When I was a kid, we used to drive around Manitoba a lot. Many fields and uniform stretches of midsize birch, poplar and pine, and along the road the same ditch, running, oh, for thousands of miles, it seemed, relieved by the occasional appearance of an aluminium drain pipe which allowed it to continue its course through the roadbed of a bisecting lane or driveway. In the bottom of the ditch there was always a certain amount of water, even at the height of summer, and it looked like tea. Reddish-bown, but translucent near the surface. When you're driving along and you've nothing else to do, it's pleasing to note that the water at the bottom of a ditch looks just like tea. I also considered that the colour was mostly the action of long-dead, bleached leaves steeping at the bottom and sides of the ditch, just like tea-leaves in a cup.

Anyway, the other day I was sold a cup of coffee made from that very water! I pointed that out to the barista, but he didn't seem to care.

Labels: Café