Brown Motion

A rather stimulating documentary on the tube last night.  Or technically on cable.  Or cloud.  Or whatever it is that I pay for unbeknownst to me (what with autopay) and causes shows to show up in my recorded list. Chai - the caffeine fix that I long for each morning - not the Folgers in my cup.  Far from it - in fact mine is named for a goat and tiger since the package says Wagh Bakri.   I vaguely knew that the origins of this wonder drug lay somewhere in the Orient.  Just not exactly.  So it turns out that Tea or Chai is the second most popular beverage in the world after water. The beverage we know of as Chai or Tea (and some moronic brands in America also make it a point to call it Chai Tea) comes from the leaves of a shrub that grows in cool climes.  The shrub is called Camellia Sinensis (sure recipe for sinus trouble but it actually refers to - as from China (sino)). Originally thought to have grown in the mountains of Southe...

In a satirical piece an American magazine had once quoted “New Starbucks Opens in Rest Room of Existing Starbucks”. That is almost reality for us hopped up (save this term for beer drinkers) or should I say Caffienated public. See I am so stoned I used the wrong spelling (thinking i before e but alas caffEIne is the other way round). We are so overdosed we cannot remember when we had a shot, so like a junkie we seek it out and get another one.. just in case. Alcohol has some serious competition. Starbucks partnered with the Tatas and went and opened its first store in Mumbai. They have big plans to sell coffee to a natively tea drinking public. Just making a statement - lifestyle is what they want to sell - in some retarded marketing lingo - not the coffee. Anyone can sell coffee. Used to be a time when the Japanese used the idea of caffeine intake and developed a whole Zen lifestyle around it - called it the Tea Ceremony. Spent hours preparing and serving and enjoying it. N...