The old coffee cup of childhood

(Entry to the contest "Impressions of Vietnamese coffee and tea" under the program "Honoring Vietnamese coffee and tea" for the 2nd time, 2024 organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper).

Drinking coffee with my family in the evening has become a habit that is hard for me to "give up". After a hard day's work, my whole family gathers together, waiting for my sister to make coffee for everyone.

The fragrant smell of coffee wafted to the seats, making everyone feel excited. My father often said, "When you're tired from work, the smell of coffee makes you feel refreshed."

I don't like to sit quietly in coffee shops, because I like the feeling of sitting with my family, listening to endless stories. Because I know, there is no coffee that tastes better than the one at home.

When I was a kid, coffee was a luxury. Kids my age never had a full cup of good coffee, most of the time they had to borrow from adults. Sometimes I was lucky enough to go to the movies with my dad and share a cup of coffee at the cafe. From then on, I became addicted.

Knowing that my father and I liked to drink coffee, my mother also saved some money to buy some. Early in the morning, I had to wait for the ice boat to buy a small amount of ice to drink coffee. At that time, my mother would always boil water to make coffee in the morning. I still remember my mother's hesitant eyes, wondering whether to buy coffee or buy more rice.

My sisters and I got to drink the… old coffee. After the first batch of water was used up to make coffee for my father, my mother would add more boiling water to the coffee filter to get the old coffee. My second sister would take a big mug to make coffee for the whole family to drink. My sisters and I would sniff the aroma of the coffee. There were some hot days when my fourth brother and I would get the old coffee for the third time and still feel regretful.

Now, I can drink many kinds of delicious and expensive coffee. But I still can not forget the taste of the cup of stale coffee of my childhood…

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ly-ca-phe-dao-cua-tuoi-tho-196240313111123655.htm