Aosta Valley is a little Italian region on Alps mountains, in the northside of Italy.
I simply love it! I like being there in every season. There's always something good to see or to do.
In winter...
Or summer time....
You can ski.
Enjoy time having relax....
Or climbing.
But, in summer time, I like rafting!
Visiting some ancient castle....
Anyway, have fun and take it easy!
ABOUT THE FRIENDSHIP CUP...
The Friendship Cup, typical of Valle d'Aosta, is a
wooden vessel, low and wide, with lid and several spouts used for drinking
"à la ronde".
Traditionally used
to drink coffee in the Valle d’Aosta with family or friends, this cup is an
extraordinary moment of sharing, a real ritual with its own rules.
"Whoever drinks alone chokes!"This is the said of friendship coffee in the Aosta Valley.
The ritual of
drinking "à la ronde" stimulates joy, is a great aid in digestion and
promote good sleep.
To follow the rite,
tradition has it that the cup spouts have many friends whom are willing to
participate in the drink.
The bowl must be
passed counter clockwise, always starting by the elder friend, and each one must
drink on his spout.
The container must
never be left down, but should go hand in hand, until the coffee is finished.
Passing from hand
to hand, the cup everyone has his ration of Valdostan coffee, by a wide margin
to repeat the ride over and over again.Hardly, however, is drunk by the same nozzle; this
gives the ceremony a touch of promiscuity that creates aggregation and
involvement.
Its origin dates
back to ancient times, when it was used daily, as a wooden bowl.Only over the years has taken
the form today.
The grolla, instead, a large cup, and
then, has a vertical shape.The etymology of the grolla is uncertain, but it’s said the origin is from the Graal, the
chalice from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper.
In seems that, in
his travels around the world, the Holy Graal has gone from here, through the
Grand San Bernardo. What is known for certain is that the cup was a part, since
the high Middle Ages, of the common objects used in castles.
CAFFE' DELL'AMICIZIA
Friendship coffee
Ingredients:4 cups
of coffee;3 cups
of brandy from Aosta Valley;1 cup
génépy;6
teaspoons of sugar;1
lemon zest;1
orange zest;1
stick of cinnamon.
Procedure:
Prepare coffee with
the classic mocha and, in the meantime, heat in a bain-marie grappa and génépy.As
soon as the coffee is ready, pour it into the cup, add the brandy and génépy,
then the sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest and orange zest.Attention,
pouring sugar, grappa and génépy, must also sprinkle the spouts and the edge of
the cup!Mix
carefully the coffee and let rest for a few minutes, then turn on the fire and
serve at the table.The
fire should be turned off when the sugar becomes caramel, simply by putting the
lid on the cup.
Note:Before
being using for the first time the cup, it must be prepared.
Put in 70-80 g. of vegetable fat that
you have to dissolve in bain-marie.
Then spread this
melted fat inside the cup.
The fat must be
removed with boiling water.
Now the cup is ready for the
friendship coffee.
Enjoy it in every season.