Thursday 8 March 2007

A bit on the side.


Well, firstly I can report that it has a distinct chocolatey aroma and a taste that is oddly fruity.

But is it tea?

I am generally not a mixer when it comes to drinks. I upset some aunt once by telling her that her Earl Grey tea tasted of soap. It was only afterwards that I learnt that it was meant to taste that way.

I have tried various things in tea. Well, milk I accept. But the shops are full of blackberry, lemon, ginger, rhubarb, anchovy, clove and watermelon teas. Really.

The current craze for adding various syrups to coffee is no doubt good for those readily bored with the traditional but really I can't be bothered. I have, I admit, had a few Irish coffees in my time but the number would certainly be nowhere near double figures and none of them are within the last twenty years.

I prefer my 'extras' on the side. Brandy, chocolate, liqueurs, fruit, flowers, women. That way you get to enjoy the subtilties of both. Why put spirits in coffee when you can have them separately? Why put chocolate in tea when you can enjoy the pleasures of both?

Why can't people leave things alone?
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10 comments:

  1. With this one I totally agree. Brian likes his Earl grey and a few others but I stick to my normal Lipton tea, not flash or fancy but good enough for me, same with coffee .. but we did discover those boxes with the Vanilla Latte and yummmeeeee! I looked at the Caramel one and the Cinnamon but then decided naaaa, can't be good!

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  2. Same here..I'm not too creative and not too receptive when it comes to mixing my drinks with all sorts of things. Tea and chocolate? No way. Leave my chocolate alone.

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  3. I agree...except that is, with a woman on the side...I'm much prefer a man!

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  4. I agree thay should be left alone. The mix sounds ghastly! But I think I may now sound like a 'Grumpy Old Woman'!

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  5. well, it all started in ireland. not everyone likes their tea piping hot, and to cool it, you can add a little cold water. crass as this may seem, there are people who do, and not only irish people. now it may have been paddy o'callighan, and it might have been sile ni hegharty, but whoever it was, clearly some irish tea drinker was seen by some english speaker quietly adding a shot of cold water to a cup of hot tea, and asking what was added, was replied to in pure sweet irish 'uisce'. that's gaeilge (irish gaelic) for water, but it is pronounced just like whiskeh, which is close to whisky, which is short for the gaelic uisce bheatha, meaning whisky. so this english speaker was inspired after some thought to try whisky in hot tea and served it to guests and vaunted it as an endearing irish custom, which it never was until fed back into the culture via their international reputation. then of course, some people will try anything, and that's how the chocolate got into your tea. but i quite agree - whisky's a lot nicer without the tea!!!!

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  6. I agree Lee, I also like my teas and coffees without flavor included, if I want chocolate, I will eat a bonbon with my coffee.

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  7. Good point, keeping them seperATE.
    on the other hand, I see where the Chinese have started mass importing Scotch Whiskey and one of the things they like to mix with is green tea.

    Reckon it's a case of y'all use what the area's culture has, eh?

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  8. Here Here! I completely agree and mostly its because when some thing that's not naturally flavored like chocolate then has some flavor added, the people doing the adding get it all wrong. The choco flavor is never as good as a nice bar of dark Dagoba or Scharffen Berger.

    OK, I now must go to the shop for a choco fix. Quickly!

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  9. I was taught that uisce bheatha means "water of life." Oh, wait... that IS whiskey!

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