Coffee. Like one other famous German drink, it seems to be not so much a drink as a staple, even a way of life. In our town, which is only a medium-sized town, there are cafes everywhere. In the pedestrian area alone, I would guess there are at least 15 coffee shops or coffee/bakery/ice cream shops. One place is a waffle shop, and in all the time we have been here, we have never seen anyone actually eat waffles - only drink coffee. And if the coffee places weren't enough, the choices on the menu for the varieties of coffee at ANY restaurant are enough to leave you bleary-eyed.
Most Germans eat their largest meal at lunch time. Some places will even close down for a one and half hour break to accommodate this lunch time. It is a time to regroup, get re-energized and finish the day productively. Breakfast is often at a bakery or coffee shop with a pretzel or some such non-sweet breakfast item. Suppertime as we think of it is usually a light, cold meal of just cold cuts and breads. Then there are other breaks such as Brotzeit (bread time) or the after work stop before going home. When the weather is warmer, many opt for a different drink than hot coffee, but as the weather gets cooler, the warm elixir seems to be common place. It is a social part of the day at many points in the day. Now, not everyone drinks coffee this many times in the day, but the options are certainly there if you could stand the caffeine. (I have yet to find decaf tea or coffee, but I am sure it exists out there.) And when in Rome (or Germany), do as they do. I have a coffee date with one of the mom's in my son's grade this morning as a matter of fact!
The coffee is stronger than what we would get in the states. It can be flavored in a variety of ways, but the most common choice of the locals is a cappuccino. We do have a place called Coffee Fellows (obviously this is an imported company) that sells not only Starbucks-like coffees, but also bagels - the only place I can find those here!! This is in our mall and is always covered up with customers. Ironically, though, I have not yet seen one Starbucks in all the time we've been here!
And of course all this is in relation to the question of the day for yesterday: Who made the original coffee filter? HER name was Melitta Bentz (1873 - 1950), and she was from Dresden, Germany. Annoyed with the coffee grounds in her coffee drink, she started to try different options to keep the grounds out. She originally used blotting paper from her school supplies. She received her patent in 1908 and began to produce the filters, along with the help of her family, for sale by 1912 under the company name Melitta. In 1937 she also began to produce filter bags. The company was completely destroyed in World War II, but they continued on. The company she began is still in operation today, headquartered in Minden, and run by her grandchildren. It is a world-wide company selling coffee, paper filters, teapots and coffee makers, and it employs around 3,800 people overall. I just checked, and yep, our filters are also Melitta filters.
Most long-standing inventions come out of a need for some simple annoyance. Can you think of anything that might be an annoying problem for you? Dream about this problem and see if you, too, can think of a way to solve this problem with your own invention. Who knows, you may someday start something that will become big too!!
The question for the day today is "What do the Dassler brothers have to do with your feet?"
The word for today is Coffee - der Kaffee (kah fay).
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
