Caffeinated Mix-up
Living on an island like Shalampax, which is quite isolated from the rest of the world, can cause problems and embarrassments.
For example, neither tea nor coffee are native to Shalampax, but we have been importing both for about four decades now. Despite almost forty years of experience with these beverages, we only very recently discovered that what we thought for all of these years were coffee pots are, in fact, intended to be used to brew tea. Likewise, what we thought were tea pots are actually supposed to be used to make coffee.
You would have imagined that this mix-up would have led us to brew inferior quality coffee and tea until we discovered our mistake. Surprisingly, this was not the case. However, that is primarily because we also only recently learned that what we thought was tea is actually coffee and vice versa.
The unearthing of our misconceptions has been rather confusing for Shalampaxians, but most of us are now more alert in the morning and sleep better at night than was the case in the past.
If I were, god forbid, a Shalampaxian, this mix-up would leave me totally verklempt.
I enjoy smelling coffee beans roasting and being ground but never liked the taste – not even in a tiramisù. Teas I do enjoy. Of course I get my daily fix of caffeine from Diet Coke – but I suppose that is not available from the markets there.
Anyway, all this mix-up leaves me wondering – how did you become aware of this befuddling debacle? Television shows on the Food Network? Some internet porn site? How?
@David: You know, we used to hear people on television programs say “wake up and smell the coffee,” and it always baffled us. We never thought coffee had an intense aroma. We now understand.
With my newfound knowledge, I understand how you feel about the smell of coffee. I always loved the smell of what I thought was tea. Of course, I now know that it was really coffee. Unlike you, I also love its taste.
The story of how we found out about our mix-up is rather funny, except for some of the people involved. In truth, a few people have known about our confusion for a few months but, for some unknown reason, kept it to themselves until now.
I don’t know if you remember about some foreign anthropologists who visited here back in April and then were, as is our custom, eaten. Well, we are not totally heartless beings. The people who had the anthropologists as dinner first had them over to share a dinner. After the meal, the hosts offered the anthropologists some coffee. The anthropologists then mocked their hosts for bringing them what was quite obviously tea. Of course, this mockery ensured that the hosts enjoyed their second meal all that much more.
As I said, why these people kept their discovery to themselves until now is a mystery, but there you have it.