Sips of joy

I can never make up my mind when I go out to eat. Not because I love to eat, and am unable to choose one dish over the other. I'm very picky about what my mind perceives as yummy. This is mainly determined by smell, and then by how it looks. 

My mom knew how to play these 2 factors to get me to eat a lot of things, mainly vegetables like gourd, cauliflower and cabbage. Once cooked, the stench of these nasty veggies can wake me from the deepest slumber. So she would mash them and stuff them into parathas along with delectable potatoes and mint chutney.

The same is true for the other end of the spectrum. On a lazy Sunday, the only way to get me down from my room (I lived in the loft), was to fry a Pomfret fish or juicy pieces of goat liver. The lure that they won't taste good once cold, would bring me to the table in a jiffy.

You must be starting to wonder why I am rambling about food in the Qahwa Room, which is devoted to the pilgrimage to Perfect Coffee Land. 

I have made a recent pit stop in Portland, Oregon which has a local coffee chain Dutch Bros and they lured me fast and dirty, so that I am now their avid devotee. Driving on the highway, I first noticed a standalone cafe, with half a dozen cars driving through for coffee. The size of an outhouse, the popularity of this tiny coffee shop caught my fancy. It was after several hit and misses, as it is just before a major freeway entrance, and needs a whole bunch of convoluted turns to enter, that I finally got to sample their brew.

You will notice that unlike conventional coffee cups this one has a protruding sipper, which is super-convenient, as it allows small sips, and avoids spills. 

Their tagline makes a tall claim - Guaranteed to satisfy" - and they did. The white chocolate mocha I ordered was Delicious, to the last sip, even after I'd let it sit and get cold! With a courteous Barista each time I've driven through (and its just one guy running the show at any point), I scheme plans to get to the other end of the highway to relish their fresh brew. So far, I've only managed to get one visit per week. But that will change soon. How soon? As soon as I have my license to kill...I mean drive.