Andrea asked about coffee, and I've been meaning to write about it, so here it is. :)
In India, of course everyone drinks tea. Tea with breakfast and tea in the afternoon and tea when guests come to visit. I don't know if all tea in India is like the tea in Tamil Nadu, but here it is served piping hot in a small stainless steel cup. The cup itself is so hot you must hold it where you drink or burn your fingers off. The tea tastes like some sort of chamomile tea made with hot syrupy milk. The tea is soooo unbelievably sugary sweet, I can barely get it down my throat.
After two days of tea I went to a market stall with Sweaty and found some NesCafe instant coffee packets. I brought them home to Mary who prepares the tea and asked her if I could have coffee in the morning instead of tea. Mary responds, "Coffee? with milk? and sugar?" I explain "no milk and no sugar". So the next morning she checks with me one more time because I am probably just off my rocker, "No milk? no sugar???!" She understands, but I think it's just physically hard for her to make me coffee like this. She has this perplexed look on her face. BUT the coffee was delicious (for instant).
Day two of coffee and she checks in one more time, "no milk, no sugar??" I told her how delicious the black coffee was and to keep it coming.
It seems I am the slowest coffee / tea drinker in India. The cups are small so you are supposed to chug it down in one or two drinks I guess. On Friday morning I had my coffee at the kitchen table and the cook, every time I set my cup down, would rush over to take it away. I kept shooing her away, wondering why she was trying to steal my precious coffee. Then I sip and put it down. This time Mary comes into the room to grab my cup. I snatch it away from her. "Still drinking?!" she asks.
Sweaty and Thila laugh at me now. "Why you drink so slow? Why you take such small sips?" I tell them I like to sip and enjoy my coffee, but the girls laugh and laugh. Then they start in on my eating. "Why you eat so slow? Why you take such small bites?"
Apparently my eating and drinking habits are really odd. :)
For 1 Rupee you can enjoy fine instant coffee in Tamil Nadu. :)
In India, of course everyone drinks tea. Tea with breakfast and tea in the afternoon and tea when guests come to visit. I don't know if all tea in India is like the tea in Tamil Nadu, but here it is served piping hot in a small stainless steel cup. The cup itself is so hot you must hold it where you drink or burn your fingers off. The tea tastes like some sort of chamomile tea made with hot syrupy milk. The tea is soooo unbelievably sugary sweet, I can barely get it down my throat.
After two days of tea I went to a market stall with Sweaty and found some NesCafe instant coffee packets. I brought them home to Mary who prepares the tea and asked her if I could have coffee in the morning instead of tea. Mary responds, "Coffee? with milk? and sugar?" I explain "no milk and no sugar". So the next morning she checks with me one more time because I am probably just off my rocker, "No milk? no sugar???!" She understands, but I think it's just physically hard for her to make me coffee like this. She has this perplexed look on her face. BUT the coffee was delicious (for instant).
Day two of coffee and she checks in one more time, "no milk, no sugar??" I told her how delicious the black coffee was and to keep it coming.
It seems I am the slowest coffee / tea drinker in India. The cups are small so you are supposed to chug it down in one or two drinks I guess. On Friday morning I had my coffee at the kitchen table and the cook, every time I set my cup down, would rush over to take it away. I kept shooing her away, wondering why she was trying to steal my precious coffee. Then I sip and put it down. This time Mary comes into the room to grab my cup. I snatch it away from her. "Still drinking?!" she asks.
Sweaty and Thila laugh at me now. "Why you drink so slow? Why you take such small sips?" I tell them I like to sip and enjoy my coffee, but the girls laugh and laugh. Then they start in on my eating. "Why you eat so slow? Why you take such small bites?"
Apparently my eating and drinking habits are really odd. :)
For 1 Rupee you can enjoy fine instant coffee in Tamil Nadu. :)
I enjoyed reading about your coffee adventure! Hopefully you were able to get refill after refill of coffee at the hotel. Maybe you should get a thermos to bring some back with you!
ReplyDeleteYou know I thought about buying a pot on a hot plate so I can make my own coffee in my room. They have them here, but it just seems soooooo extravagant. I already got the Internet and then went and bought a pillow...now the coffee. The girls asked me why I have so many bags - why did I bring all this stuff to India? Then there was an article in the The Hindu (India paper) today that said Americans are over consumers of everything... I just think I'll stick with my little cup of morning Joe.
ReplyDeleteDid you tell your friends that for an American, you're a light packer and a minimalist? They would be very surprised to see the size of my luggage!
ReplyDeleteYes, Amanda. You should point out that your American friends make fun of your small luggage. But, I agree, you should keep everything to a minimum so you can feel one with India.
ReplyDelete