Coffee and meat

I have seen strange habits in acquaintances, friends, family, and strangers. Some habits were smoking cigarettes while drinking coffee, people who drink coffee to sleep, drinking coffee with cane liquor, people who drink coffee that is too hot or too cold, and so on. Today, I'm here to tell you about a custom that I found strange. Haha.

I was about 10 or 11 years old at the time. Those were pleasant years for me, which I remember fondly. Those days, I lived in tranquility, enjoying childhood, which was making a transition to adolescence.

At that time, it was common for families to visit each other on weekends, especially on Sundays when the whole family had time to go out.

I remember it was Sunday when my uncles and cousins visited us. It was a beautiful day with radiant sunshine. I remember it very well because we all wore comfortable and simple clothes for the summer.

Whenever my cousins arrived, it was an occasion to have fun, play, joke, and laugh. That afternoon, as the shadow of night began to cover the sky, I remember standing in the backyard of my grandmother's house. When my parents married, they had to live at my maternal grandparents' house. That huge backyard, partly paved and partly dirt witnessed our experiences in that house.

At that time, my cousins and I were playing. The screams and laughter flooded the place with childish madness, mixed with the breeze, which got colder and colder as night fell.

A voice came from the kitchen. It was my loving mother calling us to dinner. My cousins and I ran around desperately to find satisfaction in the prepared food. As we entered the kitchen, the smells intoxicated our minds. Cooked potatoes, yucca, rice, and meat welcomed us to the feast.

Our ferocious stomachs clamored for the prepared food. My mother assigned us a place at the makeshift kitchen table while passing out colorful plastic plates to each of us.

The smells invited us to delight in the flavors offered by each food. The basic instinct of hunger kicked in, and we all pounced on the served plates. We quickly ate the food served, and satisfied smiles blossomed.

While we were eating the gastronomic delights, my mother served coffee. At the end of the meal, we all drank coffee to round off the satisfying gastronomic experience.

Once satisfied with dinner, I couldn't help but look at my cousins and noticed a habit that made me very strange. I noticed that they had not eaten the meat yet, and after receiving the coffee, they began to put the meat in the cup and then eat it.

I couldn't help but be amazed. I continued watching my cousins dip the fried meat into the coffee as if dipping bread to eat it. I thought it was just for that one occasion, but on the following occasions, they kept doing that. I realized it was an unusual habit, and they seemed to enjoy it. Haha.

One day, when they were eating the fried meat dunked with coffee, I couldn't help but ask them why they did it, and they responded happily. “We do it because we like it.” They laughed a lot. “Besides, it tastes like coffee with cheese,” they complemented.

They looked at me and invited me to try it, which I declined. I could not taste the meat soaked in coffee. It seemed strange and unpleasant, haha. But people have their tastes, and everyone enjoys what they like.