beverages – Page 4 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Beyond the “C”

Posted on March 1, 2019February 11, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

What connects Camellia sinensis, Coffea seeds, Kola nuts as well as the yaupon holly leaves, Amazonian holly guayusa leaves. The common factor is a simple but bitter, white crystalline purine, a methylxanthine alkaloid compound popularly consumed globally as “Caffeine”. The growing role of “caffeine” related beverages is evidenced by the celebration of March as the National Caffeine Awareness Month” by foodimentarians globally.

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Like the two sides of a coin, caffeine has its’ own merits and demerits. Primarily playing its’ role as a central nervous stimulant as well as inhibitor of two major enzymes, phophodiesterase and adenosine; caffeine of coffee, tea as well as the medically available pure form has its’ indicated uses and merits.

From treating to preventing major diseases in neonates (like bronchopulmonary dysplasia, apnea of prematurity) as well aiding asthmatics in reducing their exacerbation; caffeine aids in reducing fatigue, drowsiness and improving coordination and reaction time. Imagine the endless night shifts, cramming before exams, pulling all nighters before the term exams in university and aiding to stay awake during classes after late night events; caffeine was always a life saver. In moderation, caffeine aids in reducing depressive symptoms as well as suicide idealizations.

“It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.” Ernest Hemingway

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Not just students or night shift workers, for the gym goers, caffeine helps in improving their endurance, aids weight loss as well as increase the training or exercise volume. Moderate consumption of caffeine reduces dementia and Alzheimer’s risk, neuroprotective for Parkinson’s patients, reduces liver fibrosis and cirrhosis as well decreases risk of throat, mouth, colon and skin cancer.

On the other hand, more than 400 milligrams of caffeine intake has been associated with health risks ( Health Canada limitations) while toxic doses are in the range of ten grams or more of caffeine (50 -100 coffee cups with 80-175 mgs of caffeine per cup). Adverse effects of caffeine have a physical as well as psychological manifestation. In the former group would include raised blood pressure, headaches, increase gastrointestinal motility, increase bone loss in postmenopausal women, stained teeth, increased eye pressure in glaucoma patients, loss of essential minerals like iron and calcium as well as decreasing collagen synthesis i.e. more wrinkles.

“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?” Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

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From a psychological viewpoint, increase caffeine can lead to addiction, mood swings, dependency, anxiety disorders, tremors as well as irritability and sleep less nights. For the pregnant women, balancing the daily intake to two or less cups of coffee ( less than 200mg ) helps to reduce the caffeine induced pregnancy complications.

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Caffeine consumption, highly depends on the way and reason we take it. From a simple homemade coffee to the “calorie laden coke” (laced with additional compounds) or the simple morning and evening ritual of tea, caffeine intake can be regulated. The more carefully we regulate the caffeine intake, the longer we can enjoy the merits than be affected by their demerits.

“Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee even better.” Justina Chen, North of Beautiful

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Daily, Food, Quotes

Of Wine and Flavours

Posted on February 26, 2019January 29, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age, and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will sicken and die.” Julia Child

Made initially from fermented grapes, wine is one of the alcoholic beverages that is most widely used accepted. Historical evidence of the earliest known traces of wine are from Georgia as early as 6000 BC. Although there is evidence of a similar alcoholic beverage being consumed earlier in China around?7000 BC. The 6,100-year-old Areni-1 winery in Armenia is the earliest known winery as evidenced by archaeological remains. Additionally besides being a leisure and recreational drink, wine has its’ own religious importance as well as culinary and artistic value.

“The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars.” Benjamin Franklin

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From the early wine, as the human civilization expanded southward, westward and into the Mediterranean, the wine grapes spread. With sea and road travel, cultivation of wine grapes spread throughout Western Europe. With each new region that was planted, the grapes slowly mutated and adapted to their unique environments. The slow divergence and evolution over thousands of years resulted in the incredible diversity of the wine varieties of today.

“A gourmet meal without a glass of wine just seems tragic to me somehow.” Kathy Mattea

Wine have now been popularly divided as the Old World Wines, named after the region where the grapes grow and the New World Wines, frequently named after the type of grapes used. To keep matters simple, wines can be broadly classified as Dessert wines, Red, Rose, White or Sparkling. Ranging from dinners to celebratory as well as medicinal purposes, each wine is specific for their type.

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“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” Paulo Coelho

Popularly wine is made from grapes, but other fruit wines especially berries, gooseberries and apples, aren’t far behind. In fact, Mead or honey wine was produced in ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia and was known in Europe before grape wine. Other starch-based “wine” like barley or rice wine (sake) are closer to beer based on the alcohol concentration. Gearing up for the next winter season, now would be an ideal time to start the preparation for homemade wine. For a start, beginning with the local fruit, (like Indian Gooseberry here) would be best. The longer it ferments, the better the wine.

“Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” Francis Bacon

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Café au Lait Mornings

Posted on February 16, 2019January 18, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“I thought ‘café au lait’ was Spanish.” “No, it’s French for coffee and milk. ‘Lait’ is milk.” . “Really? I thought it was “Café–olé! Like, ‘Coffee–all right!'”- Lorelai Gilmore

For the viewers of the American comedy-drama television series, Gilmore Girls; the above dialogue may seem familiar. Yet for ardent coffee lovers, there is no confusion in the mind.

Café au lait (French for “coffee with milk”) is simply coffee with hot milk added. Call it by any name, similar varieties are seen mainly across Europe, from the Spanish café con leche in Spain, Polish kawa biala and German Milchkaffee (“milk coffee”) to list a few. The reverse version holds true in the certain areas of Switzerland, where the popular variation is made by adding espresso to the milk base, known as the café renversé (“reverse coffee”).

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Traditionally the brew is primarily of French origin, prepared at home from dark coffee (preferable French beans) and heated milk; while in the cafes, the espresso machine takes over.

Yet the ‘ café au lait’ isn’t the dame as “Café latte”. Originated in Italy, the latter is typically made using one or two shots of espresso, topped-up with steamed milk, and finished with a small layer of foam on top. On the contrary, café au lait has no foam added to it.

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One popular variation of the café au lait served at coffee shops in New Orleans, is making it by using chicory which gives the beverage a distinctive, strong, and bitter flavor. Known as American café au lait, scalded milk is used rather than steamed milk and served usually with sweet powdered sugary beignets to offset the bitter flavour. The roots go back to the American Civil War days when coffee was in short supply and demand strong. Hence the trend of using chicory to pad out the available coffee had started and stayed on.

Either way, to start off the milky sweet mornings, ‘café au lait’ is there for all the coffee lovers, old or young.

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Hot, Dark and Chocolaty

Posted on February 1, 2019November 16, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Watch the sunrise at least once a year, put a lot of marshmallows in your hot chocolate, lie on your back and look at the stars, never buy a coffee table you can’t put your feet on, never pass up a chance to jump on a trampoline, don’t overlook life’s small joys while searching for the big ones.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

First believed to have been created by the Mayans 3000 years ago, this drink has been popularized across the world transitioning from religious or medicinal purposes to being a luxurious and recreational or comfort concoction. Popularly known as hot chocolate or cocoa, (aka drinking chocolate and chocolate tea in Nigeria); it would be a grave error for any chocolate fan to give this drink a miss.

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“Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.” Henri Frederic Amiel

Hot chocolate comes in multiple variations including the Latin American spiced chocolate para mesa, the very thick Italian cioccolata calda, Spannish chocolate a la taza to the thinner hot cocoa consumed in the United States. The distiction between “hot cocoa” (from powder made by removing most of the rich cocoa butter from the ground cacao beans) and “hot chocolate” ( melt bar chocolate, already rich in cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter) lies in the cocoa butter, the absence of which makes hot cocoa significantly lower in fat than hot chocolate while still preserving all the antioxidants found in chocolate.

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“Some days you get up and you already know that things aren’t going to go well. They’re the type of days when you should just give in, put your pajamas back on, make some hot chocolate and read comic books in bed with the covers up until the world looks more encouraging. Of course, they never let you do that.” Bill Watterson

Add a higher percentage of cocoa solids and cocoa butter, eliminate or decrease the sugar and voila, dark chocolate (also known as black chocolate, plain chocolate, or bitter chocolate) is ready. Although the percentages may vary as per brand, government and industry regulations; dark chocolate has taken the 21st century by storm. Either way, hot or cold; dark or light, bitter or milky; chocolate still reigns supreme among the desserts, gifts, treats and moments of deliciousness and is here to stay.

“You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about.” Ray Nagin

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Of Gourmet Coffee

Posted on January 18, 2019November 16, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Coffee in Brazil is always made fresh and, except at breakfast time, drunk jet black from demitasses first filled almost to the brim with the characteristic moist, soft coffee sugar of the country, which melts five times as fast as our hard granulated,” wrote Bob Brown and Cora Rose in the 1939 South American Cook Book, adding “For breakfast larger cups are used, and they’re more than half filled with cream. This cafe con leite doesn’t require so much sugar as cafe preto – black coffee.”

The brewed drink prepared from roasted beans and the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species have grown to worldwide acclaim. Initially the genus Coffea was native to tropical Africa and certain areas like Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius; coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries. The two most commonly grown varieties are C. arabica and C. robusta. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. Dried coffee seeds or “beans” are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. Roasted beans are ground and then brewed with near-boiling water to produce the beverage known as coffee.

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“The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Gourmet coffee has been in vogue now. They are coffees grown by a specific country which can also refer to a specific grade or region of a country. For example Dejardin Supremo Colombian refers to the region: Dejardin, the grade: Supremo and the country: Colombian.

“No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee’s frothy goodness. Sheik Abd-al-Kadir”

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Regardless of the type, what matters most is how coffee tastes, smells, and whether or not it makes you feel alert and happy. There are quite a lot of different types of coffee beverages with more than thirty on my count with most popular being Cappucino, Cafe au lait, Caffe Americano, Espresso, Mocchacino and Irish Coffee available at most coffee outlets.

“Among the numerous luxuries of the table…coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. It excites cheerfulness without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions…is never followed by sadness, languor or debility.” Benjamin Franklin

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Art of Tisane

Posted on November 6, 2018October 14, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” -Lin Yutang

One of the concoctions of the millennial which is slowly catching up is the herbal tea, otherwise known as tisanes. Quite popular in certain places especially the Orient, herbal teas have been often been intertwined with the local tradition of indigenous medicines which is not only for enhancing the overall health, but also addresses specific health related issues. As a matter of fact, herbal tea can be made from a long list of ingredients which start with every letter of the alphabet except the letters “I” and “X”. There is little wonder why then, this trend is slowly catching as the soothing sips of nature’s remedies answers many aliments of man brought on as a consequence to his existence in this modern world.

“The outsider may indeed wonder at this seeming much ado about nothing. What a tempest in a tea-cup! he will say. But when we consider how small after all the cup of human enjoyment is, how soon overflowed with tears, how easily drained to the dregs in our quenchless thirst for infinity, we shall not blame ourselves for making so much of the tea-cup.” ~Okakura Kakuzo

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As the tantalizing aroma of the brew hits, the memories of the past, present and the future swirl as the leaves seeped in the china cup. Although along with the health benefits, the very act of making and pouring the tisane is calming, like an art true to its’ form. A cup of herbal tea makes a pretty picture with colours borrowed from the autumn leaves interlaced with summer skies and spring air chasing away not only the winter chills but also the coldness and stress within. The warm cup floods the senses comforting the nerves; unsettles, raw and tender by chaos of the day.

While each one of us have our own blend to break in the day, it makes no difference as all finally help to start a new page with optimism in this cynical world that we find ourselves in.

“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.” -Kakuzo, Okakura

With Every Sip We Take

There is a little ray of sunshine
in every single steeping cup
bringing the sweetest smile with each sip we take.
These leaves do warm us deep inside
it’s such pleasure on a freezing night
the wistful scent of joy to ease your tired eyes.
Your mind now wrapped around the china
only one thing in those thoughts
a delicious trip to savory distant lands.
Choices staring at you in numbers
which destination shall you choose
it doesn’t matter as each one will tell its tale.
– Bosiar

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Art of Camellia sinensis

Posted on October 6, 2018October 6, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

If there is ever a concoction known as the “writer’s brew”, it may go to that prepared from Camellia sinensis. This popular aromatic beverage is known as “tea”. Originating initially in Southwest China, it began as a medicinal drink which slowly popularized to being a recreational beverage. Maybe it is the right combination of polyphenols, caffeine and L-theanine which helped tea beat down the stress and boost the creativity. Maybe it’s because of the latter, that tea can be labelled as the writer’s brew (although some writer’s may differ).

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For me, the tussle between “the theophylline”, “the caffeine” and “tisanes” are pretty strong. However without fail everyday, the morning is commenced by a pot of black tea with a liberal addition of milk or cream or sometimes sugar, depending on the mood of the hour. Preparing the morning tea is a very comforting procedure and brings back good memories to start the day. Besides there is something to be said about doing a routine which my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother had done every morning. As Muriel Barbery wrote in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, “When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?”

This beverage has proportioned to become a culture. Come to think of it, every country has its own set of tea rituals. In India, every home starts the morning and evening with tea. Even guests are greeted with tea, not to mention office breaks and post-meetings sessions.The tea ceremony is different in Japan, where it is a cultural activity involving a cup of powdered green tea (Matcha) and savories. Where ever the place maybe, tea settles a lot many problems. To quote David Walliams in “Mr Stink”, ““In Britain, a cup of tea is the answer to every problem.
Fallen off your bicycle? Nice cup of tea.Your house has been destroyed by a meteorite? Nice cup of tea and a biscuit.Your entire family has been eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex that has travelled through a space/time portal? Nice cup of tea and a piece of cake. Possibly a savoury option would be welcome here too, for example a Scotch egg or a sausage roll.”

As for the varieties of tea, there is an endless list but it is not the same as herbal teas. As Bryan Lee O’Malley wrote in Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, “What kind of tea do you want?”
“There´s more than one kind of tea?…What do you have?”
“Let´s see… Blueberry, Raspberry, Ginseng, Sleepytime, Green Tea, Green Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Lemon and Honey, Liver Disaster, Ginger with Honey, Ginger Without Honey, Vanilla Almond, White Truffle Coconut, Chamomile, Blueberry Chamomile, Decaf Vanilla Walnut, Constant Comment and Earl Grey.”
-“I.. Uh…What are you having?… Did you make some of those up?”

All said, tea with its’ own variants like black tea, green tea, oolong tea and so on have become an art in its own right. For many generations , tea sets and porcelain have been heirlooms, thereby adding the rich tradition and culture to art.