In New York, a coffee klatsch meant that a bunch of friends or family members would get together, visit and drink lots of coffee. I think klatsch is from German or Yiddish. Gertrude and her sisters would often sit and gossip as they drank their coffee. There was always a pot of coffee on the stove and if you were a guest and you weren’t offered a cup it was an insult. As a little girl I would ask if I could have coffee too. My grandmother loved her coffee with milk and sugar, so I drank it that way too. Soon I was addicted. I was told it would stunt my growth but my coffee was more milk than coffee and I grew to be 5 feet 10 inches tall.
I hadn’t thought about the coffee klatches until I found that cream extractor. It brought back memories of Gertrude and her sisters sitting around the kitchen table for hours. They loved their coffee and they loved to gossip. Sometimes one of them would say “Remember little pitchers have big ears.” I soon learned that somethings discussed over coffee were not to be repeated.
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