Coffee anyone?

Ever wonder how people in remote areas can drink coffee?

First, you need to go harvest the berries.

Murphy's law says that all the berries will be located way up high! :-) Mildred is using another branch to pull things closer.

 When that doesn't work, she sometimes climbed up and hacked down a branch or 2.

After a nice shower...you wouldn't believe the amount of spider webs and red biting ants that you encounter!...Mildred and I pound the coffee.

Pounding it breaks up the skin/husk/hull. We pound until its pretty well, mushy.

I thought I was doing really well at the whole pounding thing until my little neighbor traded out with me! 

Next you lay the coffee out to dry for several days. The hardest past of this bit is keeping chickens from wandering through and adding their contribution. :-)

Once the coffee is deemed sufficiently dried, you pound it again. 

Next, you winnow the coffee, to get rid of the husk and keep the coffee.

Now comes the fun part of picking out any unpounded bits, or rocks that have managed to find their way in the mix.

Any guesses on the next step? Oh yeah, pound the coffee! :-) Eli jumped in and helped out.

Now, you roast the coffee. I'm sure coffee experts would have all kinds of input. Here, you simply build a fire, throw the coffee in the pan and stir until its all cooked.

One last winnowing to get rid of any undesirables.

After pounding...yes pounding again...you shake the heavier bits into a bowl to be pounded....again. 

The fine bits get put into the glass. You repeat this cycle until everything is pounded into a nice fine powder. 

It was amazing to see all the work that goes into something as a beverage. It was a great time with my language helper and lots of opportunity to talk and build a deeper relationship.  

Birthday party

How do the Ga'dang celebrate a birthday? I decided to celebrate my birthday Ga'dang style and it was quite the experience! Talk about an all day affair!

First you take sticky rice and pound it into a fine powder, add water and roll into little balls.

Everyone jumps in and helps out. Later we'll add sugar and coconut to make nansilot/dekat.

Next you get to work peeling, slicing and chopping veggies to add to noodles for pancit.

Maricel (in yellow) is known as the best cook so she usually cooks the pancit. Analyn is making nansilot/dekat. 

Depending on how well off you are determines how much meat and veggies gets added to the noodles to make pancit.

 Below Mildred and Maricel are dishing up pancit for the big crowd. Parties easily have 20 or more people depending on your family. Since I'm not related to anyone, it was open to everyone. Who can resist free food? :-)

 Mildred and Unis are dishing up Nansilot/dekat, everyone gets a generous serving of pancit and nansilot. Free refills 'til you're full.

 No cake, no candles, but plenty of food to fill your belly. 

 Of course there is always the fun job of clean up! Just like at home, people swoop in, eat and disappear. :-) Unis and Micah cleaned tons of plates and pots. 

All in all, it seemed to be a success. Maybe I'll only celebrate every major milestone instead of every year! :-)