a bit general but at least positive.

But the next prediction was

A holiday, probably by train

D could see a train and wagons

That's just what her sister needs.  She's an accountant and it's tax time.  

So I'll be keeping an eye on those prophecies and let you know.

Can you see the kiwi

A kiwi means????

Lots of visitors from Kiwi-land.

When the fortune has been told the reader gives the cup back and the other person puts her (or his) finger in the cup, makes a fingerprint in there and makes a wish.

Apparently the coffee ground reader should make a guess, using their intuition, as to whether the wish will come true or not.  We haven't done that but it sounds as though we need to have another coffee together and try it out.

More tomorrow...

With authentic Kiwis.