☕️ Coffee in Armenia: cult of hospitality or legal “violence”? ☕️
🤌🏼 One of the main cultural shocks in Armenia (besides the fact that there are only Armenians around) is that you will be given coffee. Always. Everywhere. With or without reason. ...
☕️ Coffee in Armenia: cult of hospitality or legal “violence”? ☕️
🤌🏼 One of the main cultural shocks in Armenia (besides the fact that there are only Armenians around) is that you will be given coffee. Always. Everywhere. With or without reason. At first it looks nice and welcoming. But by 11 pm the realization comes to you that this is already the 6th cup, and you just went to the store to buy bread or ask for directions.
For those who don't know, a couple of rules of survival:
Don't like coffee? Don't even think about saying no. This will break the owner's heart. Just ask for tea. By the way, I recommend mint or thyme, usually everyone has it at home.
Golden rule: If you are not offered coffee in the first 5 minutes in an Armenian home, most likely you are not welcome here. Joke. Although... not “most likely”, but definitely! 😌
In general, Armenian coffee is not a drink, it is a social contract elevated to an absolute. Drinking means you respect. If you turn the cup over, you're guessing. If he asked for no sugar, that means he’s our man.
And don’t be upset when it turns out that you were invited to visit not to chat with you, but to have a reason to make coffee. It's okay 😎.
#armtrips24
