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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Hooked

Growing up in India, the only stimulant I developed a taste for is tea. Rich, dense black tea smothered in liberal quantities of whole milk and sugar. Occassionally we indulged in a little "Madras coffee", a percolated coffee decoction, once again smothered in liberal quantities of whole milk and sugar. Of course, upon moving to the US into a dinky little grad-school pad, preparing tea the traditional way was too much of a chore. Cautious doses from the school coffee maker yielded a dark, bitter drink that required way too much sugar to make palatable. The dusty dregs of a Lipton tea bag were no better. I thus resorted to Coca Cola for the ultimate sugar-caffeine kick. Of course, when you're 21 your body can take it.

Slowly, over time, I concluded that I just was not a coffee person. It was an acquired taste and I just wasn't going to bother acquiring it. I scanned various supermarkets, ethnic and gourmet stores for good teas. If you've lived in the US, you know they don't really understand tea - they try to make it taste like coffee - yuck! However, things slowly began to change. Loose leaf teas started showing up at gourmet stores. With a few tips from the web, and a classic, white English teapot, I was soon brewing rich, full bodies black teas in my kitchen. With a touch of milk and sugar, they were little cups of heaven - my revenge at all the coffee & cream addicts around me.

A year and a half ago, I moved to Toronto where - surprise, surprise - I found wonderful, full-bodied, bagged teas at supermarkets all over. Here's an easy test for a good tea. Flip the carton over and see where it's been packed. England? Yes. US? No. I finally settled for Tetley Orange Pekoe. It's cheap and available everywhere. That's my daily breakfast tea now.

By now you're probably wondering where I'm going with all this. Well, paitience has it's virtues :-)

About a year ago, I was introduced to the fabled Tim Horton's double double. To the uninitiated, it's a cup of regular coffee with two shots each of milk & sugar. Yes, milk, not cream. That makes all the difference in taste. Also, you can get a regular sized cup of this stuff for just over a buck. It was cheap enough to experiment with, and experiment I did. Slowly I fell under the spell of coffee and acquired the taste I found so alien just a few years ago. However, the real deal-closer was Rio. The Sheraton in Barra de Tijuca serves some excellent cafe com leite. I probably downed at least 4 cups of this stuff every day during my week there.

Of course, like any crack ... err .... caffeine addict, I wanted more. Since November, I've been experimenting with various brands, styles and flavors of coffee all around Toronto (and Barcelona). I've realized the secret is good coffee + warm milk. So far, it's a close race between Starbucks and Timothy's World lattés. Timmy's carries an excellent Ethiopian coffee sometimes. I like the way their lattés still have some crema floating on top. Starbucks meanwhile really jolts you awake. They probably have the highest caffeine levels. I've been going through at least a cup of this stuff every day, if not more. I really should stop. Oh but it's SO good! Sigh.

8 comments:

Andy said...

HAHAHAHA! ADDICT! :-P If it makes you feel better my father travels with his own coffee when he lives PR he feels its crap everywhere else and he must mainline his daily dose. I'll bring you some when I see you and shoe you how its really done in the Caribbean. You will never go back (or so I hear since i'm not a coffee drinker :-)

Ameet said...

Ok - I just read that post again and it sounds like I was on crack when I wrote this. I wasn't. Honest. In fact, I was absorbing a sub-lingual pill of melatonin to help me sleep.

Tony said...

Just be careful of the condiments at Starbucks! Which reminds me, you still owe me 1 latte ;-) But I’m with you on the tea! You CAN’T beat a good brew :-) Make mine an Assam or Earl Grey - black with 1 sugar :-)

Unknown said...

I noticed that there was no mention of availaibility of English and Indian tea (from Indian stores) whilst in India... Was it something you did not explore or was it something that did not meet your expectations in search for good desi chai?

Ameet said...

anthony: Of course, nothing beats a good Assam or Kenya.

manoj: Searching for good chai in India is like searching for snow in Canada. It's utterly superfluous :-P

Unknown said...

errr... I meant whilst in US (not India).... but you answered my question - you don't like the "kadak" desi chai or the neelgiri or darjeeling. :-)

Manu said...

Yeah I love our good ol milky chai (with a bit of ginger or cardamom in it)! But a few weeks ago I had a meeting at the Sri Lankan Consulate and the tea they served there was SO good. One really felt invigourated after a cup of that brew. I have to call her up on some pretext and ask her where I can get it.

Chic Mommy said...

I was the same way, I thought I was just a tea person until I realized, coffee keeps me awake longer. And oh, I love it when they mix chocolate in it. My favorite is a Mocha Latte, made with skim milk and Splenda (so I can convince myelf I'm trying to save calories), but I make a Tall.