Beverage Love

Thais are serious about beverages (and with good reason - it is so hot that if you're not drinking all day long, you'll end up severely dehydrated). Along the main street in our neighborhood there are at least a dozen little stands that make coffee, tea, and other delightful drinks.  Look at all the fun, colorful options here!

This one has some coffee and a lot of tea, with Nestea being the substance of choice. I think I'll pass on that (but this stand is Mike's favorite).

You can tell by the cans of Carnation milk that this stand's main focus is coffee.  I don't know how many cans of evaporated and sweetened condensed milk are consumed in this country on a daily basis, but it's a huge number.  I almost never see people drinking black coffee; it always has lots of milk and sugar!

Before we came here, I didn't really pay attention drinks other than water (OK, and coffee, and beer - just the essentials).  To me, they were a waste of calories and I would rather have something I could chew on.  But then I fell in love with Thai iced coffee, and after that I figured I should give all the other drinks a chance too.  Now I probably spend as much on drinks each day as I do on food (two or three dollars).

Thai iced tea with milk has a nice pretty orange color and tastes like tea with an infusion of wheat.  It doesn't sound particularly pleasant, but trust me, it's good.  It's really creamy and not too sweet - very refreshing on hot, humid afternoons.