2014 Snapshots

Wednesday, May 20

Corner View # 6 – gar-fae (กาแฟ) in Thailand!!

This is where I buy my coffee (I know not very original, but please keep on reading). 

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And these lovely ladies (I asked them if I could take a picture and use here – they were nice to say yes) serve me my coffee most mornings.  A Hot Caramel Macchiato.

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I go there way too often though because as soon as I walk in it’s “madam, the usual!”  

I know I love Starbucks too much and it doesn’t help that this Starbucks is just minutes away from my house. Literally. I can walk to it for my daily coffee fix.

Anyway Starbucks is everywhere in Bangkok and it is universal but because this is Corner View, I will share with you where I grab my cup of  “Authentic Thai Iced Coffee”.

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Yep on a side street,  just outside the compound I live in. 

See all those red and white cans well that’s carnation milk -  sweet condensed milk.  I used to think that Thai Iced Coffee was just a strong espresso mixed with sugar and sweet condensed milk.  Wrong.

After searching the web (because we would get lost in translation if I was to ask my street vendor barista how she’s making my coffee), here is what I learnt. 

Thai Iced coffee is actually a special blend of coffee mixed with sugar and sweetened condensed milk.  The special blend  is called Oliang.  It’s a mixture of coffee, corn and soya beans.  To think that my coffee has corn and soya beans in it doesn’t sound too appealing but it actually has a nice taste to it.  It does have a stronger kick to it and some say a better taste.  I don’t normally like my coffee too strong but this works for me every now and then, especially in this heat.

   oliang coffee

   So this is my Thai Iced Coffee – gar-fae (กาแฟ) yen

It can also be served this way:

coffee in a bag

  yes in a plastic bag.  This is actually a common sight.  (picture from flickr)

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So how do you say, "two coffees with milk" in my corner ? 

Barista: kun ja duem chaa ru ga-fare kaa? (Will you drink tea or coffee?

Me: ja duem ga-fare-yen kaa ( I will drink Iced coffee, thanks)

What are the most popular ways to drink coffee?

From my observation with ice. Coffee  here is very rarely taken hot and that may be because of the heat.  Iced tea (which is very sweet) is also very popular.  Again this is only  from my observation.

How do you take your coffee? 

With lots of milk or “Coffee Mate” and 2 sugars.

French press, percolator, espresso, or other?

Stovetop 

Am I a dunker?

no way, not with coffee anyway.  I prefer to drink it.  But I do dunk with tea, black tea.

What was the funniest topic of conversation over a recent cup of coffee?

Can’t think of funny right now.  It’s late!!

Well to get your daily dose of Corner View and some good cups of coffee from around the world check out the links below.

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t.,jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina,  dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, nicki, ruth, mcgillicutty

Kap-Khun Kaa..(Thank you!!)  Looking forward to next week.

20 comments:

Ritva said...

a bag of coffee?
thanks!
have a nice week!

Jeannette said...

That´s so strange....coffee to go in a plastic bag! But....wyh not...at least you get a lot! ;)
It was fun reading your post.
Have a great day, Jeannette

Francesca said...

And I thought Japanese coffee in a can was strange ... Thai coffee in a plastic bag AND with a straw beats it! I think I'd go for Starbucks too:)

Palmer and Co said...

Oh, it sounds amazing!! I have never seen anything served like that before! I'm learning so much! It might come in handy one day!! Thanks for sharing!

Happy Day!

...Lisa

epe said...

wow! great post, i never seen before a coffee bag like that! thank you for sharing!

Janet said...

that's pretty funny! but i'd drink it in a heartbeat! good coffee is good coffe, doesn't matter how it's served. :)

Dana said...

In a bag. . .that's somethink I've never seen. Pretty funny. . . but why?

caitlin said...

Okay, that plastic bag with coffee is cracking me up. Classic! I love seeing these kind of cultural differences. Thanks for such a great post.

Isabelle said...

I like the photo of the thaï iced coffee stand ...thanks for sharing !

Kasia said...

Very nice post :) When I lived in London I used to go to Starbucks very often. Caramel macchiato was my favourite as well. I always had it with extra shot of espresso. Mmmm... what a pleasure!

Thank you for sharing.
Have a great day!
Kasia

Anonymous said...

Coffee in a plasic bag...it's a funny thing to see i must say.

Dorte said...

I am a fan of Starbucks too - I prefer Tall Skinny Latte, but there is no Starbucks around here :-(
Great post!

la lune dans le ciel said...

hello Kari!
How are you ? The coffee into the plastic bag make me laugh...
Thanks for sharing and see you soon

Kari said...

Just got to say this, I don't know why they serve their drinks in a plastic bag but I'm assuming this is their version of coffee "to go".
I haven't tried coffee but I have had a coke from a plastic bag!!

Anonymous said...

I have never seen coffee on a plastic bag... C'est incroyable !!! Thanks for sharing. Have a great day !

malo said...

I learn something new from your corner every week. Ice coffee in a plastic bag. I couldn't even imagine. Thanks for sharing!

Susi said...

coffee in a plastic bag!
sounds different!

it's really nice to read all those kind of coffee's!

jgy said...

I like seeing the 'flavor' of your local Starbucks.
The thai ice coffee sounds delicious. Sometimes I put soy milk in regular coffee (when I'm out of milk!) and it's pretty good, I'd love to try your sweet version...
Thanks for the fun and informative post.

april said...

Never seen: the coffee in a plastic bag. Makes me smile ;-) And yes, i i like starbucks too. Have a wonderful day*

sunnymama said...

What an interesting corner view! I've never seen coffee served in a bag before :)

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