Non Alcoholic beverages of Choice

[Stofsk]

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

I prefer Lady Grey to Earl Grey. It's a little more delicate and citrusy, at least to my tastebuds.

Pussy.

I like Schwepps Creaming Soda, Coke, although I like Vanilla Coke more than regular. I'd love to try Cherry Coke. For juice, I'm partial to pineapple, mango and orange. Nothing beats iced water when you're hot and thirsty, as well as lemonade.

[Lusankya]

I remember trying Cherry Coke. If I recall correctly, if failed because it tasted too much like Dr Pepper.

[Stofsk]

I remember trying Cherry Coke. If I recall correctly, if failed because it tasted too much like Dr Pepper.

Dr Pepper is something I liked when they had it here. I guess it didn't take off, because I haven't seen it in supermarkets for years.

[Lusankya]

That's because it tasted like piss.

[Edi]

Putting milk in tea ruins both beverages.

With the exception of a couple of spiced teas, true. Those spiced varieties are brewed so that you have half a teapot of heated milk and half a pot of hot water, you put it all in the pot and the tea leaves/spices directly in.

But for the most part, just plain tea (black or green) or chai masai (spiced rooibos/redbush leaves) for me. Plain tea here including all kinds of flavored varieties. Whether the tea is brewed for 5 minutes or 20 is usually of no consequence, though more than 20 minutes starts pushing it and even 15 is rather too long for certain strong tea varieties.

Black tea with freeze-dried rhubarb bits (yes, really!) in it is excellent. It was one of those "I've got to try this, though I'll probably regret it..." decisions followed by a transcendental experience of illumination upon tasting. Another good one is black tea with eucalyptus leaves, dragon fruit and kiwi bits.

I must have 15 to 20 different varieties of tea at home...

[tim31]

That's because it tasted like piss.

That's rubbish and you're rubbish Alison.

It didn't take off because the market was already squared away by the two big guns(coke and pepsi, if you're not paying attention), so another cola with an unconventional taste is going to be hard pressed to get a foot in the door, no matter how much of it you give away.

The last Aus-bottled Dr. Pepper I bought were the twelve remaining 1.25 litre bottles on the shelf of Woolworths in Bathurst, March 2004. They were 99 cents each, and I managed to make them last three weeks with extreme discipline.

[Lusankya]

Then how come I distinctly remember this time at the beach in Adelaide, when they were trying to promote Dr Pepper.

It was 35 degrees.
They were trying to give the stuff out for free.
It was Adelaide.

And everybody preferred to drink the water.
The same water that Disney refused to use for Disney on Ice, because when it froze, it was brown.
The same water that causes the Victorian netball teams to come over with a gazillion litres of bottled water.
Water that's some 20-90% arse-end Murray water.
That water.

That water was considered preferable to free Dr Pepper. In many cases, some suckers people had accidentally taken a can and opened it. That's why there was an enormous bin filled with Dr Pepper cans that had had one sip taken out of them.

Explain that, timmy-boy.

[The Spartan]

Explain that, timmy-boy.

Aussie taste buds are warped and ruined by bad water.

[Lusankya]

The same city makes some quite nice beer.

What do you drink? Budweiser?

Also, tim's "Coca-cola market saturation" thing doesn't quite hold when it encompasses a city where Iced Coffee outsells Coke.

[The Spartan]

The same city makes some quite nice beer.

How can I trust this when your taste buds would be used to the water that they used for said beer.

What do you drink? Budweiser?

Oh my god no. I'd rather drink Draino.

[SCRawl]

Tea is, without a shadow of a doubt, the King of the non-booze drink. Those who disagree are taken to the Tower and shat on by Baldrick the raven.

None of this black malarky, either. One bag of PG, add hot water, milk (whichever type you desire) and as little or as much sugar as you desire. And thus, you have the perfect cuppa!

It is of great regret and embarassment to me that I don't know how to brew a cup of proper English tea with milk to save my life. My attempts always come out as vile.

How on earth do you manage to fail? It goes: warm teapot (optional) -> put tea leaves in teapot -> add water -> do something else for a few minutes while it brews -> pour tea into cup -> add milk and sugar to taste (optional).

Douglas Adams also had a very detailed how-to. I'm sure it can be found via Google, if necessary.

For me, orange juice is up near the top, with freshly-squeezed being the preferred variation. It's stupidly expensive, but nothing else quite compares. When it comes to carbonated beverages, I'll usually prefer Coke or Mountain Dew (though I usually go with Coke Zero when available, as I'm trying to not gain weight).

I just can't make myself like coffee or tea, in any variety.

[Vendetta]

Tea is, without a shadow of a doubt, the King of the non-booze drink. Those who disagree are taken to the Tower and shat on by Baldrick the raven.

None of this black malarky, either. One bag of PG, add hot water, milk (whichever type you desire) and as little or as much sugar as you desire. And thus, you have the perfect cuppa!

It is of great regret and embarassment to me that I don't know how to brew a cup of proper English tea with milk to save my life. My attempts always come out as vile.

How on earth do you manage to fail? It goes: warm teapot (optional) -> put tea leaves in teapot -> add water -> do something else for a few minutes while it brews -> pour tea into cup -> add milk and sugar to taste (optional).

If you're going to have milk, put that in first. Pouring milk into hot drinks (tea or coffee) causes the milk that enters the drink first to denature. Pouring tea into the milk means the milk is brought up to temperature more evenly.

It's doubly important with tea due to the reaction between casein and tannin. If you pour tea into milk, the casein molecules will tan evenly, but if you do it the other way around, the milk that goes in first tans more than the milk that goes in last.

Tea into milk produces superior tea because of Science.

[His Divine Shadow]

I am having tea right now, dunno what brand, always put milk in. I can drink tea both ways but milk just makes it better. Then again in scandinavia milk products are up there with oxygen.

EDIT: Ah it's a brand called Forsman Tea, Chamraj.

[The Grim Squeaker]

[quote="The Grim Squeaker"
It is of great regret and embarassment to me that I don't know how to brew a cup of proper English tea with milk to save my life. My attempts always come out as vile.

How on earth do you manage to fail? It goes: warm teapot (optional) -> put tea leaves in teapot -> add water -> do something else for a few minutes while it brews -> pour tea into cup -> add milk and sugar to taste (optional).[/quote]
It's a gift. Rather like my inability to prepare any food that doesn't involve a toaster, a fillet steak or a microwave . (Or breakfast). .
Every time I try it, it comes out tasting vile, which is a shame since I really like proper English tea with milk. (And it's impossible to get around here )

[tim31]

It was Adelaide.

And everybody preferred to drink the water.


Explain that, timmy-boy.

Touché, madam.

[Lusankya]

The same city makes some quite nice beer.

How can I trust this when your taste buds would be used to the water that they used for said beer.

It's made with super-yeast that can ferment quite happily in 42-degree heatwaves.

And I have seen it pass the "Germans approve of this beer" test.

[Qwerty 42]

I'm a sucker for root beer, especially this kind. If left unattended, I'll go through whole two-liters of that stuff in a night.

[Zor]

I'm a sucker for root beer, especially this kind. If left unattended, I'll go through whole two-liters of that stuff in a night.

As far as Root Beer goes, i must say that Dads is superior.

Zor

[Grif]

Over here, I love this drink.

Its three layers are often made up of (top-to-bottom) tea, evaporated milk and Gula Melaka (Palm sugar) syrup. Simple physics would explain how the different densities of the three main ingredients float on top of each other.

[The Spartan]

The same city makes some quite nice beer.

How can I trust this when your taste buds would be used to the water that they used for said beer.

It's made with super-yeast that can ferment quite happily in 42-degree heatwaves.

And I have seen it pass the "Germans approve of this beer" test.

Then they must treat the water somehow to alter it's vileness.

[CmdrWilkens]

What do you drink? Budweiser?

Oh my god no. I'd rather drink Draino.

You know I say the same thing, then a bartender in Dublin tricked me. I was at the end of an 11 day trip and I'd been enjoying a nice tour through the various European imports along with lots of Smithwick's so I jsut asked for something in the lager category that he recommended. Guy brought meback a draft lager, nice and medium gold, smooth with just a few notes so that it was refreshing if not particularly great. Then he told meit was a Budweiser and I actually laughed, until he proved it to me.

What seems to be the case is that Diageo owns the distribution rights for Budweiser in Europe, which means they brew it locally alongside the rest of their products and thus actually craft it differently than in the States. They basically filter and clean everything to the same degree needed for the production of a stout (a la Guiness) and end up producing a Budweiser that while still not great is such a far cry from the pond scum swill it is in the States that you would sweat it can't be the same label.

[The Spartan]

What seems to be the case is that Diageo owns the distribution rights for Budweiser in Europe, which means they brew it locally alongside the rest of their products and thus actually craft it differently than in the States. They basically filter and clean everything to the same degree needed for the production of a stout (a la Guiness) and end up producing a Budweiser that while still not great is such a far cry from the pond scum swill it is in the States that you would sweat it can't be the same label.

In other words, if I'm in Dublin it'll be okay to drink a Budweiser because it's not really a Budweiser.

But since I'm not in Dublin and get the Colorado brewed Budweiser, I'll stick with the Draino.

[Gil Hamilton]

Coca-Cola. Easily.

[Terralthra]

Diet Coke if I want a cold drink. Chai masala with steamed soymilk if I want a warm drink. And lately, a lot of protein shakes.

[Pulp Hero]

Jones Soda, specifically Cream Soda.