Lazarus Cooke wrote:
I'm puzzled by this thread. Coffee in the USA is wretchedly bad - as
bad as, say, democracy in Somalia.

There's a lot of bad coffee in the USA, but in recent years it's been
getting much easier to find an excellent cup of coffee in the big cities
and high-class tourist spots. There's been something of a coffee
renaissance (and I'm not primarily talking about Starbucks, although
they've played a big role in awakening consumer awareness). I've even
bought more than decent coffee in truck stops.

I generally avoid retail-brewed coffee (unless I need a jolt while
traveling), preferring to make my own.

A similar thing has happened with beer and wine. You can find superb
wine and beer grown and made in the US, as good as anything in Europe,
although I'm sure that French wine snobs will disagree. Of course, you
can also find plenty of disgusting swill.

One time years ago, while attending a scientific conference in Italy,
the social event was a dinner cruise on Lake Como. My American colleague
and I shared a table with a French couple. Italian wine was served, one
bottle per person, and the French couple refused even to taste it. My
colleague and I gladly drank theirs, getting pretty loaded in the
process. It was very, very good.

Perhaps the worst wine I've even tasted was at a bullfight in Madrid --
one of those stalls where they fill a bottle right from the keg. I do,
however, like Sangre de Toro.

We're even starting to make absinthe again. :-)

--
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