Avedis Carabelaian – La Martinica

 

Dragi cititori, am avut de curand placerea sa stau de vorba la o cafea armeneasca cu distinsul domn Anton Carabelaian, fiul cunoscutului cafegiu Avedis Carabelaian, mentorul cafegiului Gheorghe Florescu, cel al carui nume il poarta minunata cafea Avedis, comercializata de domnia sa.

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW

 

DOMNULE CARABELAIAN, AM FOST PLACUT IMPRESIONAT DE POVESTILE SPUSE DE MAESTRUL FLORESCU DESPRE TATAL DOMNIEI VOASTRE, POVESTITI-NE PUTIN DESPRE DOMNUL AVEDIS SI DESPRE MAGAZINUL SAU DE CAFEA !

– Pravalia se afla in Banu Manta nr.7, aici tata a construit un imobil tip bloc pe care l-a finalizat prin 1931-1932, la parter deschisese un magazin de cafea si coloniale care purta firma La Martinica, noi locuiam in apartamentele de deasupra magazinului. Era un magazin superb, il am in fata ochilor si acum, nu era mare, poate vreo 25-30 de metri patrati, foarte frumos amenajat. Era compus din doua incaperi, una fiind magazinul iar, cealalta un mic depozit unde se tineau sacii cu cafea, naut si alte marfuri. Cafeaua trebuie depozitata cu mare grija pentru ca este foarte sensibila la umiditate, daca un sac de cafea a tras umezeala este compromis, nu mai poate fi recuperat, trebuie aruncat. Magazinul avea in fata o vitrina mare iar, imediat cum intrai pe usa era pusa masina de prajit cafea, era adusa din Germania, parca o si vad, era mare, rosie cu avea un vas mare din bronz deasupra, in el se varsa cafeaua care urma a fi prajita. Magazinul avea niste rafturi superbe de lemn, cu diverse arabescuri sculptate, tata adusese un mester renumit sa le faca si spunea ca sunt in stil indian. Pe doi dintre cei patru pereti ai magazinului se aflau niste cazane frumoase, nichelate, prevazute cu geam, in ele se expuneau sorturile de cafea. Tavanul magazinului avea culoarea albastra iar, de jur imprejurul tavanului erau montate becuri colorate iar, seara, cand se intuneca afara, aceasta mica pravalie raspandind din interior lumini de diferite culori, capata un aer feeric. Fiind situat peste drum de Primarie, e de inteles ca tata ii cunostea pe toti functionarii de la mic la mare, majoritatea fiind clientii sai. Unii prieteni armeni ai tatei stiind acest lucru, veneau cu diverse probleme sa-l roage sa-i ajute, imi amintesc ca nu vorbeau romaneste prea bine si mai zicea cate unul: ”- Baron Avedis, nu vrei mergi cu mine aici la “minustratie”(n.a. administratie) sa pui vorba buna ?“, tata radea “- Unde sa merg ?” “- …la…minustratie…!”, si mergea, ii ajuta, a ajutat multa lume…

– DE UNDE PROCURA DOMNUL AVEDIS CAFEAUA IN ACELE TIMPURI ?

– Erau in acea vreme marii angrosisti de cafea, unul dintre ei fiind chiar un fin al tatei, Aram Altiocaian, el era unul dintre marii furnizori de cafea de atunci. Tata era de fapt ruda indepartata cu Altiocaienii, e o increngatura complicata, sotia lui era sora cu Minas Altiocaian de la Constanta. Aram avea un frate, Adam care avea si el magazin de cafea la Ploiesti. Tata avea in magazin la vremea aceeea vreo 7-10 sorturi de cafea, era foarte bine aprovizionat, numai cafea Santos braziliana avea cinci feluri, erau Santos 1, Santos 2, Santos 3… mai avea Rio, Jawa, Mocca, Columbia, Ceylon, o cafea deosebita cu bobul mare. Din aceste sorturi se faceau si diverse melanjuri, amestecuri, dupa cum dorea clientul. Atunci cafeaua se bea de regula amestecata cu naut. Tata, in viata lui nu a baut cafea fara naut, sa fi avut macar 10% naut.

– CE ROL ARE NAUTUL ?

– E simplu si important, desavarseste gustul, aroma cafelei, o completeaza, ii scoate in evidenta calitatile si, in plus face un caimac… In magazinul tatei se faceau melanjuri de 10%, 20% naut, dupa cum cerea clientul. I-am spus si lui Florescu sa incerce, a zis ca se gandeste… Sunt doua feluri de naut, unul de mancat numit si Leblebli, bob mare, albicios si, altul cu bob mic, negricios, care se poate praji, macina si amesteca cu cafea. Fac o paranteza, am vazut la Florescu soiuri de cafea pe care tata nu le avea atunci, pe unele le-am si degustat. Nu cred ca exista gusturi sau pretentii in materie de cafea care sa nu poata fi satisfacute de ce are el in pravalie acum, pur si simplu m-a impresionat, i-am spus-o si lui, nu ca sa-l flatez, ca nu am venit eu din America sa-l flatez pe el… asta e adevarul, are niste cafele extraordinare, m-a impresionat profund acest melaj pe care el l-a numit Divin. Dupa parerea mea, Divin-ul depaseste orice, ma lasa rece alte sorturi de nu stiu cate sute de lei, pot sa spun ca nici Sfanta Elena nu se ridica la nivelul Divin-ului, e cu adevarat o cafea divina, nu poate fi nimic peste ea, nu ai ce sa vrei mai mult de la o cafea, e maxim ! Revenind in copilarie, cand nu aveam scoala trebuia sa fiu in magazin sa-l ajut pe tata, de la 12 ani, am invatat sa prajesc si sa macin cafea, cunosteam sorturile de cafea dupa boabe, pot sa spun ca aveam o experienta in acest domeniu. Pe tata il vizitau multi prieteni eu invatasem sa fac cafea si tata imi spunea decat “Anton, pune ibricul de cafea !”, eu stiam ce am de facut, am invatat sa fac cafea de mic. Nu beam cafea, copil fiind dar, imi placea foarte mult sa mananc boabe de cafea proaspat prajite, le luam in palma din masina de prajit, presaram zahar tos peste ele si le rontaiam. Mai mancam cu mare placere zatul ramas de la cafeaua mamei, eram innebunit dupa acest zat, il mancam cu paine, asa mult imi placea… Ca vorbim de zat, intr-o ceasca cu cafea bine facuta trebuie sa ramana zat dupa ce o bei, cafeaua fara zat nu e cafea. E un secret, de fapt e o chestiune mai mult tehnologica, cu cafeaua nu trebuie sa fi zgarcit, cand aud ca unii pun o lingurita, o lingurita si jumate` de cafea la o ceasca…eu nu am invatat asa, trebuie pusa cafea asa incat sa ramana zat. Inca un secret, cand cafeaua e aproape sa dea in foc, se mai presara deasupra un praf de cafea sa formeze caimac, doar daca respecti toate aceste reguli, poti sa spui ca bei o CAFEA.

– CE MARFURI SE MAI GASEAU IN MAGAZINUL DIN BANU MANTA ?

– …ce nu se gasea…roscove, pastai roscate cu gust dulce, Leblebli, nautul de mancat, tata avea intr-un timp si vinuri foarte bune, din podgoriile lui Vintila Bratianu, Grasa de Saburesti si Vinul Negru de Saburesti, niste vinuri formidabile. La noi in casa se bea doar acest vin negru de Samburesti, era un vin serios, puternic, catifelat, cu buchet deosebit. Mai avea multe marfuri care nu se mai gasesc azi, de exemplu ciocolata elvetiana Suchard, avea un gust nemaipomenit, nu am regasit acel gust nici in cea mai buna ciocolata elvetiana de azi. Mai era ceva care mi-a ramas in amintire, ceva extraordinar, niste mici prajiturele invelite in celofan, fursecuri, nu stiu cum sa le spun, miniprajituri cu fructe, cu ciocolata…ce gust…nu am cuvinte…erau minunile pamantului !

– CUM A AJUNS FAMILIA CARABELIAN SA DESCHIDA MAGAZIN DE CAFEA IN BUCURESTI ?

– Carabelienii sunt kemahti, armeni din Kemah, un oras din provincia Erzincan din estul Anatoliei, de unde provin cei mai renumiti cafegii armeni. Bunicul meu Garabet Carabelaian a avut in Bucuresti o pravalie de cafea si coloniale in perioada 1925-1930, la Podul Basarab, se numea “La Camila”. In timpul acela, tata deschisese o pravalie de cafea in Yalta, in Ucraina, pe coasta de nord a Marii Negre si facea periodic naveta Bucuresti – Yalta. Cand bolsevicii au intrat in Yalta s-au dedat la tot felul de fapte abominabile, toata lumea fugea din calea lor, tata era prin oras si a trebuit sa fuga spre port, nu a mai putut sa se intoarca unde locuia sa-si ia ce agonisise, a lasat tot, avea un pasaport francez, nu stiu cum il facuse rost si a fugit cu un vas francez pana la Constanta. Dupa multi ani el a povestit ca a abandonat in casa din Yalta o geanta plina cu pietre pretioase, toata agoniseala lui…dar, nu a regretat, asa era natura lui, era foarte optimist, nu-l afecta nicio pierdere. Cand ne-au luat comunistii casele, zicea “Ce, mi-au luat numai mie ? Au luat la toti…mergem inainte !”, era de un optimism fantastic, spre deosebire de nasul meu de exemplu care, in `49 cand i-au confiscat casele, a facut congestie cerebrala si a murit.

– CUM ERA COMERTUL IN ACELE TIMPURI ?

– A devenit periculos prin anii `48-`50, erau vanati patronii, incepusera exproprierile, nu aveai voie sa ai avere, aur, case etc. In anul 1950 ne-am trezit cu Securitatea la noi acasa, venisera sa faca perchezitie, erau cautati cei care detineau aur. Dupa un timp am aflat ca la noi Securitatea ajunsese dintr-o prostie. Se facuse o perchezitie la un fin de al tatei care statea undeva pe 1 Mai, Securitatea a gasit la el un galben, o moneda de aur, si l-au intrebat de unde il are, acesta, fara sa dea seama ce face, le-a spus ca “…l-a pus nasul in cazanul in care a fost botezat fiul meu…”, nasul fiind tata, ei au facut imediat legatura si au venit direct la noi. Ne-am pomenit cu 4-5 insi care au intrat si au inceput sa rascoleasca toata casa, n-au gasit nimic. Tata, tot aurul pe care il avea il facuse fisicuri si il ascunsese pe la burlanele casei, pe la balcoane, in interiorul prizelor…noi, habar nu aveam. La un moment dat, unul dintre securisti a intrat intr-unul din dormitoare si a vrut sa demonteze o priza, tata si-a dat seama ca nu mai are scapare, inauntrul prizei ascunsese niste galbeni si, profitand de faptul ca era singur cu securistul in camera, s-a aplecat si i-a soptit la ureche: “ Jumate` – jumate` !”, acesta dupa o scurta ezitare, a dat din cap ca accepta. A doua zi, tata isi fixase punct de intalnire cu el si s-a dus exact cu jumatate din tot aurul pe care il avea. Tata era de o corectitudine exemplara, ar fi putut sa-i dea si patru galbeni, ca nu stia nimeni cati are…dar, i-a dat exact jumatate. Dupa ani de zile mi-a spus “…i-am dat atunci aluia cat pentru o ferma… a trebuit sa-i dau jumate pentru ca asa i-am spus… !”, era echivalentul unei gospodarii mari, cu teren, o ferma cum s-ar spune. Ulterior, tata a fost chemat la Securitate, pe bulevardul Stefan cel Mare era sediul, a fost interogat, sa-i denunte pe cei care ar fi stiut el ca detin aur, el a spus ca nu stie pe nimeni iar, cel care il ancheta ca sa-l intimidezeze, i-a cerut sa se urce pe soba care era in camera, tata i-a raspuns “Urca-te intai dumneata sa-mi arati cum sa fac !”, atunci securistul s-a enervat, a scos dintr-un sertar un pistol si l-a pus ostentativ pe masa dupa care si a inceput sa-l injure, atunci tata i-a spus “Mai injura-ma o data si o sa inghiti pistolul ! ” .Au urmat perioade despre care a povestit pe larg Florescu in cartea sa, nu are rost sa le reiau eu acum. Fiind recunoscut pentru flerul sau de comerciant, comunistii au apelat frecvent la tata pentru activarea unor magazine de stat care mergeau prost. Veneau si il rugau: “Dom`le Carabelaian, ne-ai mai ajutat si in trecut, n-ai vrea sa ne mai ajuti o data, avem un magazin care nu prea merge… ?”, el nu refuza niciodata, comertul era viata lui, magazinul era viata lui… Asa a ajuns sa lucreze o perioada pe Calea Victoriei apoi, langa Teatrul de Revista Savoy, in pasajul Kretulescu si, in final, in Hristo Botev de unde s-a si pensionat si a predat stafeta lui Gheorghita Florescu.

Iata dragii mei, un scurt sinopsis al vietii unui om care a trait prin meseria sa. Avedis Carabelaian face parte dintr-o categorie de negustori care din pacate a disparut, e vorba de oameni care ridicasera comertul la nivel de arta. Interzicerea comertului particular si impunerea brutala si exclusiva a comertul de stat de catre regimul comunist incepand cu anii `50, a facut imposibila perpetuarea acestui tip de negustorie si formarea unor noi generatii de negustori de calibrul lui Avedis Carabelaian sau al altora ca Zadic Muradian, Altiocaian, Agemian, Sahaghiean despre care vom vorbi poate alta data, locul acestora fiind luat de tristele magazine comuniste de stat, mereu fara marfa si, mai tarziu, de supermarketuri, buticuri impersonale care vand de toate si nimic, cu vanzatori plictisiti si reclame naive.

Paul Agopian 11.06.2013

  

ENGLISH VERSION

Dear readers, I recently had the pleasure of talking over an Armenian coffee with the distinguished Mr. Anton Carabelaian, the son of the well-known coffee shop Avedis Carabelaian, the mentor of the coffee shop Gheorghe Florescu, the one whose name bears the wonderful Avedis coffee marketed by his lordship.

MR. CARABELAIAN, I WAS IMPRESSED BY THE STORIES TOLD BY MASTER FLORESCU ABOUT YOUR FATHER, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT MR. AVEDIS AND ABOUT HIS COFFEE SHOP!

– The store is located in Banu Manta no. 7, here my father built a block-type building which he completed in 1931-1932, on the ground floor he opened a coffee and colonial shop with the name La Martinica, we lived in the apartments above the shop . It was a superb store, I have it in front of my eyes even now, it was not big, maybe 25-30 square meters, very nicely arranged. It was composed of two rooms, one being the store and the other a small warehouse where bags of coffee, chickpeas and other goods were kept. Coffee must be stored with great care because it is very sensitive to humidity, if a bag of coffee has absorbed moisture it is compromised, it cannot be recovered, it must be thrown away. The store had a large display window in front and, as soon as you entered the door, there was a coffee roasting machine, it was brought from Germany, as if I could see it, it was big, red, with a large bronze bowl on top, into which the coffee was poured which it was going to be fried. The store had some beautiful wooden shelves, with various carved arabesques, father had brought a famous craftsman to make them and he said they were in Indian style. On two of the four walls of the store there were some beautiful, nickel-plated boilers, provided with glass, in which the varieties of coffee were displayed. The ceiling of the store was blue and colored light bulbs were mounted around the ceiling and, in the evening, when it got dark outside, this small shop, spreading lights of different colors from the inside, took on a magical air. Being located across the road from the City Hall, it is understandable that my father knew all the officials from the smallest to the largest, most of them being his clients. Some of my father’s Armenian friends, knowing this, came with various problems to ask him to help them, I remember that they did not speak Romanian very well and one of them said: “- Baron Avedis, don’t you want to go here with me to the ministry “(n.a. administration) put in a good word?”, father laughed “- Where should I go?” “- …to…minusratie…!”, and he went, he helped them, he helped a lot of people…

– WHERE DID MR AVEDIS PROCURE COFFEE IN THOSE TIMES? – There were big coffee wholesalers at that time, one of them being even a son of my father, Aram Altiocaian, he was one of the big suppliers of coffee at that time. My father was actually a distant relative of the Altiocaians, it’s a complicated relationship, his wife was the sister of Minas Altiocaian from Constanta. Aram had a brother, Adam, who also had a coffee shop in Ploiesti. Dad had about 7-10 kinds of coffee in the store at that time, it was very well stocked, only Brazilian Santos coffee had five kinds, there were Santos 1, Santos 2, Santos 3… he also had Rio, Jawa, Mocca, Columbia, Ceylon, a special coffee with large beans. Various melanges and mixtures were made from these sorts, as the customer wanted. Then the coffee is usually mixed with chickpeas. Dad, in his life he never drank coffee without chickpeas, at least 10% chickpeas.

– WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CHICKPOP?

– It’s simple and important, it perfects the taste and aroma of the coffee, complements it, highlights its qualities and, in addition, makes a cream… In my father’s shop, 10%, 20% chickpea blends were made, as requested by the customer. I also told Florescu to try, he said he was thinking… There are two types of chickpeas, one to eat called Leblebli, a large, whitish bean, and another with a small, blackish bean, which can be fried, ground and mixed with coffee. I’ll make a parenthesis, I saw varieties of coffee at Florescu that my father didn’t have then, some of which I even tasted. I don’t think there are any tastes or demands in terms of coffee that cannot be satisfied by what he has in store now, it simply impressed me, I told him the same, not to flatter him, because I don’t have I came from America to flatter him… that’s the truth, he has some extraordinary coffees, I was deeply impressed by this melange that he called Divine. In my opinion, the Divine surpasses everything, I am left cold by other types of I don’t know how many hundreds of lei, I can say that even St. Elena does not rise to the level of the Divine, it is truly a divine coffee, it can’t be anything on top of that, there’s nothing more you could want from a coffee, it’s the best! Going back to my childhood, when I didn’t have school, I had to be in the store to help my father, from the age of 12, I learned to roast and grind coffee, I knew the types of coffee by bean, I can say that I had experience in this field. Many friends visited my father, I had learned to make coffee and my father would only say “Anton, put the coffee pot on!”, I knew what I had to do, I learned to make coffee as a child. I didn’t drink coffee, as a child, but I really liked to eat freshly roasted coffee beans, I took them in the palm of my hand from the roaster, sprinkled powdered sugar on them and gnawed them. I used to eat the grounds left over from my mother’s coffee with great pleasure, I was crazy about this grounds, we ate it with bread, I liked it so much… Speaking of grounds, in a cup of well-made coffee it must remain grounds after you drink it, coffee without coffee is not coffee. It’s a secret, actually it’s more of a technological matter, you shouldn’t skimp on the coffee, when I hear that some people put a teaspoon, a teaspoon and a half of coffee in a cup… I didn’t learn that way, you have to put coffee in such a way that to stay still. Another secret, when the coffee is about to catch on fire, a dusting of coffee is sprinkled on top to form a glaze, only if you follow all these rules, you can say you are drinking COFFEE.

– WHAT GOODS WERE STILL FOUND IN THE BANU MANTA STORE?

– …what was not to be found…carobs, red beans with a sweet taste, Leblebli, chickpeas to eat, at one time my father also had very good wines, from Vintila Bratianu’s vineyards, Grasa de Saburesti and Vinul Negru de Saburesti, some formidable wines . In our house, we drink only this red Samburesti wine, it was a serious, strong, velvety wine, with a special bouquet. He had many other goods that are no longer found today, for example the Swiss Suchard chocolate, it had an amazing taste, I did not find that taste even in the best Swiss chocolate today. There was something else that remained in my memory, something extraordinary, some small cakes wrapped in cellophane, cookies, I don’t know how to call them, mini-cakes with fruit, with chocolate…what a taste…I have no words…they were the wonders of the earth!

– HOW DID THE CARABELIAN FAMILY GET TO OPEN A COFFEE SHOP IN BUCHAREST?

– The Carabelians are Kemahti, Armenians from Kemah, a city in Erzincan province in eastern Anatolia, where the most famous Armenian coffees come from. My grandfather Garabet Carabelaian had a coffee and colonial shop in Bucharest in the period 1925-1930, at Podul Basarab, it was called “La Camila”. During that time, my father had opened a coffee shop in Yalta, in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, and he regularly commuted from Bucharest to Yalta. When the Bolsheviks entered Yalta, they indulged in all kinds of abominable acts, everyone ran away from them, father was around town and had to flee to the port, he could not go back to where he lived to get what he was dying, he left everything, he had a French passport, I don’t know how he got it and he fled on a French ship to Constanta. After many years, he told that he abandoned a bag full of precious stones in the house in Yalta, all his agony…but, he did not regret it, that was his nature, he was very optimistic, no loss affected him. When the communists took our houses, he said “What, they took only me? They all agreed…we’re moving forward!”, he was fantastically optimistic, unlike my nose, for example, who, in `49, when they confiscated his houses, suffered cerebral congestion and died.

– HOW WAS TRADE IN THOSE TIMES?

– It became dangerous in the years `48-`50, patrons were hunted, expropriations had begun, you were not allowed to have wealth, gold, houses, etc. In 1950, we woke up with the Securitate at our house, they had come to search, they were looking for those who owned gold. After a while I found out that the Security had come to us out of a stupidity. A search had been made at my father’s place where he was staying somewhere on May 1st, the Security found a gold coin, a gold coin, and they asked him where he got it, he, without realizing what he was doing, told them – he said that “… he put his nose in the cauldron in which my son was baptized…”, the nose being the father, they immediately made the connection and came directly to us. We mentioned 4-5 people who entered and started to rummage through the whole house, they found nothing. Father, he had made all the gold he had into small pieces and hid it in the gutters of the house, on the balconies, inside the sockets… we had no idea. At one point, one of the security guards entered one of the bedrooms and wanted to dismantle a socket, father realized that he had no escape, inside the socket he had hidden some yellow ones and, taking advantage of the fact that he was alone with the security guard in the room, he bent down and whispered in his ear: “Half – half!”, after a short hesitation, he nodded his acceptance. The next day, father had fixed a meeting point with him and left with exactly half of all the gold he had. Dad was exemplary in fairness, he could have given him four yellow coins, because no one knew how many he had…but he gave him exactly half. Years later, he told me “…I gave him the dough for a farm… I had to give him half because that’s what I told him…!”, it was the equivalent of a large household, with land, a farm as they say. Later, father was called to the Securitate, the headquarters was on Stefan cel Mare boulevard, he was interrogated, to denounce those who would have known him to own gold, he said he did not know anyone and the one who investigated him in order to intimidate him, he asked him to climb on the stove that was in the room, father answered “You climb up first and show me how to do it!”, then the security guard got angry, he took out a gun from a drawer and he ostentatiously placed it on the table, after which he began to swear at him, then my father told him “Swear at me one more time and you’ll swallow the gun!”

There followed periods about which Florescu told extensively in his book, there is no point in me resuming them now. Being recognized for his flair as a merchant, the communists frequently called on my father to activate some state stores that were going badly. They would come and ask him: “Mr. Carabelaian, you have helped us in the past, wouldn’t you like to help us one more time, we have a store that is not doing well…?”, he never refused, trade was life for him, the store was his life… That’s how he ended up working for a while on Calea Victoriei, then, near the Savoy Magazine Theatre, in the Kretulescu passage and, finally, in Hristo Botev, where he retired and handed over the baton to Gheorghita Florescu. Here, my dears, is a short synopsis of the life of a man who lived through his job. Avedis Carabelaian is part of a category of merchants that has unfortunately disappeared, it is about people who raised commerce to the level of art. The prohibition of private trade and the brutal and exclusive imposition of state trade by the communist regime starting with the 1950s, made it impossible to perpetuate this type of trade and to train new generations of traders of the caliber of Avedis Carabelaian or others such as Zadic Muradian, Altiocaian , Agemian, Sahaghiean which we will talk about maybe another time, their place being taken by the sad communist state stores, always without goods and, later, by supermarkets, impersonal boutiques that sell everything and nothing, with bored sellers and naive advertisements. Paul Agopian 11.06.2013