h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You've got that right! After gazillions of new micro and breweries in recent years we now seem to have at least one gin still in every street

And yes, the tonic bizz is booming also!

[Someone eventually figured out that American gin-makers could use the native American Plum tree's fruits instead of relying on European species. So now the American Plum meets the definition of sloe plum.

]

[Yeah, well, the same could be said about a lot of American and I'm afraid ]

[ not "the same" but "something similar" ]

American coffee is grown in Hawaii. It's called Kona, and it's delicious.

Or did you mean American blends of coffee grown elsewhere?

No, just the and which was served me when I was in the USA

I know this is a cliché and a stereotype and I'm told things have changed much since. Several people have assured me you can actually be served proper and many places in the US now.

It's just not what I experienced back in the late 1990's

How many locations in the 50'ish states did you visit, Pierce? I have really only been to 3 states, but seen 4 to 20 of each. And no 2 alike.

Kinda like Canada - no 2 places the same as even the one 10 miles away.

New York and Los Angeles and two planes between them. Hardly representative of the US as a whole, but like I said: Other people - and I know quite a few - have all agreed that the was too weak and the was like making love in a canoe

PS: Europeans have a word for tasteless

It's "americano"

Stereotypes like these are quite common - and usually quite unjustified

Great Britain has fostered great but you still hear people claiming the national dish of the UK is warm and stale sandwiches. And one of the most famous dishes - steak and kidney pie - is called botulism in the rest of the World

Not true but a harmless joke and as long as we keep our insults at this level I'm okay with them.

And don't get me started on what they say about the food in Germany and Denmark. All I'm saying is it's not all sauerkraut, sausages, minced meat and gravy (and actually not very different from what they serve in the UK).

I import Gevalia coffee from Sweden. That's my baseline in the morning. I mix it with New England Coffee -- chocolate cappuccino and hazelnut. I don't particularly want strong coffee, but if it's really well done, I enjoy it.

I like the coffee at Caffe Nero and Au Bon Pain. I don't like it at Starbucks. Espresso was not my favorite drink when I was in Italy, but some good quality milk or cream can make it quite drinkable.

I remember you've been to quite many European countries, paulh, and I was just going to ask you what you think of the you were served there

Did you try Greek ? Or Turskish? I'm told it's almost the same but very different from - say - Italian espresso or French café au lait , pas vrai?

I've never been to Turkey but I've visited both Corfu, Rhodes and Crete and everywhere I was served very small cups where half of the content was grounds

But once I got used to it - by way of sugar - it was actually quite good.

Many years ago we had a restaurant chain called Aegean Fare. They had lovely, strong Greek coffee, which was indistinguishable form Turkish coffee. Very thick and strong, and perfectly acceptable as long as it was well done.

Quality is much appreciated chez moi. Lousy coffee can be found anywhere in the world. Good coffee can even be found in the U.S. if you look hard enough. I cannot believe that big cities like New York and Los Angeles are incapable of having at least a few places where someone knows how to make good coffee.

Gin is ever only in our house as a small measure of a recipe for really crispy chicken wings. A Chinese dish called Jar-Doo wings. Sooo tasty.

As to coffee, we always have a common Canadian brand of coffee grind that I prepare with a fair body strength. How-ever, for special occasions and sometimes with guests, I will buy some fresh and dark Columbian beans to grind to a fine ground with our 30-year-old little grinder.

"Lousy coffee can be found anywhere in the world. Good coffee can even be found in the U.S." [paulh]

I'm sure you are right. Just like I'm sure I had an awful meal the first time I ate in a restaurant in France

I did not see that coming

The coffee at Whole Foods tastes as if it came from freshly-ground beans. I really appreciate that.

I'm somewhat down on strong coffee because of decades of drinking my mother's coffee. She must have had weak taste buds, compensating by making the coffee as strong as possible .

On the other hand, I learned coping skills because of that, which had made me what I am today.

So bring on any kind of well-brewed coffee, and I will appreciate it.

(Another low point was the instant coffee and synthetic creamer that I drank when I was in graduate school. For some reason, I seemed to enjoy it )

Bad coffee tastes a lot worse when it is strong. Good coffee can stand being made much stronger and it will still be good.

A recent report shows that drinking coffee is not bad for your heart - the study tested people drinking anything up to 25 cups a day and found no ill effects.

They can't say what will happen if you drink more than 25 cups in a day.

I read about that report. is better than no . And it is even better than (if maybe only slightly, I don't really remember).

Voltaire is said to have drunk 40 to 50 cups of coffee a day. It doesn't say whether they were regular cups or demitasses.

Caffeine has a half life of 4 to 6 hours, so plan accordingly.

Once your receptors are saturated with caffeine - that's after only a very few cups - you can drink gallons without making any difference whatsoever (except you'll have to pee a few times more of course)