Coffee? I prefer it bitter.

Its strong and peculiar aroma is some kind of alarm clock for the day, which works as a type of mantra to face the daily hustle and bustle of Maputo. That dark tone on the white cup is a contrast of colors that looks like a combination thought up by Matias Ntundo, a Makonde woodcut artist, or executed by Psiconautah (Hugo Mendes).

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For my mother it is a strange taste. In our childhood, it was with tea that we started the day, very much like Sting’s Englishman In New York. She doesn’t go a day without it. But she fears “black gold” because it can cause arrhythmia, agitation, irritability, nervousness and insomnia.

I often defend myself by arguing that, on the other hand, coffee is capable of protecting heart health and preventing degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “And, to make matters worse” – she observes – “you take it without sugar”. But for a simple reason: I want to enjoy its flavor without any external interference.

Originally from Ethiopia, in Kaffa, the name of the grains from which the miraculous powder is derived is the Arabic word qahwa, which translates as “wine”. Hence, when it arrived in the West, it was known as “Arabian wine”.

During my stay in Brazil, in 2018, I witnessed its – almost mythological – power of vitality. During the Rio Film Festival, between critique training sessions and movies, time and energy were scarce. Nothing like a cup of coffee to fix it!

Due to this experience in Rio de Janeiro, I didn’t doubt when they told me the story of a monk who, knowing that a shepherd fed his sheep with coffee so that they could travel longer distances, he started consuming it to resist sleep while he prayed.

As I drink this cup, I think that Alexei Karamazov, for his meditations, used to drink a cup as well. But he didn’t know, as I discovered a little while ago, that accompanied with matoritori (a cassava, peanut and sugar treat), it turns into something else. This last fact doesn’t change my taste for bitter, but, well, sometimes it’s necessary to sweeten life.

Edição 83 MAR/AGO| Download.