Potent Potables

As I'm typing this, I'm also downing a bottle of crisp, cold Miller genuine draft beer. Don't mistake me to be an alcoholic because I'm not, though right now I feel I desperately need something to make me fall asleep faster than trying to count sheep in the middle of the night. I'm a couple of centimeters to finishing up, and even if this is only the first bottle for the night, my face is starting to feel tight and somehow, instinctively, I feel my blood pressure rising gradually. I fear looking at a mirror for I know exactly what to expect of myself -- all flushed, my face pinkish red like an Eskimo's and my eyes bloodshot like a day-old fish's. According to my friend, the tolerance to alcohol is a mental thing. He says that it really doesn't matter how much beers you take in to get you drunk, as the amount YOU feel you can take in before losing it in a brawl or ejecting your dinner in a fountain-like vomitus projectile. I'm not much of a drinker so I don't really know if this is true or not. I think it's both. There's a certain limit to "toxicity" for each individual but a bit of an attitude may also influence being "under the influence".

(I've just finished the last shot)

Believe me, I'm not one to spend nights unsobering and wasting my money away, bottle after bottle, over cold beer. LIke most of the young crowds herding up in malls, I'm more of a coffee person. Most of the time, coffee's a lot more expensive, especially if you get those icy cold mochaccinos that come with ice cream or jelly. Don't get me wrong, they're delish, but sipping house blends from each shop is more my thing. So far, I find Manila Hotel fresh coffee still the best at P50. Freshly ground then cooked up right after, the aroma is incomparable, the taste very easy on the throat, and the bitter aftertaste is very minimal since it's medium roast. Annoyingly, the refill comes as the WORST brewed coffee in my list. I'd rather take those instant ones they have in sachets. The refill is over-cooked and bitter, kept dripping and reheated for hours in open air. There's also the expected sour aftertaste when coffee's been heated for too long. It totally destroys the whole 1st cup experience. I'm not much of an expert in deriving taste and texture though, but in the Philippines, most blends consist of arabica. Seattle's Best house blend is okay (in Tomas Morato) because it's also smooth and slightly nutty. In other branches though, the house blend tastes like that of other mainstream coffee houses as Starbucks or Coffee Republic. Everything's too diluted. The flavor's lost in all that water, and when I try to find creamers instead of milk to make the coffee more creamy, there aren't any available. The frappuccinos, I find, are too sweet. I'd prefer drinking those blue label, milk tea imports from China sold in 7-11. Perfect taste.

If you're a real coffee connoisseur though, you have to try my Dad's very own blend. It's a mixture of local and foreign blends that he combines himself. He buys the beans from many different places and grinds them himself. He uses a coffee expert's espresso percolator for full flavor and freshness. The taste is unprecedented. (Too bad I'm leaving Baguio in the day after tomorrow, though I'll take some with me back home.)

Tomorrow we'll be buying some longganisa and ube jam for my visiting aunt. It'll be a long day in the market.