Penultimate Posting (aka powder/profits)

I may have typed about this before, because it's been bugging me for a while and I do tend to unleash my angry thoughts upon this blogsphere as and when they happen, rather than hanging on to them and keeping them to myself.
But just in case I haven't mentioned it (and even if I have, it's worth reiteration) I am pissed off with what has happened to chai tea latte in Britain over the past year or so. It appeared from nowhere and suddenly became the 'hot drink du jour'. All the trendies were latching onto it and buying it so they could say they drank it, and everyone was talking about it, and normally I avoid 'popular' fads in the vigorous way that a slug will avoid salt, but damn if I didn't fall in love with this drink and start enjoying it daily. And the great thing was that every coffee chain and independent tea shop latched onto it and started selling it in all their outlets, so I never had to go too far to grab one.
And then somebody, somewhere decided to make a 'do-it-yourself-at-home' version that is basically a jar full of sugar mixed with some spice extract and some other chemicals that make it foam, so it looks and tastes vaguely of a chai latte while actually being like ingesting whale snot. And everybody started buying that and making their own instead of getting the more expensive ones from the proper providers so a lot of those cafes and kiosks just stopped supplying it. And then the ones that were still selling it started buying that same cheap powder themselves and using that to make the drink instead of going through the effort of making it properly, while still charging you the same amount as before for a completely different drink that just has the same name. And because we live in Britain and speaking up for yourself and for injustice is akin to shooting a baby in the face with a taser, everyone just puts up with it and goes along with it uncomplainingly like the good little consumers that we are. So now my chances of getting a decent, proper chai latte are next to nil, and if I ask for one I'm likely to end up paying over four quid for something that I could have made 30 times at home by purchasing the two pounds tub of powder myself from Lidl.
Make the drink properly or get out of the chai latte market, you bastards!

Happy Easter, by the way.

RC 30-3-24