Alcohol makes you mellow and unconstrained. And then it makes you boisterous and shouty. Caffeine banishes fatigue from the limbs and the brow, then makes you arrogant and shouty. Such are the devils we know.   There’s a huge variety of delivery methods to these legal, reality distorters; some fast, some slow, some calorific, some less so. And it’s the flavours and occasions which influence how we choose to take them; chocolate or yerba matte, sake or champagne.  Urban legend suggests that lining up licquors in the right order may prevent...

It’s much easier to get maple syrup these days. Canadian president Justin Trudeau just announced the construction of a new pipeline to export it to the rest of the world (…or was that another liquid commodity?) Anyway, when I was a child, our family received a bottle of this treasured syrup. Before that day, we had only known the “simulated” stuff. We then waited months before opening this bottle of “the real thing”; no moment seemed important enough, no pancake perfect enough. And then we did open it, only to find...

You’re not completely sure how you got home last night. You’re worried what you might have said to those friends you were with. You just cannot find that cash which you keep in your wallet for emergencies. Strainer cannot help you with any of these problems. You’re listless. Every movement requires double the effort. There’s a headache on the horizon. Now we’re talking. It’s about time this column got around to hangover strategies. And I’m sure you won’t be surprised to see tea playing a role in the recommendations here. Sweat it out? Actually,...

There are those who love dogs and those who love cats. It’s common to meet fans of either, rarer to find people fond of both. With drinks, there’s a similar polarization; few people enjoy coffee and tea equally. I’ve written about coffee in this tea column. For me, the enjoyment is real, but still a disappointment after that tantalising aroma. As with cigar smoking, my mouth experience pales against my nose experience. As with cigars; something of coffee, something ashen, clings to the inside of my mouth long beyond its...