My original plan for today was to write an entry on the food in Dumaguete, but it's early Sunday morning and my thoughts run towards coffee.Being a typical son of the South (as far as beverage choice goes) my 2 favorite drinks are coffee and iced tea. I had a pretty good idea before going to Philippines the first time that it would probably be difficult getting iced tea........you can't always find that here in the U.S..
I was proven right on that score. I thought it might be a different situation when it came to coffee. But, I'm sorry to say, Philippines (or at least the Visayas) is not a coffee lover's paradise. During my first two trips to Philippines, I spent a total of six weeks on the island of Siquijor without ever seeing (or tasting) brewed coffee. As far as I can remember, the only instant coffee I found was the 3-in-1 with creamer and sugar in the pouch with the coffee.
Yuck.
During that 6 weeks, I was forced to survive on hot tea ..... a poor substitute. The situation was a little bit better in Dumaguete. You can find brewed coffee in places like the food court in Lee Plaza or Dunkin' Donuts; the problem with that, however, is that I don’t wake up in the morning at Lee Plaza or Dunkin’ Donuts and the hotel where I normally stayed didn’t serve brewed coffee. So, when I woke every morning, my first cup of coffee was the instant coffee that came with the free hotel breakfast. At least I did have a choice over the 3-in-1.
During my last visit I was able to try brewed coffee from beans grown in Philippines. I wish I could say that it was delicious but, it spelled and tasted liked burnt wood. I love Dumaguete, but I would have to make an adjustment in my beverages of choice should I ever stay there very long.
If Georgia is anything like Tennessee, I will assume you go with sweetened variety of tea (as opposed to unsweetened). Never in my life had I heard so many people order "sweet tea". I tried it once...and never developed a taste for it. I have always tended toward hot tea anyway.
ReplyDeleteHow surprised I was when Marilyn and I walked across the street to the neighbor's house and, behold, there was a tiny store on the side of the house! She bought a few old-style bottles of Coca-Cola for about 50 cents total. I was right at home, sipping Coke on a backroad in Bacong, Philippines ;)
-Corey
Hi Corey,
ReplyDeleteThe sweet tea served in Georgia is too sweet for me.If a restaurant has good quality tea,I can drink the unsweetened (some can be too bitter).Before Cathy came here I was the only person who could make iced tea the way I really like it. She can now.....after she asked me to teach her.