Not the official sponsor of the Mutiny

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“Yo Dad” informs me that the local free paper in the D.C. suburb where he lives has been advertising a new beverage called Café Sepia.

Experience the finest in coffee with ITO EN’s new CAF&Eacute SEPIA (TM). Each ready-to-drink coffee delivers an artful balance of aroma, body and flavor. Our beans are specially selected for their unmistakable character…to create a truly exceptional coffee encounter. [Link]

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p>I wish we had thought of this first. It would have solved our funding problems. My mom says we should sue them. The question is, “is it any good?” I hate the taste of coffee so I am going to rely on the blog Air Massive to give us a review:

We’re sad to report that Caf&eacute Sepia tasted weak. It was too watery and diluted than we like. In fact, it lacked the coffee punch of even most established major brands of Japanese can coffee. (Personally, the Boss brand is our gold standard in this East Asian drinks sub-genre.) Caf&eacute Sepia didn’t taste “bad,” mind you. It was actually pleasant to the tongue. But we expect more — much more — from anything that a drinks maker dares call coffee. [Link]

79 thoughts on “Not the official sponsor of the Mutiny”

  1. Oh and I have to vehemently disagree with horlicks being the breakfast of spelling bee champs. I suggest warm milk with a couple of tablespoons of codliver oil. I have happy memories of being tackled and forced to drink the crap because it would cure my sickliness and also improve the brain and stuff. I never got past district competitions but I attribute that to never really believing in the magic that is codliver oil. Darn.

  2. sleepy, thanks. is that Tazo the one that comes in liquid form? are all their teas cinnamony, because i can’t stand cinnamon in drinks. the twinings i tried was english breakfast, but it just didn’t cut it. darjeeling decaf sounds promising. the search for a truly nirvana-inducing decaf tea (if that’s even possible) continues……

  3. “oh and I have to vehemently disagree with horlicks being the breakfast of spelling bee champs. I suggest warm milk with a couple of tablespoons of codliver oil. I have happy memories of being tackled and forced to drink the crap because it would cure my sickliness and also improve the brain and stuff. I never got past district competitions but I attribute that to never really believing in the magic that is codliver oil. Darn.”

    ah, good old cod liver oil. my cousin was made to drink warm milk with liquid cod liver oil in it but i escaped with the capsules. but recent science does prove many of the much touted benefits of all these omega 3s and 6s and whatnot. to me childhood was an endless round of horlicks, bournvita, ovaltine and other “strength and health” drinks. fortunately i actually liked them so parents had to find alternate ways of threatening me.

  4. I vote for Masala Coke (or Thums Up). You could have your mutinous drink ANYWHERE by just carrying around a little bag with a mix of black salt, pepper and whatever else they put in there. Mutinous and refreshing AND caffeinated.

  5. Oh, and I think there’s this one company that has darjeeling decaf. It might be twinings, it’s whatever company that has like forty billion different varieties (like lemon calm and mint bliss and English breakfast etc. etc.). No, it starts with a B.

    Bigelow? But I didn’t see it here. I do love their decaf earl grey, though. You’d think this joint would be willing to help us with both the official drink and the decaf darjeeling… 😉

  6. Good ol’ buffalo milk (now THAT’S desi) should be SM’s official drink!

  7. hmmm. I might have to experiment with this. Rooh-Afza, vodka, and maybe just a splash of lime or lemon juice for some tartness… maybe 2 drops of cranberry juice instead…

    I have been serving exactly that combination for a while now (minus the cranberry juice)… born out of some drunken college nights. All of my non-desi friends really liked it… my desi friends just look at me funny. Rooh-Afza is now a critical ingredient in my liquor cabinet. (if you’ve got a really sweet tooth, might I suggest coconut rum and rooh-afza, with some club soda or sprite with, a dash or lime juice)

  8. oh guys… old memories… horlicks milk every morning for years with almonds!!! glad that’s over! and those darn cod liver oil capsules! first off, my family is vegetarian! so how did cod liver oil make the cut?! my curiosity also led me to burst the capsule open a few times… yes i did it more than once… i totally resisted conditioning of my mind as a child! i have those memories hidden very well someplace!

    i say go with roohafza lemonade… its awesome!

    who’s god is it anyway… try Celestial Seasonings’ decaf mint green tea!

  9. Thanks Anna, it was Bigelow that I was thinking of. I guess they don’t have decaf darjeeling. Since I live for caffeine, I don’t remember my few decaf experiences well. This Tavalon place though, it has much potential 🙂

    Whose God…, Tazo chai comes in the liquid (gross) and also in teabags. If you don’t like cinnamon, you could try their other decaf black teas. The secret is to boil very very well. I’ll now go back to grumbling about how some people had all the luck and got their cod liver fix in capsules.

  10. Once, a long time ago at the end of the night, a girl asked me up to her apartment for some “coffee”. I was taken by surprise and blurted out, “uhhh, sorry but I don’t drink hot liquids.” This was followed by a very awkward silence.

    I didn’t even read the rest of this thread. Abhi, I can’t believe you just said that. Not when Yo Dad might tell Yo Mamma!

    But OMG, that made my day.

    P.S. I advise that you learn to “drink hot liquids” 😉 Peace out, playa.

  11. What about Kingfisher or Cheetah. The beer, people. Don’t forget the beer.

  16. I didn’t even read the rest of this thread. Abhi, I can’t believe you just said that. Not when Yo Dad might tell Yo Mamma!

    Shruti believe me, after two years of blogging the “Yos” have heard it all 🙂

    Do you at least make exceptions for Limca, Gold Spot, or Thumbs Up?

    Thumbs Up is okay. My one real soda exception however, is Inca Cola. I love that stuff. Can somebody testify?

  17. As a wannabe mutineer who does not like coffee but loves tea, what about that kicka$$ DC meetup that had nothing to do w/ coffee whatsoever?

    Not to be totally random… but speaking of DC meetups, let’s do another one!! I’m FINALLY in a city where it’s possible (as opposed to Columbus, OH) and life would be peachy fine if we could arrange that.

    Oh and another random question — has anyone been to a place called Naan and Beyond in DC? It’s right by my office and it seems interesting enough, but kind of shady at the same time.

    And just to tie it back to the original topic so I can justify this entire comment… That reeeeeally orange mango juice that your mom bought from the indian grocers when you were little to shut you up is THE best drink ever. hands down.

  20. Thumbs Up is okay. My one real soda exception however, is Inca Cola. I love that stuff. Can somebody testify?

    I can testify that Inca Cola is, by leaps and bounds, the sweetest soda on earth. Some ancient Incan secret makes it possible to saturate this soda with sugar moreso than any other beverage. It makes Jolt and Mountain Dew seem mild! 🙂

  21. Thums-Up is my fav cola drink..much better than Coke/Pepsi.

    Thumbs up was great in the ’80s. Then Coke bought it out and now it tastes like…Coke.

    -s

  22. I nominate Paanakam and Neer-more, both usually prepared on Ramanavami day.

  23. Amitabh,

    Jai, the lassi in both Jaipur and Jodhpur is delicious. Have you ever tried the little kulfis they sell out there on the streets? 10 rupees of pure bliss.

    I haven’t been to Rajasthan for over 10 years but the lassis are renowned there, especially that place in Jodhpur I mentioned earlier (I think it’s even mentioned in the “Lonely Planet” guides). Kulfi-wise, I tend not to eat anything in India that’s not in a 4-star/5-star restaurant (apart from food at relatives’ houses, obviously), due to well-founded paranoia about food-poisoning. I’ve had too many bad experiences 😉

    if sepia really wants to have an official beverage, it should be JAL-JEERA

    My parents insist on referring to the channel Al-Jazeera as “Jal-Jeera”. Admit it. Yours do too (you know who you are). Typical desi uncle and auntie behaviour 😉

    and maybe just a splash of lime or lemon juice for some tartness…

    A little “tartness” is always appreciated, heh heh heh…..(Jai does “Frasier Crane dirty laugh”).

    How about the official SM drink be a Mango Martini?

    A “Mangotini” ?

    Other nominations for desi drinks:

    1. “Masala chai” (desi-style — you can actually get this at some Indian restaurants here in the UK too).
    2. That disgusting haldi(turmeric)-milk-honey concoction that your mother would make you drink when you were younger and had the flu.
    3. Falooda (more of a dessert than a drink, I guess).
    4. Vimto. (Not sure if this is available in India — or the US for that matter — but it’s a pretty hardcore “desi” drink amongst Indians here in the UK that many grew up drinking).
    5. And, of course, that all-time classic…..

    …..Bournvita.

  24. I tend not to eat anything in India that’s not in a 4-star/5-star restaurant (apart from food at relatives’ houses, obviously), due to well-founded paranoia about food-poisoning. I’ve had too many bad experiences 😉

    Jai you are missing out on better food. If you want the real indian food taste, you HAVE to eat at the stalls, dhabas etc. Its much better with the mosquitos, dirt and god knows what else. I understand the paranoia about the diseases and whatnot but i’ll take diarrhea over bad food anyday.

    if you’ve got a really sweet tooth, might I suggest coconut rum and rooh-afza, with some club soda or sprite with, a dash or lime juice

    Ravin, that recipe is now on my list of, how one bartender sweetly put it, “drawers-dropper”. THANKS

  25. Jeet,

    Yes I know the food is much better in the places you’ve mentioned, but I’ve been seriously ill due to eating dodgy food in India far too many times when I was younger to want to experience all that trauma again. It tends to ruin the holiday experience (for me anyway), plus it’s an added burden on any relatives I may be staying with as part of my trip. On top of that, my father’s a doctor so he’s fairly risk-averse to the idea of us all having to deal with an avoidable food poisoning incident yet again, as you can imagine. He tends to regard it as highly irresponsible behaviour, especially as he usually ends up having to diagnose & informally treat the illness himself.

    However, by all accounts the dhaba/roadside stall etc food is indeed very tasty and I would recommend it to anyone who is prepared to face the “d & v” consequences. I do recall the food being excellent — and yes, much better than the “cleaner” versions sold in more high-class restaurants — on the odd occasions I did try it in my younger days.

  27. That disgusting haldi(turmeric)-milk-honey concoction that your mother would make you drink when you were younger and had the flu.

    Ugh…Jai. I gagged at the memory of that stuff. It was naaaasty.

    Vimto rocks! It’s the best summer drink ever. And falooda is awesome as well.

    Someone mentioned Bournvita…I never drank that stuff. I would eat with a spoon, the way some people eat peanut butter. The sugary crystally stuff used to be so much fun to eat.

    I still like nimbu pani as a sepia drink of choice..

  28. This is veering off the topic of drinks but one of the best desserts I’ve ever had in India is a Bengali one called ‘mishti doi’ which I think translates as ‘sweet yoghurt’ but is really incredibly good (when done right). Apparently you can’t really make it at home, most people buy it from certain famous shops.

  29. Msichana, you used to eat bournvita with a spoon too! I used to sometimes mix sugar in with it. I think I also tried different experiments with heating the sugar/bournvita mix, don’t remember how it turned out. Badly I’m assuming 🙂