We hit Malmo and what was the first thing I did in Sweden, being a lady of elegance and style? I ‘chundered everywaar’. Bit of an exaggeration but I did cough up a delightful little pile of phlegm at the top of the Central Malmo train station staircase. Chest-infection-ed out, my body, taste buds included, went into ‘sick-in-search-of-comfort’ mode, which I will continue to argue is an actual thing.
We spent a couple of hours exploring the city, me getting my Geek on and quoting ‘The Bridge’ at any appropriate moment – and let me tell you, any moment is appropriate! I’m pretty sure I annoyed The Hungry Welshman somewhat…probably because not even watching a season’s worth of episodes back to back has left me with any knowledge of the Swedish language whatsoever and thus my ‘quotes’ are limited to ‘Tak’. The Oresund Crossing became ‘Tak Tak’ Bridge, Malmo became ‘Tak Tak’ City, and the Police Station was Saga’s ‘Tak Tak’ house. Hearing ‘Tak’ that repetitively is enough to get on anyone’s nerves. After your typical afternoon of mishaps and mini-adventures, the most notable being that all the ATMs in Malmo were not functioning (watch this space for an economic downturn!), we went into the first coffee shop we stumbled across: Wayne’s Coffee.
I ordered a Chai Latte. I don’t fully understand the reasoning behind this decision, perhaps something to do with instinctively reverting back to child-like flavours when ill. With it’s spice-infused frothy, creamy milk, topped with powdered cinnamon, a Chai Latte seamed like the ideal choice. My slight lactose intolerance mattered not at this point in time, I was in Malmo and if I wanted a Chai Latte, I was going to have one!
And that was how my complicated love affair with Chai Lattes began.
I’d only experience Chai Latte once before from Tea Junction near Lamcey Plaza in Dubai. A colleague from work at the time had insisted I try her favourite drink and who was I to refuse the option of experiencing an entirely new flavour? At Tea Junction, the Chai concoction lacks the frothy milk and is described on the menu as a Chai Tea (confused yet?). What arrived was thick and full of strong powerful flavours. I suppose my pallet isn’t quite sophisticated enough to appreciate the deep flavours of this more traditional drink. It was nice but a little overpowering, for me, an unadventurous Cappuccino-with-sugar drinker. But a Wayne’s Coffee Chai Latte!? Yes!
I had two Chai Lattes back-to-back that day. And yes, the lactose did eventually catch up with me and result in an eventful trip to the toilet and a couple of stomach cramps on the train back but It. Was. Worth. It.
I had another in a coffee shop in Norrebro in Copenhagen the next day and have since tried the Costa Coffee version in Dubai. All very nice. All Chai-tastic. But none compares to Wayne’s Coffee. Wayne, whoever you are, thanks!
The Ginger Nut xx
The Ginger Nut & The Hungry Welshman 