Free Republic

An American businesswoman has discovered a niche market in Chicago of Mexican consumers with a taste for pulque, an alcoholic drink made from the sap of the maguey plant. Heather Weinthaler, president of Hispanic Beverage Importers, told Efe in an interview that it all began in 2007 on a visit to Mexico City to attend a marketing seminar where she met some pulque producers. “It was pure coincidence – they were looking for someone in Chicago to distribute pulque,” Weinthaler said. After looking into the potential of the Hispanic market in the city of Chicago and its suburbs, where according...

The "cheese" is really more of a salty whipped topping, and it's greatI tried cheese tea and I hate to disappoint you, but it's not that weird. The drink, which originated in Taiwan, consists of a form of whipped cream cheese and salt added to hot and cold teas. The beverage has made its way to select cafes around the United States while becoming controversial, with social media commenters suggesting that the combination must be gross. To many, "cheese" and "tea" sound like a queasy combination—think covering your Earl Grey with a slice of mozzarella—and that was the overriding feeling...

Do you want water or milk with that? Servers at Davis city restaurants will soon be asking that question to customers ordering kids’ meals with beverages, under a new ordinance designed to discourage sugary soda consumption. The ordinance, passed on a unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday night, will require any Davis restaurant that offers a meal-with-drink kids’ menu to make water or milk, not soda, the primary option. Parents can still request soda at no extra charge, but must specifically ask for it. By Sept. 1, Davis restaurants must prove compliance with the city ordinance by submitting a copy of their...

“I will really miss drinking sobia now that Ramadan is coming to an end.” This was the lament from Hassan Al-Amoudi, a local resident, here recently. “It is the main drink at the dinner table during Ramadan at our house. I usually drink it as soon as I hear the call for prayer.” Al-Amoudi typically buys between four and five large bags of sobia for his family of eight, many of whom are addicted to the drink in Ramadan. “Sobia has a lot of health benefits,” he said. "For example it helps relax and calm the nerves, and is considered...

A 50-year-old woman accused of dousing her dad with iced tea on Super Bowl Sunday was arrested, even though she said the chilled beverage soaking was an act of "self defense," a recently released report states. The apparent tossed tea tumult began brewing Feb. 5 as a 79-year-old man told Port St. Lucie police he argued with his daughter, Jacqueline Collins, the Port St. Lucie police report states. He said the disagreement at his Southeast Victory Avenue home in Port St. Lucie was over food. After quarreling briefly, the man sat on the couch to watch the Super Bowl, a...

Methods for distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit Scotch whisky brands have been devised by scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Researchers from the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry have found new ways to compare the content of whisky samples to determine if they are the whisky on the label or an imitation brand. A series of blind tests successfully put the real whisky brand and the fakes in the right categories. The system could enhance the technology industry uses to tackle the trade in illicit whisky, which costs huge sums in lost revenue and threatens brand reputation....

Research suggests people who drink more than seven cups of instant coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate......... High caffeine users may even think they sense non-existent people, according to researchers from the University of Durham.........

You drink diet soda, so you must be healthier. Right? That's what New York Gov. David Paterson is talking about with his proposal for an "obesity tax" — a 15 percent slap on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Think $1 for a Diet Coke, $1.15 for a Coke. There's just one problem: Studies have found links between drinking diet sodas and obesity and diabetes. A 2005 study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and separate studies released in 2007 at the University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Massachusetts found that diet soda drinkers were...

Most red-blooded Americans are raised on mother's milk; full of life-sustaining nutrients, patriotism, and love of individual freedom. Sometimes one wonders what has gotten into liberals to make them into the blame-America-first crowd, the party that pits groups of Americans against each another, the people who take hard earned money from some and out of a warped sense of "fairness" give it to some other interest group or person deemed more worthy, or the party that looks at the Constitution and sees individual rights enshrined by the Founding Fathers as a nuisance to their ability to control the population. Sometimes...

Thirst-quenching Sponsorships are Aplenty in Athens DAVE BARRY ATHENS -- As you've watched these Olympic games unfold, a nagging question you have no doubt asked yourself many times, as an American, is: Does the U.S. water polo team have an Official Bottled Drinking Water? Don't be an idiot. This is the Olympics! Of course our water polo team has an Official Bottled Drinking Water. According to a press release, the team chose ''Penta'' brand bottled water, because, quote, ``They gave us money.'' No, sorry, that's the real reason, which is never actually stated. The press-release reason is that Penta --...

Krispy Kreme's new frozen blended drinks come in four flavors and are available in select stores Wednesday. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Once the fried dough embodiment of hot and fresh, Krispy Kreme has transformed its original glazed doughnut into a new frozen beverage for summer.

The former office manager for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) was sentenced Friday to 150 days in jail and ordered to repay the $131,541 that auditors say he stole from state coffers. But the manager claims others at the DABC benefited from a lax fiscal climate in the department. Richard Warren Pearson, 62, was sentenced by 3rd District Judge J. Dennis Frederick on second-degree felony counts of misusing public money, theft and communications fraud. Afterward, defense attorney Thomas Rasmussen told The Tribune that DABC director Kenneth Wynn and deputy director of operations Dennis Kellen knew of, and...