A while back, my husband ordered a box of Korean ramen. Mixed among the packages of ramen were these things:
Aside from the name (Maxim), the only English words on the packaging were “easy cut” and “other,” none of which was helpful for figuring out what was inside. They looked like packages of instant coffee, though, and we assumed that’s what they were. After receiving a book from France today, I was in the mood for an international beverage, so I finally opened one of them up and poured the contents into a coffee cup. I added hot water to the cup, and voila!
I took a cautious first sip. It was boiling hot, and I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. I mean, we hope that Korean-ramen sellers don’t have a sick sense of humor, but for all we knew, those were packages of plant fertilizer. It tasted just like coffee with sugar and creamer, though. To be honest, I had been hoping for something a little more exciting–some unexpected flavor, strange yet delicious and non-fertilizery–but even ordinary hot coffee is a nice thing to drink on a cool, fall-like day such as this. Quel plaisir.