By OWEN MORRIS
It took a while, but it looks as if the weather has finally changed to autumn: that short time of year when the weather is chilly but the sun warm, the trees gorgeous with the color of dying leaves. With autumn come certain foods. Sure, we could have cider year-round but drinking it in the middle of July just wouldn't feel right.
After seeing Noodletown's delicious-looking pretzels and many posts about apples (including my own) I got to thinking about drinks I only have in the fall. I came up with a long list.
Many of my favorite autumn drinks include alcohol, but I've decided to save them for another post. Meanwhile, here are the non-alcoholic ones:
Apple Cider (the less-fun type) Real apple cider is better than imitation cider and the best cider comes from local farms. Louisburg Cider Mill is the area's most famous, but the cider from Vaughn Orchard in Weston, Missouri, is just as good or even better. The hotter the cider is the best. One trick is to buy a little more than you need and just don't turn off the burner after you've heated it up. It will come to a roiling boil and in about ten minutes start to thicken. Take it off the stove and cool it (don't wait until it's too thick!) and you have cider syrup.
Chai Chai means tea but in the U.S. it means a certain form of tea that tastes vaguely of pumpkin (the actual vegetable taste in most chai is ginger). At its base, chai is black tea and while it's available in decaf form, good chai will have caffeine. Chai should be sweet to bring out the full flavors (cream is also a must but that's for every tea) and it's also the only tea I've had that goes well with cigars. The only time I've really been disappointed by chai is when it's served from teabags at Starbucks. It's not a very strong blend and the spices taste harsh instead of pleasant. Speaking of Starbucks ...
Pumpkin Spice Latte: This is Starbucks' name for the drink but pretty much every coffeehouse has its version. It's essentially just a latte with pumpkin seasonings and a little sugar. It tastes similar to a chai tea latte but is slightly more bitter due to the coffee and much heavier on the actual pumpkin taste.
Tomorrow I break down a more extensive list of alcoholic fall drinks including six kinds of pumpkin beer. (The things I do for this job.)
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The first local cider I had that beat Louisburg's was from Wildhorse Orchard of McLouth, KS. Never been there myself, but a friend made the trip to bring back the delicious cider.
I had mulled cider at the Blue Bird Bistro this past weekend. Brandy was in it. Fuh-fuh-fuh-itwasgood.
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