A small, strong Brazilian coffee, almost black, barely sweetened or not at all, strained through a cloth filter (coador de pano). It is drunk scalding hot, in a small cup, at any hour.

Why this dish? The anchor sheet clearly states: strong black coffee was an absolute constant in her days. Clarice wrote at night, cigarette in hand, a cup of cafezinho within reach — her writer's fuel.

I don't ask for much in the morning: only this black cup that smokes and looks at me before I look at it. I want the coffee strong, almost bitter, like a truth we don't have time to sweeten. I strain it slowly through the cloth, drop by drop, and in that waiting there is already all the day's writing. Drink it burning hot, without understanding: some things are only understood by drinking them.

How it was made : In Brazil, coffee is traditionally strained through a coador de pano, a cloth filter stretched over a hoop, inherited from the 19th century. As the world's largest producer, the country made cafezinho a social gesture as much as a beverage: it is offered to every visitor, at any hour.

The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small white cup placed on an open notebook and a pencil — Clarice's writing altar, coffee and words side by side.

Sources : Luís da Câmara Cascudo, História da Alimentação no Brasil · Benjamin Moser, Clarice, (Why This World, biography of Clarice Lispector)

Clarice Lispector · Charactorium