Instant coffee. In the Greek Islands a strong, north wind called the Mel Temi frequently blows. Some love it for the cooling qualities while others treat it like the Mistral, dreading its arrival and being driven to extreme acts when its arrival causes doors to slam and windows to rattle all day, all night. Locals and those of us who lived there were well accustomed to the Mel Temi and had certain devices which helped us to deal with it. One involved coffee. We would order "ena nes" or "en neskafe" and would be brought a cup and saucer, a jug of hot water, a spoon and various sachets of instant coffee and sugar. New arrivals would fill the cup with hot water, tear the top off the sachet, sprinkle it out and watch the entire contents disappear up the street. The trick was to tear the top off the sachet of coffee, upturn it deep inside the empty cup and then pour the, by now, luke warm water onto the coffee.
