itravelnet.com Travel Blog

Location: Koh Samui - Thailand Date: 21 Feb 2008

Labels: coffee, koh samui, thailand

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Labels: belgium, brussels, coffee, horse

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I have been served coffee at different places in Maastricht with a little side cup of liqueur and whipped cream. I'm not sure if this is soley a Maastricht tradition. They also give you a little chocolate, which makes for a nice touch.

Labels: coffee, maastricht, netherlands

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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The combined size of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux) is relatively small, less than the size of Austria or Czech Republic for example. Size is relative though, and being Australian you are asking the wrong person if you think this region is big. Australia has cattle stations the size of Belgium and I lived on a sheep station the size of Lichtenstein (though it sadly lacked castles and private banking facilities).

So having 3 coffees isn't as difficult as it sounds. I started the day in Luxembourg, got the train to Namur and Dinant in Belgium, then finished the day in Maastricht in the Netherlands. If I really wanted to I could have made it 4 coffees in 4 countries as Aachen on the German border is not far away from Maastricht.

I have already done 4 coffees in 4 countries once before though. Lake Constance in Central Europe is bordered by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and Lichtenstein is not far away. Using the efficient rail network of that part of the world it is very easy to visit all of them in a day (with a bus trip to Lichtenstein as they have no passenger rail service).

Labels: belgium, benelux, coffee, luxembourg, netherlands, train

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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The Frappé is the national iced coffee drink of Greece. Frappé's are made instant coffee, usually a no no for this coffee snob, but on a hot Greek day it seemed like a more sensible option than a traditional gritty Greek coffee.

A Frappé is made with instant coffee, sugar, and cold water. This mixture is shaken and then poured over ice in a tall glass. Milk of water is added, and cream on top if you're going to a fancy place.

The thing with Frappé's is they have about 4 times as much caffeine as a regular espesso, so I was bucking like Kaldi's goat for the rest of the afternoon.

Labels: coffee, frappe, greece, iced coffee

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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In Kerala there is a cafe and restaurant chain called the Indian Coffee House. The Indian coffee house is completely owned and managed by its employees.

In Thiruvananthapuram I found this Indian Coffee House branch (operated by Maveli Cafe) near the main train station.



This cafe is worth visiting for the building alone. It is cylindrical shaped and there is no floors as such, just a corkscrew ramp that wraps itself around a central shaft where the kitchen is and waiters enter to and from.




When you enter you just keep walking up the ramp until you find an empty stall.

Labels: coffee, india, indian coffee house, kerala, maveli cafe, thiruvananthapuram

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I have been drinking alot of chai here. The chai here is great, which is just as well as it has taken a long time to find a proper coffee. If you order a coffee at a restaurant it will most likely be instant coffee. Sometimes you get served a cup of hot milk with instant coffee satchels for you to add to your own taste.

I found one place which got my hopes up called "Coffee House". It even has a slogan, "approved by coffee board". Someone needs to sack the coffee board as it was more instant crap. They do make a good lunch though.

I have since found some places that make a proper coffee.

Labels: coffee, coffee house, india, mumbai

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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