Armenian coffee cup readings come to Texas
The traditional art of serving Armenian coffee has traveled through generations, bringing families and friends together over soorj. Ani Carla Kalafian takes special pride in preparing and serving her Armenian coffee, which she infuses with maple syrup, cardamom and rose water. I met Kalafian in Houston, Texas, as she hosted a coffee cup reading pop-up.
“Coffee cup reading has been in my family for generations, from my mom to my aunties to my elders. I’ve been intuitive, always feeling things that I couldn’t explain,” Kalafian said. “One day in my teens, I got curious and picked up my mom’s best friend’s cup and started reading it. Things came out of my mouth that there was no way that I could have known.”
Kalafian grew up in the Bay Area, where she “used coffee cup reading to show my culture to my diverse friends.” In 2014, she moved to Armenia, where she began reading cups regularly. Two years later, she returned to Los Angeles, where she was invited to do readings at a gallery.
“After that, it took on a life of its own,” she said. “I brought the kitchen out to the world with the reading experience. Over time, I perfected a recipe that I love. If I’m serving coffee, I’m going to serve it the way I like it.”
Kalafian doesn’t just read the coffee grinds in the cup, but also the saucer. This practice she says is specific to her family tradition.
“Right now, I’m set up in a place that doesn’t have a lot of Armenians, but because of the coffee, they get to learn about Armenian culture and traditions. My serjep [coffee pot] has Mount Ararat on it, and it opens doors for people to ask me questions,” Kalafian said.
She thinks of coffee cup reading as storytelling that draws from Armenian symbols and traditions. She finds the practice both spiritual and healing.
“This is a practice that I love to do with the intention of helping, healing and protecting,” she said. “The kitchen was always an area to strengthen familial bonds. Healing is communal. There is something so relieving about hearing someone read your cup, like an older auntie saying something sweet and kind.”
Kalafian recently moved from Los Angeles to Houston, Texas, where she has felt welcomed. “I aim to be in inclusive places, open, friendly, diverse, and accepting,” she said. “Coffee connects everyone. It’s an awesome medium that people are familiar with … There is also a lot of energy that seeps in, lots of love. A lot of it is intuitive, I feel it, and I say it. I don’t hold back,” Kalafian said.
