Culture of tea and coffee

Sitting in the research station in Terbol, Lebanon, one of the technicians offers us coffee. She boiled a kettle of water on the small heat stove in the center of the room, and mixes up a couple cups of Nescafe for us. She then pulls out a package of tea-biscuits setting them on a plate on the desk. Before I can finish my coffee, she starts making a pot of Turkish coffee (a strong powdery brew served in tiny cups), boiling the rich powder into a small pot of water, pulling it off the heat and stirring every few seconds as it nearly boils over. Five cups are set out, and the Turkish coffee was served with copious amounts of sugar. This time I was able to finish my coffee before she offered tea, and when the tea was served with a bowl of sugar, I declined the sugar. There is so much sugar in everything here, the coffee/tea and the foods and sweets, that I try to avoid it when I can. I'm glad I turned it down, since when I took a sip I noticed the tea was already well sweetened, yet the others were adding full tablespoons of sugar to their cups. The researcher we'd been waiting for arrived, and we had another cup of Turkish coffee in a different office before heading out for the return trip to Syria. Tea and coffee are so deeply ingrained in the culture here; a shop owner will often serve you a cup while you puruse his wares, men sell it from thermoses in traffic and huts along the roads. Tea/coffee provides an opening to greet a guest, to open conversation; it's a beautiful tradition. I wish I could pack my bag full of local tea and coffee coming home, but alas... only so much room. Two or three bags should fit.