Getting Cupped in Bangkok

Disclaimer: Before all of my former Coffeehounders start hounding me about my association with Starbucks, know that I only frequent the mass market coffee peddler because I'm desperately seeking solace in real coffee and I take it where ever I can get it. You may not realize it, but Thailand runs strictly on Nescafe. And that is not going to do the trick for me. M'kay?

So I'm getting pretty friendly with the kids of Starbucks. We've gotten to the familiar point where they've started calling me by my nickname, "Gra-tai," as soon as I hit the entrance. They know my order pretty well too: Heated almond cream croissant and medium black coffee. They're such lovely people!

This evening, while nursed my coffee and croissant, a worker with a name tag that read: "Hi my name is Ray!" promptly sat down at my table. With him, he brought a French press and two small espresso cups.

"Hello! I give you coffee tasting demonstration right now."

I was frightened by his stealth. As I lowered my mug from my lips, I supressed my confused utterances and just watched as Ray opened his package of Kenya brew. Okay. . . This young man, without preamble, was about to do a cupping demo at my table without my go ahead.

"You're doing a cupping?"

He looked delightfully surprised that I knew what was going on, as if hijacking my time would be his special secret only. "Yes! cup-Ping!" When the Thai say certain two syllable words, there's usually an rising emphasis on the last syllable. Ex: shop-Ping! pret-Ty! no-Ah!
"I will show you how to taste cof-Fee!"

I couldn't help but grin. "I worked at a coffee shop in America, you know?"

He nodded. "Okay, okay." But he tried to one-up me with: "But I teach you Thai too. I teach you how to say coffee things in Thai, okay?"

A cupping and a Thai lesson? The latter sounded more interesting, but traveling beggars can't be traveling choosers. "Okay."

"First we pour cof-Fee in press," he spooned the grounds in. "Hot water, next." He said something in Celsius, but I'm American, I don't need to know the metric system. He pressed the clip-on timer. "Now we wait four minutes."

"Okay."

"I teach you Thai, now."

"Okay."

Ray pointed to my already full coffee mug. "Cof-Fee in Thai is 'gafe.' Repeat."
"Gafe."
"Cup in Thai is 'kow.'
"Kow. Wait a second, isn't that the word for rice?"
"That's kow," Ray corrected in a mildly different tone that my ears couldn't pick up on.
"Kow?"
"Kow."
"Kow?"
"Kow."
"Okay. . ."
"Hot water in Thai is, nam row." It could have easily been nam low, with the Thai pronouncing "l" as "r", I can never be too sure.
"Nam row."
"Cold water in Thai is, nam yen."
"Nam yen."
"Very good! You speak good Thai!" Ray was thoroughly impressed with my repetition. "Where are you from?"
"America."
"Ahhh, where in America?"
I find that I can't very well say Illinois to the people here. No one knows about Illinois, hell, people in New York don't know about Illinois. I have to say Chicago. And sometimes that doesn't even do it. I could see the confusion in Ray's face. "It's where Obama is from," I clarified.
"Ahhhh, yes. Oba-Ma!" He looked down at his timer. "Okay, now we are ready."

Let the cupping begin! Ray slowly pushed down the press and poured two servings of Kenya Blend for the both of us. "Don't drink!" Ray said as I picked up my coffee. "You smell first."

I smiled. I knew my way around a cupping, but I went ahead and humored him by smelling intensely. We both smelled and nodded appreciatively. "Smells good?" Ray asked.

"Mm-hmm."

He went on to describe the fruitiness that I should be smelling. "Now you watch me taste, okay?" Ray took a long noisy sip and smacked his lips together. He stared out into space with a wistful expression. For a moment, I was by myself at the table. Then he shook himself from his reverie. "Okay, now you try."

I slurped too, just like I was taught at home by Steve and Anna, my Coffeehound bosses. I couldn't believe I was doing off-duty, out of town, out of country cupping for no reason. The location might be embarrassing, but I know they are proud of the knowledge that I took abroad.

"Taste good?"

"Yes, it's slightly acidic and maybe a little full bodied, but it's got an interesting fruit finish."

Ray nodded. "Yes," he said gravely. "I agree."

Ray stood abruptly and began clearing his things. "You may go back to reading," he told me. "Thank you for tasting cof-Fee, Gra-tai. Please drink the rest of this," he said gesturing to the nearly full French Press. I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I was already jacked up on a caffeine high.

"Thank you, Ray."

"You will learn Thai very fast," he said thoughtfully. "Keep practicing."

"Okay, Ray."

And just as fast as he blew in, Ray disappeared, leaving me with an ample amount of coffee.