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Even though the coffee seems to still come from columbia or wherever it does (maybe bananistan?  lol), I wonder....

Lena had our apartment pretty much set up to mimick her life at her own house - (we had an apartment separate from her home because of her 4 yo son, her mother took care of him most of the time I was there) - which included Russian instant coffee.  This was an extremely fine grind, more like a mud variety that is cooked in a small pot designed for it on a hot plate.

Me being the "try this instead" type, I made a coffee filter out of russian toilet paper and it worked ok after a couple of reasonable attempts, and asked Lena to try it my way.  Instead of the old russian instant way with all the crud at the bottom.

Well, (at least she's honest), she said that she prefers her way (with crud), in the morning, and my way the rest of the day.  Obviously for caffeine's sake.    

This is kind of a dumb scenario I guess. Just looking for more food for thought while I'm waiting...

tia,
bd.

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

how lucky you guys are... your loves are actually here, and you get to play house.

dam!  I wanna play house too!  heh heh...

fwiw, any coffee on the planet is better than the over-burned 211 degree (boiler kept) crap I endured for years in the usn.  and that was bad considering I was a coffee-holic before I joined.

And Ryan, yeah, I actually lived a russian lifestyle, on a russian budget. But we had a deal going long before I got there, and that was that I would actually cook for her a couple of times instead of her cook for me.  I was not out to breaking her into anything american but rather to show her that I wasn't a total fool... :-)  

After reading so many trip reports about how guys would cook for their ladies (especially in the morning), help clean up the dishes etc over the last year, it was one of my missions to show her just how "normalized" to kitchen life that most american men (especially single ones) are, and that I could actually make something that was more than just edible.

That said however, I quickly realized that maybe an indoctrination to an american omelette with cheese and soviet sausage just might be her undoing in the long run.  I mean, she had a cow when she ate it (couldn't believe how good it tasted - or maybe she was just being polite? :-)... but all I could think of was her wonderful 16 year old looking flat stomach and waist turning into something that looked like mine.  (ouch).  

The coffee thing was just to see where and how some people had dealt with this issue, and where peoples tastes might have changed over time or whatever.  Oh yeah, I've been a big fan of Nescafe' Classic (sometimes labeled as "classico") instant for years, and I bought it while I was in Novosibirsk.  Now THAT, Lena really loved big time but it was just too expensive for her budget.  I really don't care about the coffee brands or styles of making it, as long as I got it, I wouldn't care if it was made out of cardboard and tasted like 10W40... I'm happy.

Thanks again.

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

Marina tolerated our brewed, filtered coffee for over a year, then switched back  to instant several months ago.  To be honest, since I prefer my usual, she is welcome to drink whatever she likes, but I never did ask what brand of instant she likes, but sure enough, I just checked the cupboard, and there it is, a large bottle of Nescafe!  Marina prefers it served with sweetened, condensed milk.  She too likes Bailey's, when I mentioned the earlier post, her eyes lit up, and she said "sounds good!".  As i'm writing this, she just mentioned that she will be bringing back some of here traditional "smaller" coffee cups from Feodosiya this summer.  There is a cafe in Feodosiya, across from the "Greens Art Museum", where I enjoy the cappacino (1 hvr., about 18 cents per cup!).  In general, Marina prefers that I stay out of the kitchen, and we eat Ukrainian, Russian, and Kahzak style, modified with american ingredients.  I really enjoy it.

Dan

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

I think what is most important is not the coffee but the fact that you wanted to show your way to do something and the fact that she didn’t like it.  It is an interesting thing to look at.  We all have our own culture and ways of doing things and I think it is important for us men not to push our FSU friends to change even if it seems to be a better way.  It comes out of respect and understanding and I think it is a real issue that we need to be aware of.

My example: I consider myself a great cook taught by some of the best my mother and grandpa.  When I was in the Ukraine and staying with this family I cooked for them a couple times it was fun cooking together as we both had a little different way of doing things but for the most part I think that my cooking didn’t go over very well.  It might have had something to do with the fact that me being a man and being so interested in cooking, or it could have had to do with the saying when in Ukraine do as the Ukraine (Eat their cooking) or it could have had to do with the fact that I might have gave the impression that my way was better than theirs.  Or ok it could have been that taste.  My point is that we all have to be aware of all these different issues as we try and achieve our goal.  To find the perfect wife in the FSU areas.

... in response to Coffee not the point, posted by Ryan on Jun 6, 2002


The first evening in Kiev, Victoria cooked for me.

It was a fine meal, although she seemed to think that it was not her best effort.

The hard part was the bread. She buttered it for me. Yikes! I ate it, but I thought: Sheesh, hon... do you like a little bread with your butter??? It was hard to get down, to be honest... but I didn't want to offend her.

The next morning, she prepared breakfast. Happily, she was busy bringing dishes to the table when I sat down, so I buttered my own bread.

When she sat down, I offered it to her.

She looked at the bread and laughed, shook her head no, and picked up her own bread and buttered it (laying it on an inch thick, I swear!)

After that, she would alsways just smile and hand me the bread and butter for me to do it myself.

So there is, definitely, a "taste" thing, but it doesn't have to be a problem...

... in response to Tastes, posted by MarkInTx on Jun 6, 2002

Now that is just strange.. I could not find butter when in the Ukriane... not butter that I am used to...

... in response to Tastes, posted by MarkInTx on Jun 6, 2002

Mark,
Putting too much butter on bread must be an "FSU thang".  LOL.  Lena has cut back after 4 years.
KenC

... in response to Re: Tastes, posted by KenC on Jun 7, 2002

That's so weird because never in all my trips to the FSU was butter ever served with the bread at any restaurant I ever visited!  At my flat when my girl was cooking for me, she had bread there and I asked if there was any butter.. she looked at me like I was crazy or something! LOL!

Oscar

... in response to Re: Re: Tastes, posted by Oscar on Jun 7, 2002


Every resturaunt we were in served butter with the meal... except Caesers... they gave us oil and vinegar, which is common for many Italian styled resutraunts I've been to, even here in the states.

In my upcoming trip report (yes, I'm still working on that) I'll list them all. But, I always had butter, and Victoria loved the stuff...

... in response to Re: Re: Tastes, posted by Oscar on Jun 7, 2002

I looked and looked for butter.. and we never had any when I was in Lugansk with the family...

... in response to Re: Tastes, posted by KenC on Jun 7, 2002

Good to hear... I'm hoping that Victoria learns to cut back, too...

I think I'll get some pamphlets on the danger of cholesterol and leave them lying around the house.

Seriously, though... when you see these women lay on the cream and butter, you do wonder how they stay so thin...

... in response to Re: Re: Tastes, posted by MarkInTx on Jun 7, 2002

Mark,
Lena's cholesterol was perfect in a recent physical.  I know she can control her fats & carbs intake, but she sweet tooth may get her eventually.  LOL.
KenC

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

My wife only had instant at her apartment even though she rarely drank coffee. She did however have access to a normal auto-drip type at the hospital where she worked. Occasionally her co-workers had would have a cup.

I think most Russian will prefer to drink tea over coffee. However, after I bought a new auto drip, she makes a cup or two of coffee each day now. She said she likes the way the machine looks and somehow it affects the taste.

I happen to like the coffee that is made internationally. The coffee that is typically brewed here in the US is rather weak. I’m not sure how Lufthansa brews coffee on their flights, but I think it’s similar to the “cowboy” coffee. I remember having some poured out as the container was down to the last drops and there was a lot of sediment. It didn’t kill me, however I do prefer coffee thoroughly filtered.

Chris

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

Brian,
My wife Lena always drank her coffee in big cups with milk.  All the Russians thought she was weird.  LOL  I introduced her to Bailey's in coffee.  When I left her a half of a bottle, she would drink Bailey's in her morning coffee.  LOL.  That is when I sent her some dry hazelnut cream.  I didn't want to add to Russia's drinking problems.  Now she is no stranger to Starbucks, but no longer uses cream in her coffee.  Although a small piece of dark chocolate is necessary.
KenC
p.s. (If you want to be a real hero, purchase your Russian lady an electric kettle for her tea)

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

Seemed to be everywhere for sale on the streets.In cafes and resturants much smaller than USA cups were served and it was "high-test" expresso types served.
My wife still preferrs the smaller coffee cups and a year later she is "still" experimenting.I think she finally found her nitch...We have 2 different coffee pots...Mine is perked Maxwellhouse and her's is a half and half that she mixes of caffineated and decaffineated...
I think it's the creamer that makes the cup tastey myself which is another story...In Russia I order coffee "s maloka" (with milk) and always get funny looks most of the time and "s slotkey" (with sweet) made me an instant "tourist"...

... in response to Coffee question for the married types., posted by BrianN on Jun 6, 2002

They say that the fine grind type is supposed to be more healthy. I tend to believe them when I look at the dry big grind instant coffee. Fresh coffee is big. My wife loves to grind her own coffee in the shop.

Coffee seems to be a big part of their culture. Many young people like to visit coffee houses. An interesting observation is how much smaller the cups are there. They use expresso size for all the different coffees. Kind of makes you think about how western people need bigger and bigger portions of everything to be satisfied.

I've gotten used to the crud, while my wife tends to be more infavour of the filter now. So, everyone that worry about culture collision, there's hope. At the end you'll be more Russian than your wife, and she'll be more western than you (Now there's a scary thought, hide your CCs, hehe).