Beverages

[duggie]

I've had root beer once, many decades ago. It tasted a bit odd, like Dr Pepper tastes a bit odd at the first. I think the root beer was some brand's blend with spices. But basically it is sarsaparilla, or dandylion and burdock as another name. Well, i think that is what root beer is. You just never see it at all ever in the UK, well, not called root beer.

Sarsaparilla is good, In the UK it is always as a sugary carbonated pop, like cola. But I can see it would be a much better beverage if it was flat like a beer. In fact you can get it as just a cordial so can have it as like a flat beer. I'll put it on my list.

It's worth trying all these drinks also with warm water, too. Warm sarsaparilla could be great.

 

[duggie]

I'm going to try a three-pronged investigation into opening up a 'new world' of beverage consumption:
a) ready made quality cordials (but all seem to be loaded with emulsifiers and anti-caking agents, glycerine, etc etc).
b) pure roots and leafs of plants, and the same but ready made up as herbal tea bags.
c) fresh fruit juices as like from the supermarket.

I'm just trying now at this very moment: 50/50 hot water fresh orange, and it is very good.

I measured the temperature of a cup of tea. Boiling water onto a teabag and left for a minute, then a splash of milk, then left to cool to drinking temperature which was 45 degrees celsius and this was obtained in 20 minutes at room temperature.

 

[Rexlion]

In the morning I have orange juice or sometimes apple juice with my breakfast. Then it's filtered water with most other meals. Occasionally a cup of tea (brewed from loose leaf), or maybe once a week I'll grind the beans I've roasted and make a cup of coffee. I drink maybe a 6-pack of beer per year. Oh, and a sip of blackberry brandy now and then. I am also fond of vanilla ice cream mixed with Vernor's Ginger Ale (called a "Boston Cooler"), but I try to not over-indulge, don't want to put on weight.

My granddaughter loves lemons, so she drinks a lot of Bigelow "I Love Lemon" herbal tea. I wound up with a few teabags of it in the cupboard, and when I was sick and coughing I tried some of that tea with a teaspoon of honey and a dash of milk; wow, it really helped the throat and it tasted good, too.

Someone asked what Mountain Dew tastes like. IMO it looks and tastes like piss.

 

[duggie]

Rexlion.....ha ha ha, very funny the way you ended that post with Mountain Dew. Took me by surprise. Superb. Ha ha ha.

 

[Roamers]

Someone asked what Mountain Dew tastes like. IMO it looks and tastes like piss.

From experience you can make the comparison?

 

[Rexlion]

From experience you can make the comparison?

Not telling!!!

 

[fooferdoggie]

Not telling!!!

I take it alcohol was involved.

 

[duggie]

I'm now drinking loose leaf tea. It is Yorkshire Tea's Gold, their finest. I brew it in the mug and the leaves settle to the bottom with no messy floaters. It's a good brew. But also there is the bonus of then reading the tea leaves. I've just done this now and can see a man holding up something with only his thumb and forefinger, as if it is soiled in some way, so i presume he has found it in some muck, and he's holding it up to his face and to the light with his head tipped back to see it up against the light, to make out what the heck it is. Going off your avatar, Fooferdoggie, I think the man in the tea leaves was you! Keep a look out and please let us know if you find anything as i have described.

 

[Rexlion]

Rodney Dangerfield once tried reading tea leaves. They gave him the finger.

No respect....

 

[duggie]

Well, just to polish off this thread. The idea was to find a way of drinking the daily fluid needed for health, and without alcohol. For me it had become difficult with mainly just tea and coffee and the odd orange cordial. I didn't seem to have any choice.

Anyway, this little investigation has come up with results enough for me. I decided that for practical purposes it would have to be cordials which I could drink hot or cold. I visited a temperance bar, apparently the last one in Britain. It was oldy worldy and they had a large variety of cordials. I bought four to try and will go back for more variety. They are sarsaparilla, root beer (sarsaparilla and vanilla pod), dandylion and burdock, rhubarb and whatever, etc, etc, rosehip, etc, etc. This seems to be good enough an alternative to alcoholic based drinks to take the fluids I need, as I can't just drink plain water. So that's it. The drinks are Fitzpatricks.

 

[Rexlion]

Well, just to polish off this thread. The idea was to find a way of drinking the daily fluid needed for health, and without alcohol. For me it had become difficult with mainly just tea and coffee and the odd orange cordial. I didn't seem to have any choice.

Anyway, this little investigation has come up with results enough for me. I decided that for practical purposes it would have to be cordials which I could drink hot or cold. I visited a temperance bar, apparently the last one in Britain. It was oldy worldy and they had a large variety of cordials. I bought four to try and will go back for more variety. They are sarsaparilla, root beer (sarsaparilla and vanilla pod), dandylion and burdock, rhubarb and whatever, etc, etc, rosehip, etc, etc. This seems to be good enough an alternative to alcoholic based drinks to take the fluids I need, as I can't just drink plain water. So that's it. The drinks are Fitzpatricks.

I don't get it. Why can't you drink plain water? How can water bother your insides?

On Nov. 24 you posted, "water is still the best." What's changed since then?

My personal experience: I used to love to drink Coca-Cola with my lunch and supper meals (I did and still do drink juice, mainly OJ, at breakfast). But I became convinced that the empty calories and the sugar itself would be harmful to my health in the long run. So I switched, cold turkey, to water. Oh, it was difficult. Drinking bland, insipid water when the palate is accustomed to Coke is not at all easy! But after a couple of months I'd formed the habit, and water started to seem "right" to my palate. That was about 35 years ago, and today I truly appreciate how nicely water cleanses the palate in between bites of food and prepares it to once again enjoy the impact of the food flavors in the next bite. My point is, if it's just the lack of flavor that bothers you with water, this issue can be overcome with perseverance; it does take at least 30 days of steadfastness to form a new habit, though.

 

[Roamers]

My mom drank nothing but tap water and skim milk until on here 93rd birthday we insisted she have a sip of wine. She didn't like it (and it was a pretty good cab). Unfortunately she died at 94; we don't think there was a connection since it was over a year after her sip.

 

[duggie]

Rexlion.....water is best, the odd time it happens to be on the cards after eons, but the next time it doesn't hit the spot so well as then. You wrote: 'So I switched, cold turkey, to water. Oh, it was difficult. Drinking bland, insipid water when the palate is accustomed to Coke is not at all easy!'. Haha, but I'm sure you have something, I'll have an exploration of water and see if there are differences. Also, I agree with you about the 30 days to form a new habit. Bland insipid water. Haha.

Roamers.....You vill drink das vine! And she said no, so you brought her nine. You vill drink! Your papers, please!

 

[catgirleugenics]

we drink a lot of mulled wine around this time of year. makes the whole house smell like Christmas. i came across somebody who made it in a pressure cooker and have been doing it that way ever since. now it takes about 15 minutes start to finish instead of 2 hours.

- a bottle of merlot or cabernet sauvignon
- a thinly sliced orange
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- couple tablespoons of cloves
- lots of honey
- a splash or two of brandy if you don't want the alcohol to lose potency

throw it all in an instant pot and pressure cook for 1 minute, then let it sit for a few minutes on the keep warm setting. drink immediately or strain out all the bits so it doesn't over spice.

 

[sc00ter]

So I saw this Hard Mt. Dew 12 pack at my local Kroger and figure 1: I drink Mt. Dew and like it and 2: The flavors sounded good. I need something to drink to stay motivated in the garage while cleaning. I open the first can and notice the Zero Sugar written on it. Artificial sweetener! YUCK! After one simple sip I couldn't get the weird taste of the mystery sweetener out of my mouth. I gave the rest to a co-worker. Do not waste you money on that Hard Dew, it taste like Poo!

 

[Roamers]

Do not waste you money on that Hard Dew, it taste like Poo!

So from experience you can make this comparison? Get together with @Rexlion have some interesting pee and poo taste conversations.

 

[duggie]

Poo and piss, haha. Just goes to show not to judge a book by its cover.....Mountain Dew haha. But yes, that artificial sweetener is getting hard to avoid. I think it is, or at least some is, Aspartame, which is suspect to say the least. Pilots not to fly after it, etc. Really, all this ready-made stuff needs to be avoided. We need to get back to how things were when they were home made sort of thing. Even olive oil apparently is not good at frying temperatures. I'm going back, I'm going back to lard.

catgirleugenics.........I've never made mulled wine. It's something i want to do now after you have explained. Thanks, I really appreciate that. I'm going to get the ingredients tomorrow and have a go. It sounds really tasty. Can't wait. I'll post as I'm trying it.

 

[Rexlion]

If you pressure cook the wine, doesn't the alcohol evaporate?

 

[duggie]

Rexlion....I think it will evaporate, but I'm not bothered, I'm sick of booze booze booze, everywhere is awash with alcohol. It can't just be me. I can imagine temperance bars becoming very popular. I think we are all sick and tired of alcohol. It's great to not have alcohol, it's better.

 

[catgirleugenics]

If you pressure cook the wine, doesn't the alcohol evaporate?

you only do it for a minute. some of it cooks off but not all, so you either add brandy to keep things strong or you drink wine that's just a bit weaker.