Joanie here for my first blog attempt! We’ve barely had time to write about what we’ve been up to, let alone New Zealand culture. It may come as no surprises that New Zealand culture shares most things in common with that of the US. One thing we have come to understand though is that Kiwi’s get their Vitamin D a bit differently- not from the sun, but from the coffee they consume. Coffee- Vitamin D? Yup. There seems to be a plethora of cafes (1/NZ resident I think) serving various types of milky, espresso coffees from flat whites and short blacks to lattes and mochas. There is, however, no such thing as a regular cup of coffee which we have come to find out is referred to as filter coffee and seems to only be available for brewing at home.
While coffee beans are readily available at any New World, Pak’ N’ Save, or Countdown, they are nowhere to be seen in the multitude of cafes. In fact, if you walk into a cafe and want a regular black coffee you may well get instant. Yup- instant. Seems there is no in between- no plain old filter coffee and no half and half either. If you ask for half and half you will get a questioning stare.
Back to the grocery store- Kiwi’s have their fair share of caffeinated products to choose from, including coffee with milk in a squeeze tube- just add water, available in a canned variety as well. Sorry to say we have not had the opportunity to test out this Nestle product yet.
Speaking of dairy, what’s up with Kiwi ice cream? So many cows and so little quality ice cream. Yes, they’ve got Hokey Pokey and as a lover of honey I can appreciate the honeycomb chunks, but where is the ooey gooey chocolaty, caramel, nutty yumminess we find at the Granite State Candy shop in NH or the Dairy Bar in MI? One thing is certain, we will miss the fancy coffees (which we indulged in daily during our stay at The Pailion), and we are craving a massive (Kiwi’s love that word) waffle cone served up New England style from Goldenrod.
Tags: food
ummmm….I just had a big bowl of Ben and Jerry’s strawberry shortcake ice cream with some moose tracks on the side….
So great to catch up on your waltz through paradise. We miss you! Keep soaking up the stories for long talks by the fire in the not so distant future. The air is warming up, and Plum Island calls!
You got to bring one of those tubes back. I’m dying to try it.