You like Shake n' Bake. You used to put it in your coffee.
I probably told this story before, but anyway...
My dad isn't much of a storyteller. While other dads were tucking their children in bed and reading Mother Goose rhymes, my dad was working the night shift at The Washington Post. However, there was one story he told when I was a kid that I will always remember. Walking by a Starbucks or any other coffee shop always triggers that memory.
In Vietnam, coffee is prepared in a unique way. It's brewed a potent black, then the Vietnamese add condensed milk instead of creamer or sugar. It's then served over ice, hence its name cà phê sữa đá (iced café âu laît). The Vietnamese people like to boast that their coffee is the best in the world.
It's not because of the coffee bean itself. Vietnam mainly plants Robusta coffee beans, which, compared to the Arabica, is vastly inferior.
Nope, it's the way the coffee bean is harvested. For you see, in Vietnam there is a creature that loves to eat coffee beans. It eats nothing else. That creature, my friend, is a type of weasel. It eats and breathes coffee. And naturally, it shits coffee. The Vietnamese eagerly harvest its piles of excrement and claim it has a rich, bold taste.
But think about it: Vietnam is currently one of the top producers of coffee. Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, Sara Lee, Nestle, Starbucks and Tchibo purchase most of the world's coffee. Some of it is fair-trade, most of it probably isn't. And thanks to countries like Brazil and Vietnam, the price of coffee per pound is the same today as it was approximately eighty years ago.
The point being, the next time you take a sip of that venti caramel mocchiatta and exclaim, "I can't believe I paid four bucks for this shit!"... well, you have no idea how right you are.
P.S. In Vietnam, there are no Starbucks. Instead, the country is famous for its knock-off brands. You can't get a cappuccino, but you can get cà phê sữa đá at the local Starblacks.
My dad isn't much of a storyteller. While other dads were tucking their children in bed and reading Mother Goose rhymes, my dad was working the night shift at The Washington Post. However, there was one story he told when I was a kid that I will always remember. Walking by a Starbucks or any other coffee shop always triggers that memory.
In Vietnam, coffee is prepared in a unique way. It's brewed a potent black, then the Vietnamese add condensed milk instead of creamer or sugar. It's then served over ice, hence its name cà phê sữa đá (iced café âu laît). The Vietnamese people like to boast that their coffee is the best in the world.
It's not because of the coffee bean itself. Vietnam mainly plants Robusta coffee beans, which, compared to the Arabica, is vastly inferior.
Nope, it's the way the coffee bean is harvested. For you see, in Vietnam there is a creature that loves to eat coffee beans. It eats nothing else. That creature, my friend, is a type of weasel. It eats and breathes coffee. And naturally, it shits coffee. The Vietnamese eagerly harvest its piles of excrement and claim it has a rich, bold taste.
But think about it: Vietnam is currently one of the top producers of coffee. Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, Sara Lee, Nestle, Starbucks and Tchibo purchase most of the world's coffee. Some of it is fair-trade, most of it probably isn't. And thanks to countries like Brazil and Vietnam, the price of coffee per pound is the same today as it was approximately eighty years ago.
The point being, the next time you take a sip of that venti caramel mocchiatta and exclaim, "I can't believe I paid four bucks for this shit!"... well, you have no idea how right you are.
P.S. In Vietnam, there are no Starbucks. Instead, the country is famous for its knock-off brands. You can't get a cappuccino, but you can get cà phê sữa đá at the local Starblacks.