This is what happens when I don't do my research
Alright, I give up... I have been told! In all seriousness though, thanks for enlightening me (Robert, and anonymous, and the wonderful folks at JagaSilk). It all goes to show that I should probably do a bit of reading instead of making sweeping and generalized comments about a language I know virtually nothing about as well as a product I know only vaguely. I promise to do my homework next time!
posted by Peter at 20:25
13 Comments:
Does that mean ordering a shot of expresso in my matcha would be doubly bad? ;-)
I also thought your inital spelling was correct
Peter. Oops.
Shaun
Fair point but i think it is a little over the top personally. Yes you could wince the same way at the spelling but ultimately pronunciation is no different, whereas when you pronounce eXpresso vs espresso it is more obvious.
Did a spelling mistake really require a lecture on linguistics and history of it or would a simple correction and explaination have been adequate.
I also don't care how many spelling mistakes i just made or even if it is linguistics that the lecture was on. There's passion for a subject then there's a pretentiousness that is simply not healthy and is off-putting to others whether or not they share your passion or not. why not discuss or explain to others on the same level as them instead of trying to be a high and mighty all-knowing superior being.
Sorry for clogging your comments pal but that comment on the post below annoys me. You're better than that an don't deserve/need that from anyone!!!
Hope you're well, I will email you with my new career move! It's very exciting!
See you soon
Scott
Scott! Good to see a comment from you.
The high and mighty turned out to just quote wikipedia. I think the distinction between 'espresso' and 'expresso' and 'maccha' and 'matcha' is that expresso is actually a language distortion caused by either marketing/ignorance. Matcha, though not given the blessing of the Japanese government, is linguistically supported (apparently), just not preferred for it's slightly different grammar. What it boils down to is the radical differences between our language and Japanese. Expressing something in another language is an age old habit. Look at say, England. in French, it is spelt 'Angleterre'. Hmm... this is pretty different, eh? Languages will always have differences due to the required adaptation from one set of characters, grammar, deep structure and other characteristics to the other language's. 'Maccha' is not really an intuitive spelling in the English language and should probably be pronounced (as an English word), "Mack-tcha", with two distinct hard syllables. However, it is not supposed to be pronounced as such, and "Matcha" is a better approximation, though it will never be correct.
Whatever. The fact that linguists debate this gives me a basis to spell it matcha. (Besides... that is what most North Americans will recognize. The questions I get in the cafe about "maccha" are innumerable.)
End of story.
you guys are funny.
Ok. Peter, Scott... sorry you both took offence to my suggestion at a possible spelling error. But seriously guys, doesn't 'Matcha' bring totally un-pretentious and vivid images of minimum wage Blenz workers whisking up a mediocre conconction of zero grade ground up sencha tea?
Matcha Slurpees? Matcha Frapuccinos? etc...
then there is that really annoying confusion when customers request a 'Gen Matcha' (mispronouncing Genmaicha due to the Matcha nonsense sweeping the country)...
I don't know, I am going to go with the Japanese suggestion on how it should be spelt. Matcha sounds like Nestle... Maccha... ooooooh sexy and sophisticated.
What would Schomer say? ;)
And please excuse my addiction to Wikipedia... I'm seeking help for it. Haha, look up Barista on it.
Cheers.
I didn't take offense actually... but... Schomer makes me angry sometimes because he precedes every Italian coffee term with 'Caffe'. Schomer though would probably say, 'Matcha or Maccha, does it really matter? What we need is some more caffe espresso.' Also if you find 'Gen Matcha' confusing, try offering/ordering a genmaimatcha, a blend of sencha, matcha and the awesome toasted rice that makes genmaicha so starchy good.
haha i'll stick to the spro. Yeah that's right.. forget expresso, espresso, caffe espresso, doppio espresso... the word is spro.
mmm sprolicious. Tonight I enjoyed a triple ristretto in a sleeve of Crannog Hell's Kitchen ale... spicy.
Try a chipotle matcha latte sometime ;)
Being irish i was a little hot headed yesterday, and when i read the wikipedia stuff i got annoyed and overlooked the reference at the end. so apologies for my temper, i'm sure you remember it all too well pedro! It's amazing how different the world is when you get some sleep! Anyway, fair dues to sharing your fetish of wiki and stick to spro, i know i will!
I saw a vote for pedro t-shirt today and i will buy it!
off for my first driving lesson
Scott
jon is right, you guys are funny.
It's all good Scott, I need a crash course in real Irish temper. My girlfriend and I will be in Ireland in March for God knows how long (until the kegs and our wallets run dry). And, are all girls from Cork crazy?
Cheers.
Ireland in March? Nice. Make sure you take your Caffe Umbrella to keep your Caffe Wallet dry (oops, you're from Vancouver you will be used to endless rain ;-)
My folks live in Ireland and I've been over there a bunch of times, so if you need any bad advice just drop me a line. Can't help too much on the coffee front, the only good coffee I ever got was at Bewley's on Grafton St, though I hear there are several other spots that do it right. No doubt you have it figured out by now with your connections.
When I'm over there the coffee gets overshadowed by the thick head sitting on top of a well poured Guinness.
where abouts in ireland you going. did you say cork? that's way at the bottom and they probably are crazy. I'm from Northern Ireland (Belfast). So i don't even know about the coffee scene that far down. (it's a long way to us, i know canada is reeeeeeaaallllly big.....) Let me know where you are going!
Scott
Well, we're flying to Shannon. Staying in Galway. Definitely visiting the North. Derry, Belfast etc. And, I know some people in Cork and the Irish half of my family resides in Kerry.
I met some Cork girls here and they are not shy about peeing on the sidewalk in broad daylight.
Yeah, Canada is disgustingly huge and it's cheaper to fly to London than Toronto from Vancouver.
We'll keep in touch! Cheers.
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