Coffee box

One of the beneficial effects of the opening of the borders following the fall of Communism in 1989-1990 was that it opened the way to legal visits to Israel. Some Jewish youth made Aliyah during the 1990s, settled formally in Israel, obtained citizenship, went to university and served in the army. Some became Israelis, but many others returned just to yearn back and forth the two countries and, as the old Hungarian Jewish joke sharply puts it: not to feel good in either but only during the journey from one the other. ‘Elite’ Coffee became an icon among Hungarian Jewish youth as its taste reminded them of ‘Maci’ Coffee of their childhood and invoked memories of school canteens and summer camps. Its metal container on the other hand was a valued collectible in Hungary, the Hebrew letters and the Kosher stamp on the case made it a genuinely Jewish object, which apart from being a practical container in everyday use, also became an accessory of Jewish identity.