Qahfa
Properties
Material Characteristics
Qahfa plants are low, wide spreading shrubs with long, wide, and flat leaves. The flowers form on top of the branches, so that the fruit ends up supported by the large leaves. The fruit itself is similar in size and shape to a cherry, although rather than a single pit, it forms a cluster of seeds. The fruit itself is juicy, but there is very little in comparison to the seeds. In the process of removing the
History & Usage
History
Qahfa is an important plant to the people of the Endless Desert, as it helps them to cool off from the heat of the desert. The Qahfa plant grows on the slopes of the Ischium Range of the Spine Mountains. The plants grow densely around the streams and minor rivers that flow down to the Shiryan River, as well as around oases throughout the desert. While both the desert and mountain versions are qahfa, there are definite differences in the flavor produced by each.
Attempts to domesticate the plants have repeatedly failed. The city of Carrida has someone attempt to plant them every decade or so, thinking that the fertile delta should be better for the plants than where they grow wild. Some of the desert plants have been known to survive, although they have never flowered, and eventually the plants have been uprooted to make room for food crops.
Discovery
Qahfa has been used by the peoples of the desert for longer than recorded history. Legend has it that a yak farmer from the mountains was lost in a sandstorm, and ended up in a valley that was studded with the plants. Hungry and thirsty, he and the yaks ate the fruit of the tree, with the farmer at one point biting into a seed. The seed burned, but it also made him sweat, and he was cooled overall. He and the yaks were filled with energy from the fruit, and were able to make it back to their home.
The story continues that the yak farmer began to try to make use of the fruit. With as little fruit as there was compared to the seeds, he worked on a way to easily extract the seed from the fruit, and did so by steeping in hot water. The water turned a dark color, and out of curiosity, the farmer tried to drink it. The burn was there, and the flavor was bitter, but it also made him awake and energetic, and the sweat from the burn kept him cool. He eventually found a way to separate the seeds from the fruit, and fed the fruit to his yaks while refining the brewed drink, which he named after himself.
Everyday use
Qahfa, the plant, is used to make feed for animals, and the Qahfa brew for humanoids. The fruit is separated from the seed, and mixed with grains to add some nutrients and moisture to the diet of livestock. The seed is ground into a course powder, then steeped in hot water to draw out the flavors.
Qahfa has three primary purposes: focusing the mind, relaxing the spirit, and cooling the body. The drink helps with waking, and many will use it as a way to throw off the cobwebs of sleep and allowing them to focus on the task at hand. Later in the day, when the body is moving to relaxing, the rush of pleasure from a well brewed cup helps to calm the mind and throw off the concerns of the day. That it also gives an excuse to sit and linger over a cup, rather than move to the next task, may be as responsible as anything about the drink itself.
But the most important use is to help regulate temperature. Hot beverages, such as the water in a shallow pool exposed to the heat of the desert, are known to help the body cool by forcing the drinker to sweat more and cool the body as it dries. Qahfa does this, but also has a burning spice that does not add heat to the body, but does increase the rate of sweating. Even Qahfa that has been allowed to cool has this property, making it greatly superior to other hot beverages in terms of cooling. Denizens of the great desert are well aware of the properties of the drink, although visitors often do not believe that drinking something hot can make one cool. The spiciness of the drink is often a problem for outsiders as well - while natives have developed a taste for it, visitors often have no experience with such heat, and have been known to choke on a cup.
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