By Sakshi Venkatraman

Staff Writer

@oompapa1

Whether you drink coffee for the taste, the energy or the warmth, a good cup of it can alter your entire day by increasing your motivation and keeping you awake.

Recently, my friend and I were having a competitive discussion on who could brew the best cup of coffee and, to say the least, she won.

She guided me through her strange process, which I questioned throughout, but when I tasted it for the first time, I came to understand that her method, although slightly more tedious, yielded amazing results, and I enjoyed every sip of it.

So in honor of finals, here are some coffee-making instructions that will keep you awake and running through your hours of studying, and hopefully make the entire experience slightly less stressful.

Note: I have added in parenthesis the types and amounts I usually use to make my ideal cup of coffee.

Materials:

1. Instant coffee (I usually use Nescafé)
2. Mortar and pestle*
3. 3 tsp sugar
4. 1 ½ cups of milk
5. 2 tsp water

Procedure:

1. Using a teaspoon, scoop as much dry instant coffee as you would like into a mug of choice (one teaspoon)
2. *If the instant coffee you choose to use is not finely ground, use the mortar and pestle to crush the larger grains until the coffee is very fine and powdered, then add it to your cup
3. Add as much sugar as you would like to the cup containing the powdered coffee (2 teaspoons)
4. Mix/shake the cup until the sugar granules and the coffee granules are distributed evenly
5. Using the teaspoon (not a measuring spoon, just a normal teaspoon), slowly add water to the cup of dry coffee and sugar until it becomes paste-like (It takes 2 ½  teaspoons of water for me, but varies with the amount of coffee and sugar you put in your cup)
6. Rapidly stir the paste until it turns from a dark brown color to a caramel color (3-5 minutes)
7. Bring the milk to a boil
8. Remove it from the stove and immediately add it to the mug until it is as full as you want it
9. Stir until the paste is completely dissolved with the milk
10. Enjoy!

Keep in mind, you can always experiment and change up the process depending on how sweet you like your coffee and how milky/watery you prefer it.

Although this takes a little longer than pressing a few buttons on a microwave or a coffee machine, the results are amazing and the time it takes to make could give you a much needed break from your intensive studying.