Tea or Coffee?

[BG405]

I don’t know, but my wife loves it almost like a syrup.

Reminds me of how (many) Italians like their coffee. The local bar proprietors were a bit surprised when I asked for the coffee without sugar .. a small cup of very strong and exquisitely delicious beverage! Quizzical looks changed to more surprised ones as I savoured every drop followed with a couple more for good measure. I think they were expecting me to gastronomically purge it or something ..

I had tried the sickly-sweet version but much prefer it without any sugar (or milk or cream, for that matter, not that I saw that being served in Italy although I think it was on the menus). IMHO why ruin a great coffee? .. but tastes of course vary. Even half-decent instant coffee gets ladled into the mug & the only additive is hot water ..

[DAMIEN1307]

Their coke tastes better too .. it's NOT exactly the same wherever you go like they claim.

It is indeed different, even in the US.

Where i live now, about an hour and a half drive from the US/Mexico border, We not only have "American" Coca Cola, but we also have the Mexican bottlers distribution here as well.

The first difference is, The Mexican bottlers use actual glass bottles, The American bottlers have been using plastic bottles, or cans for many years now.

The second, and most important difference, is that the Mexican bottlers Coke mix uses REAL sugar, just like the original recipe, The American version has been using "high fructose corn syrup" in place of sugar, largly because its cheaper, for many years now.

I remember REAL Coke when i was young and they made it with sugar...I no longer drink American Coke, but will pay the extra for the Mexican Coke with the real sugar recipe instead...MUCH better flavour, just the way it was really supposed to be...DAMIEN

[Portreve]

There's a lot of places which sell Mexican and other South American "re-imports" of Coke. The trick is to look for bottles with labels all written in Spanish. And yes, they'll invariably be glass bottles. Definite difference in taste.

A lot of Walmarts carry them.

All my European friends think we're insane for letting our government allow companies to sweeten products (including bread, btw) with high fructose corn syrup.

You'd be amazed how badly hfcs-sweetened products will mess with your blood sugar levels.

[BG405]

The second, and most important difference, is that the Mexican bottlers Coke mix uses REAL sugar, just like the original recipe, The American version has been using "high fructose corn syrup" in place of sugar, largly because its cheaper, for many years now.

There's a lot of places which sell Mexican and other South American "re-imports" of Coke. The trick is to look for bottles with labels all written in Spanish. And yes, they'll invariably be glass bottles. Definite difference in taste.

I wonder if that's the difference here too? .. or at least used to be, until that unmentionable chef "celebrity" promoted the Sugar Tax (which should have remained exclusively as the title of an O.M.D. album IMHO).

This resulting in a lot of our soft drinks being ruined by the reduction of sugar to be replaced with that obnoxious substance known as Aspartame (often with Sodium Saccharin thrown in for an added perfumed/chemical taint) to avoid the levy.

.. Yes, it does affect me in unpleasant ways.

A lot of my former favourites are now out-of-bounds for me as a result, not to mention the inferior taste ...

Where I am, we have a ready supply of soft drinks from Poland and other Eastern European countries. These are not only better (more like the original W.R.T. Coke and also Pepsi, Tango etc.) but cheaper too ..

[Portreve]

I wonder if that's the difference here too?

I would not presume to speak for the UK, but I know from my friends in Germany that at least high fructose corn syrup is frowned upon there. As diet versions are sold there as well, they might be using aspartame or saccharine. I'd happily send you a case of the sugar sweetened stuff, but apart from that costing a king's ransom, I'm not sure what your customs folks would think. Maybe this would be a good excuse reason to visit Florida sometime in the future? (Besides, we have Key West, Miami (and some of the best Cuban food to be had outside of Cuba), Kennedy Space Center... yeah, you need to take a sabbatical here.

[MurphCID]

Mexican cokes are a staple here in San Antonio. They taste MUCH better than regular US cokes. As for sweet tea, I have no clue, just that it is considered so normal, that you have to specify unsweet tea.

[t42]

As an aside, does anyone like Turkish coffee?

This doesn't do justice to the Turkish, my daily treat, 40 beans for the 80 ml cup ground to a fine powder in a manual grinder:

[MurphCID]

As an aside, does anyone like Turkish coffee?

This doesn't do justice to the Turkish, my daily treat, 40 beans for the 80 ml cup ground to a fine powder in a manual grinder:

turkish.jpg

Turkish is a bit "macho" for me, I have had it, and it certainly has a unique taste.

[fstjohn]

For me it's Cafe Bustelo made in my AeroPress.

[Broncowicz_2358]

coffee all day.. I do go thru plenty of tea in the cold winter though. Especially Pao D'Arc..its some kind of brazilian tree bark. Good for an anti coughing, lung treatment. other teas..real honey with sliced ginseng, dandelion, love my tetley tea too. My korean wife makes all kinds of unknown concoctions too.

[MurphCID]

Making Irish coffee right now, with Jamison's Caskmates Stout edition. Real cream, smells superb.

[Infidelus]

Tea, always!

[MurphCID]

Tea of course its 100% more healthier options to choose from than coffee with greater benefits. You have Hibiscus oolong rooibos etc etc etc. I do drink iced coffee on occasion and very rarely do i have hot coffee unless im at a diner for breakfast.

I cannot disagree at all. Don't forget Pu'er tea.

[Moem]

You have Hibiscus (...) rooibos etc etc etc.

No thanks, I prefer tea.

[MurphCID]

You have Hibiscus (...) rooibos etc etc etc.

No thanks, I prefer tea.

LOL I agree here. The fruit and vegetables infusions are not tea. But lots of people like them, my oldest daughter among them, although lately she has become a really hard core coffee drinker.

[Schultz]

LOL I agree here. The fruit and vegetables infusions are not tea. But lots of people like them, my oldest daughter among them, although lately she has become a really hard core coffee drinker.

This is correct. "Tea" only comes from the Camellia sinensis leaf, and is processed in a variety of ways, the most common producing white, green, Oolong, and black (in Asia called red) tea.

[Moem]

Probably because it's a well-known word that gives people an idea of how it's meant to be used.
They don't do that everywhere, of course. Here in the Netherlands, it's not allowed to call it 'tea' if it's not at least partially made from tea plants. So you'll see packaging that looks like this:

CAMOMILE
to be prepared like
TEA

And rooibos tea is just called rooibos here, not rooibosthee.

[still_c]

I'm definitely a coffee person. I like all types of coffee. Unfortunately at home I can make only black coffee, but I wanna learn how to make a cappuccino or latte at home. As far as I know, I need a pitcher (consider taking Vanven one, it looks good), mixer, and coffee of course. It seems I gonna move from clothes online shopping to kitchen stuff.

[emmalfal]

Cold brew coffee. Once I discovered that, I became a snob to all other forms, including French pressed. I don't know what it is about the cold brew method that captures the true flavor of coffee, but it's apparent at once. Salvages the oils or something. And it's quick and easy to prepare. I cold brew a batch maybe once every two weeks. In the morning when I come stumbling out, I just dump in some hot water and I'm good to go. I do drink tea at night when it's too late for coffee, but I'm rather meh about it.

[MurphCID]

Caffeine is the legally adictive stimulant that gets me through my day. *sigh*