Let's talk about tea and coffee

I've been many times to the local coffee shop with my mother since I came back to Singapore last Tuesday. Everytime I take a sip of the iced yuanyang (coffee and tea with condensed milk), I never fail to think about how different people in England drink their tea and coffee. Even more with sweet reminiscence, I recall the time at a SOUL residential when my young friend accidentally put coffee and tea in one cup and was feeling silly about having done so. I was telling her that that's one of my favourite drinks back home.

My friends in england usually drink tea or coffee with fresh milk and/ or sugar. It is not usual that condensed milk or evaporated milk is used. No body ever mixes tea and coffee together.

In Singapore coffeeshops, Kopi (coffee) or Teh (tea) if drunk with milk, would be with evaporated milk or condensed milk. I'm not really sure how this drinking style came about. Singapore coffee shops were opened by Hainamnese immigrants from Singapore's olden days (Hainan Kopi?). Wikipedia describes this type of 'milk tea' as originating from Hong Kong and spread its seeds to many Asian countries. In Malaysia and Singapore there is also the popular Teh Tarik (pulled tea) in which the milk to is made frothy by pouring it from one cup held high up to another cup and from that cup back to the first in the same way, several times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong-style_milk_tea
(has links to yuanyang and teh tarik)

Milk tea is so popular it is also sold in cans. My friend once told me how he bought lotsa of milk tea of a particular brand when he was in China. He was returning to Singapore with them, but the airport immigration authorities barred him from bringing on the plane a few cans of milk tea. This was post-september 11 I think. and he had to ask all his friends to finish them up before getting on the plane.

I thought it was quite funny that the wikipedia website talked about how westerners do not hold 'milk tea' in much esteem. It has been thought to originate from Holland but does not seem to be something that has captured the imagination of western tourists. Travel guide books apparently fail to mention milk tea when informing people on what is good to eat in HongKong.

I actually only knew about Yuanyang from a friend not more than 4 years ago. I never knew tea and coffee put together could taste so good. :p An even more recent discovery was ginger milk tea at the indian drinks stall. :p Its amazing how even up to this age (I'm not that old I know, but I reckon I should know my own country quite well by now) I never knew of such a drink. I thought it was like the chinese ginger tea in which ginger is boiled with water and a little bit of sugar is added to taste (brewed ginger is supposed to be good for wind and stuff). I did not know it was a variation of milk tea too.

Its humbling to know that there's so much to learn from something as simple as tea/coffee.