雙語美文：咖啡與人生

Grandmother didn’t just like her coffee, and it wouldn’t really do her justice to say she loved her coffee. Grandmother was to coffee what a sommelier is to wine. She knew the intricacies of coffee, the different tastes and even the textures. And only the best would do for her. No instant coffee, or coffee bought at the grocery store. She had to have fresh coffee, from a respectable coffee shop. “The morning cup of coffee sets the tone for the whole day,” she used to say。

奶奶不止是喜歡咖啡這麼簡單，說句公道話，咖啡是她的摯愛。咖啡對於奶奶而言，就如同美酒對於斟酒侍者一般重要。她對於咖啡的紛繁學問，其不同的口味，甚至其結構特徵都瞭如指掌。而她只喝最好的咖啡，既不要速溶的，也不喜歡從雜貨店買的。她一定要喝有名望的咖啡店出售的新鮮咖啡。“清晨的一杯咖啡決定了一整天的基調。”她常這麼說。

I used to go to Grandmother’s every Sunday morning. Her routine was always the same. She would kiss me once on each cheek, hang up my coat and lead me into the kitchen, slice a piece of banana bread right out of the oven (sometimes cranberry)， and pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee。

以前每個星期天的早上，我都會去奶奶家，而她也總會用同樣的程序來迎接我。她會在我的兩邊臉頰上各親一下，掛起我的外套，然後把我帶進廚房，切一片剛出爐的香蕉麪包(有時候是蔓越橘口味的)，並倒一杯新煮的咖啡給我。

“Alexa,” she said to me one day. “Did you know that every person’s personality is like a flavor of coffee?”

“阿麗夏，”一天，她對我說，“你知道嗎，每個人的性格就像是一種口味的咖啡。”

“Really?” I said, amused at how Grandmotherrelished her coffee so much that she related everything to it。

“是嗎?”我說。見到奶奶如此鍾愛她的咖啡，以致於將每一件事物都與之扯上關係，覺得挺逗的。

“Ye” she said. “You, my dear, are French vanilla. You are sweet, almost sickeningly so at times to the discerning coffee drinker。” I slightly recoiled at Grandmother’s assessment of me. You expect your grandmother to call you sweet, but never sickeningly sweet。

“是的，”她說。“你，我親愛的，是法國香草味的。你很甜美，對於那些有品味的咖啡客來說，有時甜得都有些發膩了。”聽了奶奶對我的評價後，我覺得有點不爽。你當然會希望奶奶說你很甜美，但絕對不希望是甜得發膩。

“Your father is espresso,” she continued. “He comes on strong. There are many people who don’t like him, but others can’t live without that high feeling that he gives them. He has an addictive personality that many people can’t let go of。”

“你爸爸是杯濃縮咖啡，”她接着說，“他能給人以強烈的印象。有很多人不喜歡他，但也有人離開了他帶來的那種興奮感就活不下去。他有一種讓許多人無法放手的致命的吸引力。”

“Let me gues Grandmother. You’re hazelnut。”

“讓我猜猜，奶奶，那您就是榛子口味的。”

“Hazelnut? Why on earth would you say that?”

“榛子口味?你到底爲什麼會這麼說?”

“Because I find your coffee talk a bit nutty。”

“因爲我發現您的咖啡論挺狂熱的。”(雙關語，nutty既指帶堅果口味，也指對某事狂熱。)

I smiled at Grandmother, but I could tell she was not amused. “Alexa dear, I am trying to teach you a lesson about life here. I do not need you poking fun at me。”

我衝着奶奶笑了起來，不過我能看得出她並不覺得這很好笑。“親愛的阿麗夏，我是想在這裏教你一個人生的道理，而不是讓你拿我開玩笑的。”

A lesson about life? Is she kidding? “Grandmother, you can’t dissect a person’s personality by comparing them to a cup of coffee. People are more complex than that. Everyone has nuance personality quirk things that make them different. You just can’t go around saying, ‘She’s a dark roast, he’s an instant, he’s a mocha almond。”

一個人生的道理?她在開玩笑吧?“奶奶，你不可以用一杯咖啡去分析一個人的性格。人要比咖啡複雜得多。每個人都有差別，性格癖好相異，方方面面各不相同。你不可能四處晃晃，然後說：‘她是杯深焙咖啡，他是杯速溶咖啡，他是杯摩卡杏仁咖啡……’”

Grandmother looked at me, almost a blank, dull stare. “Then you just don’t understand coffee,” she snapped, clearing my plate and coffee cup from the table. “I guess not,” I sighed, exasperated at my hazelnut grandmother。

奶奶用一種幾乎是茫然而沮喪的眼神看着我。“這麼說，你根本就不懂咖啡，”她厲聲說，從桌上清走了我的盤子和咖啡杯。“我想是的，”我嘆了口氣，對我這個“榛子口味”的奶奶感到有些惱火。

I went to Grandmother’s house many more times after that, and she always kept her same routine. It was a welcome routine, one that I enjoyed every week. Grandmother didn’t talk to me after that about the “coffee catastrophe” as I called it, but eventually, she did start to make more ridiculous claims concerning her favorite drink。

在那之後，我又多次去過奶奶家，而她依然以同樣的程序來迎接我。我很喜歡這套程序，每個星期都要去享受一次。在那之後，奶奶再也沒有跟我談論過我所稱的“咖啡大災難”，不過最後，就她最喜愛的飲品，她還是開始發表了更加荒謬的言論。

“I knew your grandfather was the right man for me because we loved our coffee the same way,” she said. “Cream with just a touch of sugar。”

“我知道你爺爺就是那個最適合我的人，因爲我們都喜歡相同味道的咖啡，”她說，“奶油里加上一丁點糖。”

I rolled my eyes. “Grandmother, many people like it that way。”

我轉了轉眼珠，說：“奶奶，很多人都喜歡那種口味。”

“I disagree,” she said. “For most people, if they prefer cream, they like a lot of sugar, or at least a moderate amount. Those who drink it with just a touch of sugar usually put milk in it, or drink it black。”

“我不同意，”她說，“對於大多數人來說，如果他們喜歡奶油，他們就喜歡加很多糖，或至少是中等量的糖。而那些喝咖啡時只加一丁點糖的人，通常會加入牛奶，或者乾脆就喝黑咖啡。”

“So what if Papa preferred his coffee black? Or with milk and sweetener? Does that mean that you would have never married? That I wouldn’t be here today?”

“那麼，如果爺爺更喜歡喝黑咖啡呢?或者是牛奶加甜味料呢?那是不是說你就不嫁給他了?那麼今天就沒有我在這裏了?”

“Oh don’t be silly,” Grandmother said. “I won’t think about your grandfather preferring his coffee any differently. I don’t know what would have become of us. But you, my dear Alexa, belong to me. You would be here no matter what。”

“噢，別傻了，”奶奶說，“我從來沒想過你爺爺會喜歡什麼不一樣的咖啡。我不知道我們之間會有什麼不同的結果，但是你，我親愛的阿麗夏，是屬於我的。無論怎麼樣你都會在這裏的。”

The last time I saw Grandmother was a Sunday just like all the others. I sat down at the table with Grandmother and she looked at me with a very intense look in her eyes。

我最後一次見到奶奶也是在一個星期天，和其他星期天沒什麼區別。我和奶奶一起坐在桌邊，她看着我，眼中閃爍着一種熱情的光芒。

“Do you ever think about heaven?” she asked me。

“你有沒有想過天堂是個什麼樣子的?”她問我。

I stared at Grandmother and stopped chewing for a moment。

我凝視着奶奶，暫時停止了咀嚼。

“Well, do you?” she asked again。

“嗯，你想過了麼?”她又問了一遍。

“Umm, not really,” I said, growing increasingly uncomfortable with this line of conversation。

“唔……沒怎麼想過，”我說，對於這種類型的對話感到越來越不舒服。

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it lately,” Grandmother said. “I mean, I am getting to that age where I realize that I don’t have much more time here on earth. And I’ve just been thinking lately about heaven—and what’s there and what’s not. And I just hope that when it’s my time to leave this world, the next one has everything that I love here。”

“嗯，我最近一直在想這個問題，”奶奶說，“我的意思是，我也快到那個年紀了，所以我意識到我在這個世上的時間已經不多了。最近我一直在思考天堂是個什麼樣子的——那裏有什麼，沒有什麼。而我只希望當我離開這個世界的時候，另一個世界裏也有我在這邊所深愛的一切。”

“And what’s that, Grandmother?”

“那是些什麼，奶奶?”

“Good food, good people, and good coffee。”

“好喫的食物，好相處的人，還有上好的咖啡。”

I smiled at Grandmother’s simplicity and love for the good things in life. And I hoped that she would find exactly what she would be looking for in the next world。

我對奶奶的純樸，以及對生命中美好事物的熱愛報以微笑，也希望她真能在另一個世界找到她所想要的一切。

Grandmother passed away later that week. They found her sitting in her favorite rocker in the living room, half a cup of freshly brewed coffee by her side. And somehow, I knew that it was a sign that everything would be all right for Grandmother。

奶奶在那週末去世了。他們發現她坐在客廳裏她最喜歡的搖椅上，身旁還有半杯新煮的咖啡。不知道爲什麼，我明白這是一個徵兆，表明了奶奶會一切都好。

Now, years later, I’m frequently reminded of my Grandmother. The scent of freshly baked banana bread, or the way someone will kiss me on my cheek will bring a quick flashback of her. But my memories are always most vivid when I step foot into a coffee shop, the aroma of freshly roasted beans and brewed coffee livening my senses。

現在，多年過去了，我不時還會想起奶奶。新出爐的香蕉麪包的香氣，或某人親吻我臉頰的方式，都會讓我腦海中突然閃現出她的身影。不過每當我邁進一間咖啡館時，我的記憶總是特別鮮明，那新烤的咖啡豆和新煮咖啡的香氣總能讓我的感覺活躍起來。

“What would you like?” the person at the counter asks me。

“您想要點什麼?”櫃檯上的人問我。

“A medium hazelnut,” I say. “Cream with just a touch of sugar。”

“一杯中杯的榛子咖啡，”我說，“加奶油和一丁點糖。”

中國咖啡交易網：www.gafei.com