Lavender Latte Anyone?
Have you ever had those moments when you look at something and go, "well that doesn't seem right". Now what about when it's on a menu. Would you try it?
Me, I am not too adventurous with food. No matter where I go, I always order things I'm familiar with on the menu.
On rare occasions do I look at something new and have an inclination to try it . I would usually have a 20 questions interview with the waiter to find out more about this "new" dish / drink. And if I like it, then I pretty much stick to the same thing the next time I visit.
Today was NOT one of those days when I followed my protocol. I saw Lavender Latte - and I thought ....what a bizarre taste combination. But a voice went, maybe we should try it. The description said it was made with their signature lavender milk. Hmmm, well it must be good.
I'll let you figure out which voice had a pitchfork and which one had wings at the end of this post.
Before placing my order, I was curious how many shots they made it with, so I proceeded to ask the barista about their usual shots by size. He said two, and I thought that was pretty good for an afternoon cuppa.
It came looking way too pretty and, well I didn't expect it to actually look purple in colour. Nevertheless, it is lavender milk after all, I told myself, and figured I'd give it a shot.
The lies we tell ourselves to bridge the cognitive dissonance gap is an endless sea of creativity.
What happened thereafter can only be described as torture! I tried stirring it well, I tried imagining if this was some sort of Japanese favourite since I was in a Japanese and Western fusion cafe. Nothing worked.I couldn't bear taking another sip. I called the barista and asked my slew of questions .
This is what I learnt after about 15 questions in: about a week ago the barista and his boss had this hair brained idea to add lavender to coffee. Apparently he WAS a coffee drinker himself, but I have my doubts. It's a light roast and hence is a little sour and definitely has some serious hit - umm Meh!
Apparently other customers liked it. (My eyebrows disappeared behind my hairline) So, I asked about the silent ones, and he claimed they had finished their drinks - doesn't mean a thing. I wanted to know the number of sales and ratio, but felt I might be crossing the line. So I politely asked for another drink, to which he obliged.
Lesson learnt ! Never try things that looks crazy on the menu! Especially against your better judgement, the gut never lies.
P.S. Just as I was finishing up this post, one of the ladies in the next table ordered the lavender latte out of the same curiosity. I stared shamelessly to watch her reaction and proceeded to ask what she thought of it. Lips turned down and a head shake portrayed her disgust perfectly. She asked if I tried it. I told her how that panned out. We laughed and went back to minding our own business.
