Pour yourself a break

I’ve never suggested that anyone should sit in a beach chair and ignore the world. I must admit, however, that it works for me. But it’s just one layer of defense against the world’s encroachments. If you really want to keep everyone at bay, it helps to have a mug of something in hand. After all, “coffee break” is a just polite term for “go away and leave me alone.”

We don’t really need coffee for a coffee break, though. There are a lot of things that will do the trick. And since I’m not in the mood to actually do anything today, this is a perfect time to think about some favorite beverages.

I’ll start with latte, a steamed-milk drink that’s usually associated with coffee. A Taiwanese cafe and bakery chain called “85C” (so named for the optimal temperature to prepare coffee) offers latte made not with coffee but taro.

As Saipan residents know, taro is a staple of tropical islands. Well, as it turns out, it makes a mighty tasty latte. The taro makes the latte purple. Sugar is typically added to this concoction, but I’ve found that it’s pretty sweet even without adding sugar. Speaking of skipping ingredients, the notion of having a latte without the caffeine I’d otherwise get from coffee is sometimes appealing.

On the other hand, sometimes caffeine is to be embraced, not avoided. Taiwan has this angle covered very well, too. If you’re on the go, one noteworthy Taiwanese product is called Mr. Brown Iced Coffee. It’s available in cans, and, despite the “iced” term, and it’s good even when not chilled or iced. I knew a place in Guam that sold it for pretty cheap, so I was always hauling cases of the stuff to Saipan when I was a human yo-yo bouncing between the islands.

Another interesting concoction is bitter melon tea. We brew this at home; I’ve never seen it served in a cafe. Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd is, like taro, a staple of the tropics (I point this out because some Saipan Tribune readers are checking in online from places like Montana and New York, so they may not be hip to tropical foods.)

Everyone I know regards bitter melon tea as an herbal remedy, and hardly something you’d drink for the fun of it. Me, I just like the taste of the stuff, served hot.

Speaking of bitter, if you like beer, then you might have noticed that the modern array of craft breweries often offers a strain called India Pale Ale. IPA uses a lot of hops. The hops impart a tangy and tasty bitterness to the brew.

IPA is fashionable these days. A glass of the stuff can easily set you back $8 in some places. Its origins were based on necessity, however, not on taste. As the story goes, back in the days of old, when the British empire held India, India’s hot climate was fouling the beer that the British were shipping. So the British added more hops, which serve as a preservative, and the resulting brew, dubbed India Pale Ale, was better able to survive the rigors of the environment.

The modern breeds of IPA have pretty much spoiled me. These days I pay more for one pint of the stuff than we used to spend on an entire case of beer in college. I’m not adjusting for inflation when I make that comparison, though, so maybe I’m not as spoiled as it seems. Fortunately for my thin wallet, my waistline reigns in my demand for IPA and its caloric payload, so I usually reserve Thanksgiving vacation for this indulgence.

One indulgence that I just can’t resist is good old-fashioned coffee. Sure, it’s old school, common, and hardly exotic, but there’s always some sort of new twist on things that worms its way into my wallet. For example, something that got popular a few years ago is the “Keurig” brand of coffee maker. This appliance uses disposable plastic pods to make single servings of coffee. Every cup is therefore a fresh cup. All sorts of coffee brands are now sold in these little pods.

Keurig started to play hardball with its customers a couple of years ago, unveiling a new line of coffee makers that, from my understanding, wouldn’t accept the older style of coffee-filled pods. I therefore lost interest in buying any of the newer machines. I have no idea what the status of this product is nowadays. Fortunately, our older machines are still working. By the time they conk out I’m sure some new concept will be on the market and the cycle will begin anew.

Meanwhile, two reliable allies on the coffee front, Winchell’s and McDonald’s, always provide a snug harbor.

Anyway, no matter what the beverage is, be it hot or cold, fancy or common, go ahead and pour yourself some peace of mind. It might be the only break you get today.