RSS Feeds: Coffee or Tea, Hot or Cold, But No Soda For Me
There are some things in life where I will accept no substitutes. Coffee and tea are two of these things.
This is the second of two articles I wrote for my main site. This one was originally published in April of 2008 and I've moved it here (with minor rewriting) because this site is about coffee and tea and the other is not. Keep in mind when it was written as I made references:
Recently, I was reminded by Claire (A little piece of me) that while some people like lemon in their tea, others do not. She, like me, does not like lemon in her tea. She needs "proper" tea, whatever the heck that means.
Tea, Cold or Hot
I've noticed, at least locally, that much more tea is sold with lemon added than without. In fact, I can rarely find instant tea that doesn't have the added lemon flavor. Yecch! At times, I have resorted to doing the tea bag drill and making my tea that way. I prefer iced tea, but when it doesn't feel like a sauna in my house, hot tea works just as well. The instant tea brand I always look for as unsweetened, without any added flavoring, is Nestea (a product of Nestlé. If I can't find any, I resort to buying the Lipton tea bags.
Local restaurants like to stick a slice of lemon in with the iced tea when it's served. The first thing I do is toss out the lemon before it ruins the flavor of the tea. I love the natural flavor of tea. I am guilty, however, of sweetening tea with sugar, but not too much. I don't want the sugar flavor overwhelming the tea flavor.
Black tea (an American all-time favorite), oolong tea, or green tea, it doesn't matter. They're all good to me. What a lot of people don't know is that all three are produced from the same plant. See "Tempest in a Teapot" for more information.
Coffee, Hot or Cold
Growing up, I was enticed into becoming a coffee drinker by the strong aroma wafting from the coffee pot percolating in the kitchen. I can remember my mother putting coffee grounds into the pot, letting it perk for however long it took, and then people sitting around the dining room table drinking it. Back in those days, the coffee pots were tempered glass and it took more than just a few minutes for the coffee to be ready. Nowadays, we have automatic drip coffee as well as instant coffee.
I prefer instant coffee, but not just any instant coffee. It has to be either the Folgers or the Nescafé (another product of Nestlé) brands. Other coffee brands just don't seem to taste right to me.
While I was in the military and stationed in Japan in the eighties, I had to settle for iced coffee, usually arriving as a can from a vending machine. When Starbucks started marketing cold coffee, it was already old news to me, so I didn't get suckered into buying it all the time.
When I was young, non-dairy creamers like Cremora and Coffee-Mate (still another Nestlé product) didn't exist (well, they did, but I never saw them). It's a good thing they didn't because partially hydrogenated oils are bad for you. Everyone that didn't drink it black used evaporated milk from a can. I drink coffee with sugar only these days.
Carbonated Beverages
It doesn't matter what you call them. In some places they're called soda. In other places they're called pop. In yet other places they're called soda pop. I can't drink any of them. When I was much younger, I drank soda because it was convenient. The vending machines were everywhere. It didn't matter which brand I preferred because it changed from month to month. As I got older, I realized that soda (while not knowing how bad it really is for you) just didn't do the trick in quenching my thirst.
A couple of months ago, I found myself drinking a soda because it was the only thing available at the time. We were out of bottled water and I was thirsty. I poured the soda over ice cubes and it still didn't water it down enough to tame my thirst. I ended up driving 11 miles to buy bottled water. Don't get me started on the tap water. The tap water where I was at was worse than the water you find in swimming pools, it had so much chlorine in it.
What Are Your Favorite Drinks?
Aside from alcoholic beverages, what do you like to drink? Coffee, tea, soda, other kinds of drinks or just water? Can you tell me why? If you're a beer-aholic (someone who drinks beer for the taste, not the alcohol), can you tell me why you prefer it over anything else?
(Image sources: The "What's in Your Pot?" Swap and Well of Illusions!)
Similar Posts:
I'd prefer going for tea, it's good for the health.
I know I should drink other things besides pop, but I can't help myself it tastes too good. Luckily I am down to only about 1 can of pop a day.
I LOVE coffee. I drink it by the pot almost every day. I get a lot of gripe about how it's supposed to be bad for me, but I feel fine. Tea is good, too, but coffee is my first choice.
My last blog post… Write About What’s Being Said: Keep Your Traffic Up By Staying Fresh
I prefer tea. I don't drink coffee at all, because I've seen how addictive it is and how dependent people can be on it. I used to drink a lot of soft drink when I was younger but since then I primarily drink water and well as juices and milk. They are just way more healthy for you.
RT,
I have to say my favorite drink is iced tea, and I agree, it's better with no lemon added. However, I always add sugar to my tea. I think it's because I couldn't handle the stuff as a kid, because I've added less sugar over the years. My boyfriend only drinks it unsweetened though and thinks it's gross when I open the bags of sweet n low to pour in. (He does add lemon though.)
We're both big beer drinkers too. I grew up in a German family, so beer was a staple. My boyfriend is Irish, so I guess it was the same for him. Finding a beer that has just the right amount of hops and a good robust taste goes great with a meal and is fun to enjoy with company.
Where were you that there was that much chlorine in the tap water?
Coolidge, Arizona, USA