14 Confessions Of A Frog Who Took A Peek Outside

Katak di bawah tempurung (Frog under coconut shell) is a popular Malay proverb which describes a person who lives in a small world, someone with limited knowledge of what's beyond.

"On the rocks, ma'am? " asked the waiter when I ordered a Bailey's.

"Huh?"  the only word that left my lips as grey stones and brown pebbles flashed through my mind. I wrinkled my nose slowly.

"I mean, with ice, ma'am. "

"Ohhhhh.....! "

Well, that's embarrassing!

Do you recall first moments in your life? Your first bite of a Famous Amos cookie , that time you grazed your car, the first time your guy held your hand? What happened above was one of my firsts. I laugh at myself every time I think about it and go, "Gosh, did that really happen? "

This is me walking down memory lane.

Where I come from (which is a little island far, far away), coffee is a fuss-free drink that has no airs. It is simply served black or with milk. That's as easy as it gets.

The 'coffee queen' is a title reserved for someone who loves drinking black coffee more than once a day. Sorry about that, but there is no glory in being a white-coffee drinker here! Aah...life was uncomplicated then. We were happy just gathering around, sipping our drink, no thoughts on the correctness of coffee preparation or where it came from.

It was only when I moved to the city that I was slapped with the likes of Espresso, Cappuccino, Mocha, Latte. Gone were the days I could just walk in and say, "Kopi-O, satu!" (Black coffee, one!) without sounding like an unpolished old auntie in a regular coffee shop.

So, the first time I walked into Starbucks, I was in a daze and just asked for coffee.

"Which one? "

"AAaaaannnnyyyyy  one....." My eyes darted across the menu. Oh, help me God! It looks like I'm latte when it comes to jumping on the coffee bandwagon. It's an americano thing, no? I'm sure mocha is not a call to buy more cars and espresso is not telling me to be quick in my decision. Macchiato has nothing to do with the mafia, surely!   

If you have been following my blog, you'll know that I'm not big on coffee. While I feel that I've come a long way since my first Frappucino, I long for the good old days when camaraderie took front stage and coffee knowledge stayed a far distance behind.

For the anti-Starbucks folks, there's the more gourmet Illy brand and if you can't afford that, then there's a host of 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 coffee packs sold in supermarkets. Many Malaysians have great love for coffee, whatever kind I believe, and they try to outdo each other too.

"Ah Pek coffee ah, very nice! Drink before? "

"Have you tried this? The latest in the market! Great stuff! " which really translates to "I discovered it first! Hah!"

I have often felt the urge to hand them a trophy for 'Unpaid Employee Of The Month'. Haha-ing that thought!

How this post strayed so much into coffee, I'll never know...slurp. I'm ending this with a little something for coffee newbies. Caf-ay lah-tey, anyone?

Source: http://visual.ly/illustrated-guide-coffee-drinks

This frog has jumped a step forward.