Rice coffee hitch at the airport

 I come from a non-coffee drinking family but when I got out of the nest, coffee kicked its way into my life and decided to stay.
I’m not really a big time coffee addict because I can go for days without, and I’m easy to please. Give me a 3-in-1 instant coffee (San Miguel please :-D)  and I’m good to go. Instant coffee is so convenient, although I splurge on my favorite Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks every now and then.
One of my ex-favorites is rice coffee which I used to buy at Bangkerohan in Davao City for 10 pesos for small glass. I say ex-favorites because rice coffee is not easy to find and it has been decades since I last had a cup of rice coffee.
That is until very recently when I went home. I suggested buying some from the market and my Mama insisted it was very expensive and more practical to just make it at home. While I was watching my ma stirring and roasting the rice, I suddenly remembered I had to go through numerous airports.
I knew I was going to run into airport security troubles but I couldn’t break my mama’s heart by refusing to bring some. Not after all the trouble she went through—investing time, energy and effort roasting rice in our old kawali (it was already there when I was born) outdoor kitchen, then repacking it in small plastic bags. I didn’t put it in a glass or plastic container because I was trying to go as lightweight as possible, and you know how everything adds up in weight fast.
True enough, a TSA scanner at the Hong Kong International Airport must have detected the black powdered stuff and they nit-picked through all the rest of my worldly possessions in my luggage. The TSA officer sniffed it and took the plastic away with him for further checking and as I didn’t close it well, some of the black powder rained on his pants and shoes. He should just have believed me when I said it’s just rice coffee.
Anyways, back to the rice coffee.
To enjoy it, put a cup of the roasted rice in a kettle, add some water and boil for five to 10 minutes. The amount of water depends on how concentrated you want your coffee to be. You can still use the same coffee mix by adding more water and boiling it again.
I need my coffee fix right now but I can’t wait 10 minutes to boil the rice coffee until later when I will run into a kettle and have 10 minutes. Got a 3-in-1 instant coffee, anyone?