Lose the Way- Chicago Coffee TV Part 1

The TV show filmed in Chicago Coffee that was mentioned in an earlier post has finally hit the small screen. The title of the show is 迷路 Lose the Way. What I have previewed so far seems to be a show focused on the every day lives of a handful of Chinese young professionals in their 20's and 30's with spicy intrusions of guys with knives and cops with guns. Oh and at some point they sit down to enjoy some pizza and coffee. I am sure I will give a full review of the show once I watched the first episode in its entirety but for now I have included a short clip.

Raspberries @ Chicago Coffee

Fresh Raspberries now available at Chicago Coffee for only ¥19/box

Dust to Dust

Boom, Crack, Pow

Sunrise is awaken with noise abound

Wails and cries nothing in tune

Louder the wails larger the fortune

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A Life Lived in Darkness

Smoke, Toxins... Honghe's Gold

Faced with mortality they still have their hold

Smirk, Laugh, Smoke

How can some not care but others death chokes?

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A Life Lived in Darkness

Hush, Shh, Silence and Stares

The girl, a daughter, still unaware

Oh my how many can stare?

Amazing that I instead of the girl was standing there

Some cry

Some covet

Some ache

Some love it

The battle of emotions divides even those that are closest

East meets West

Nothing better symbolizes to me "East meets West" then what this picture represents. Part of my journey included a dual coffee- tea tasting. Green tea from the mountains surrounding Lijiang and coffee peaberries from the mountains of Tanzania. We have been talking coffee for 14 hours a day for 5 days straight but this was definitely one of the moments that stood out. Amazing that two beverages so distinct and varied come from this earth in the form of leaves and cherries.

Old Faithfuls

Living in China has its ups and downs as one can imagine. And there are times when Montezuma's revenge can cripple even the most versatile traveler. And there are even times when you need a quick fix from home and our comforting pick me up. It is during these times that those hailing from-a-far rely on our "old faithfuls" aka Dove chocolates, Oreos, saltines, Sprite, Coke, banana chips, and Snickers. I am not going out on limb by saying that I am pretty confident that 100% of foreigners that have spent at least 72 hours in the great mecca of fried rice, holes-in-the-wall, and stinky tofu have at least once relied on these old faithfuls for a pick me up or it was the only thing an American (insert any country) bred stomach can handle at that given moment.

Well I am afraid to say that today may be the day we have to be a little more careful. We have all seen foreign establishments take that dangerous road to corn flavored ice cream, shrimp burgers, and taro pies but now even the very fundamentals of our old faithfuls are being challenged.

Exhibit A- Oreo.

Usually you can count on this blue and white wrapper for a sweet dessert of chocolate and frosting. I narrowly grabbed this package when I realized that "lightly sweet" is not what I am looking for when grabbing this snack. Oreo what have you done? Please don't play these games with the staples of our sugary solace. Fortunately there were other choices so I grabbed another and moved on.

But food purgatory could not be avoided. I opened my oddly shaped Oreo to discover that someone had already consumed all but a small smackerel of my frosting. After opening a few more I realized that the 新 on the package indicating a new kind of Oreo is what I mistakenly purchased. The package indicated a strong vanilla flavored Oreo but I only tasted a strong taste of disappointment. Perhaps the frosting is sold separately but I could not have been more unhappy with one of my old faithfuls.

The Coffee Quest

Today I have left for a whirl wind tour of a 100 plus coffee establishments of all kinds that are scattered around this massive province known as Yunnan. My goal is to help alleviate what is known as crapcoffeeitis. I am no lover of Starbucks but when I travel in China it is one of a few places where real coffee is actually served. Multitudes of coffee shops, cafes, and restaurants offer "coffee" but only a few really serve COFFEE. I will be detailing this expedition and hope to offer a online hub for coffee in China for those of us that never want to be a few feet from the nearest cup of joe.

Maybe most have not experienced what I have in the coffee world but I cannot tell you how many times I have been to a coffee establishment like the one pictured to find bad coffee going for ¥38 ($5.56 USD) for a mere 4 oz. Thats nearly over $16 USD for what I consider an average cup of coffee (12 oz.)

All will not see the light but those that do will be detailed here.

(Note to reader: No need to worry I am still traveling with what they call a parachute. I have some fresh roasted Tanzania Peaberry and french press along with me if all else fails)

Sign #457 - How to know you have been in China too long

When you are willing to take 3 unmarked green medicinal pills to combat the hot wind building up inside of you and you actually look forward to seeing what will happen.

(Note: After taking these pills and writing this I wiki'd the ingredients and one of them is "used to regulate the menstrual cycle and to treat menopausal symptoms caused by hormonal changes.” Not sure why I did research after the fact but it did lead to

Sign #458- How you know you have been China too long.

The hospitals and doctors are so untrustworthy that I am relying on unmarked pills and wikipedia to diagnosis and treat my health problems.)

2 hours & 20 cups

Yesterday I spent 2 hours tasting 20 cups of coffee/espresso and was not even the least bit affected by the caffeine. I dont know whether to consider that a good or a bad thing.

Coffee and Smoking?

I just wanted to refute what I was told today that smoking actually helps distinguish the flavors of coffee and that I should smoke more so I would be better at coffee tasting. I believe the idea is to cleanse the palate before tasting not destroy it.

Mooncake Fever

Two holidays have arrived together this year: Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. National Day celebrating the establishment of the People's Republic of China now for its 60th year and Mid-Autumn Festival marking the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar.

At some point in history mooncakes became an integral part of the Mid-Autum Festival probably stemming from a tale dating back to the Yuan Dynasty.

"According to popular belief, the custom of eating mooncakes began in the late Yuan dynasty. As the story goes, the Han people of that time resented the Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty and revolutionaries, led by Chu Yuan-chang, plotted to usurp the throne. Chu needed to find a way of uniting the people to revolt on the same day without letting the Mongol rulers learn of the plan. Chu's close advisor, Liu Po-wen, finally came up with a brilliant idea. A rumor was spread that a plague was ravaging the land and that only by eating a special mooncake distributed by the revolutionaries could the disaster be prevented. The mooncakes were then distributed only to the Han people, who found, upon cutting the cakes open, the message "Revolt on the fifteenth of the eighth moon." Thus informed, the people rose together on the designated day to overthrow the Yuan, and since that time mooncakes have become an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival."

I am convinced that they intentionally made the mooncakes heavy as a brick, thick as tar, and tasty as concrete to keep the Mongols from ever eating one and thus deciphering the code. How the tradition has survived so long when 90% of Chinese don't seem to enjoy eating them is something that is beyond my comprehension. Most people re-gift the mooncakes after receiving them so they can just pass them off to someone else. Most people receive 100's of these little things which is definitely more than one person can or ever should eat. Consider that most mooncakes can have upwards of 700 calories and 40 grams of fat. To put that in prospective consider that a Big Mac has "only" 485 calories and 22 grams of fat. I never thought that there would be a scenario in history where a 100 individually wrapped Big Mac's would actually be the diet option.

On top of that this holiday is not exactly in line with the new go green trend. For a country trying to do more recycling and in many cities banning the complete use of plastic bags, the packaging for each batch of moon cakes is nothing short of a colossal waste. Here is a description from the image thief :

"a heavy, embossed and foil stamped bag with rope handles. In the bag was a heavy cardboard box with a tri-fold faux-embroidery lid with faux-embroidery dragon applique. Within the box was a cardboard frame wrapped in a faux-silk shroud and lovingly cradling eight mooncakes. Each mooncake was in an individual cardboard box, a sealed plastic wrap and a plastic cup. Two pairs of wooden chopsticks in a fabric envelope were included for good measure. The theme throughout was tasteful and subdued imperial yellow garnished with dragons."

I used to think the mooncakes were a cool little Chinese tradition to be a part of. But five years in I am as anti-mooncake as they come.