It's water before milk - Making the perfect cup of tea.

Making the perfect cup of tea

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How many of you drink tea?
How many of you drink tea from teabags?
How many of you that drink tea from teabags, put the teabag in the cup, add milk, boil the water then add the water?
Well I am here to tell you you’re doing it all wrong. But first:

History

• Back in the mists of time travellers used to bring back loose leaf tea from India and Ceylon. This was sold to households who would either put the tea bags in a teapot or they would use something which hung over the edge of the cup and allowed the water to wash over it. Milk was added to the cup either before or afterwards.
• Somebody then decided that they would put these loose leaves into a bag. People could drop the bag directly into the cup and pour the water on it. Hey Presto! No more loose leaves in the tea disrupting peoples enjoyment of the beverage,

So what?

The problem with this is that the switch from loose leaves to teabags obscured the fundamental principle of making tea:

The flavour of the tea is caused by boiling water scalding the leaves.

If boiling (or almost boiling) water doesn’t come directly into contact with the leaves the flavour of the tea is not produced correctly.
Back in the day when teapots were used, hot water was dropped directly onto the leaves. They were allowed to percolate in the hot water (or ‘mash’) until strong enough. The resultant tea was poured into cups with (or without) milk in the bottom. The flavor of the tea was produced as it was intended
Back when china cups were more delicate than they are now, milk was used to ensure that the boiling water from the tea didn’t crack the delicate crockery.
Nowadays, if you are putting milk in your cup or mug and adding a tea bag you are not getting the full flavour of the tea and, therefore, you are doing it wrong. The milk is acting as a barrier between the leaves and tea. The water which is then playing over the leaves is no longer boiling and the tea cannot be produced in the correct manner.
There’s a reason the best tea companies in the world have their tea served with no milk and no sugar. Nothing should affect the flavour of the leaves.

The correct way

• Whatever happens, the milk and the teabag should not come into contact. If you are using a teapot all is well. You can put your bag or your leaves into the teapot and add milk to the cup to your heart’s content
• If you are using a mug or cup then always put the teabag in without the milk. Add the boiling water, stir, remove the bag then add the milk.

Remember this next time somebody asks you ‘milk first or tea first?”
[^cf1]: Photo Credit: Juavenita ♥ via Compfight cc

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Bitter Politics - An interview with musician Alec Chapman

As a way of reigniting this blog I wanted to give some publicity to a friend of mine who has followed his dreams and become a musician. Actually, that's not true. Alec Chapman was a musician from an early age when his father bought him a bass guitar and he played along with his other brothers as they learned their craft.

I first met Alec on a film set. We were filming a commercial for a crisp company where we had to spend the whole day at a football stadium doing crowd replication. Long, boring, tedious, but made more enjoyable by the company of Alec who has a dry wit and an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of films. Since then I have followed his progress with interest as he has turned his wit and expertise to film reviewing and - more recently - to producing a film-based podcast.

Earlier this year, though, he started to talk about another undertaking he was involved with: an album release. I followed this with interest as it was obvious this was something he was doing as a serious endeavour. The album was released recently and it’s is called ‘Bitter Politics’. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Google Play and it is marketed under the name ‘Oh Hi Mark’. If you want to know the source of that name you'll have to check out the story on Facebook. I spoke with Alec recently to ask him about the challenges of producing his own album.

We started talking about how Alec went from being a member of a “function band playing cover versions” to “singer/songwriter creating an album”

Alec told me “They're more concurrent than that. I've been writing songs forever, even before I learned any instruments. I pretty much had to learn instruments to be able to write songs properly. That start in purely mental writing means I am able to write wherever I am - without relying on an instrument to make the sounds for me. I can have the song in my head first.”

We moved on to talk about the mechanics of making the album. Presumably when Alec started writing it was a lot more difficult to physically make and release an album. Technology has moved on since then. At what point did he think "I could do this now", I wondered?

“Well, there wasn't that thought process exactly. I guess in the first place when I started on the project I was frustrated by the fact I was relying purely on other people's availability to move it forward at all. I struggle with motivation sometimes so it simply wasn't working at any speed - so it was really important that I learned to do digital recording and editing myself.

According to Alec there are a number of distinct steps in the album creation process:

Write
Demo
Guide Track
Record
Mix
Master
Release

“You can join together the demo and guide track, or, if you're working on your own you can go straight to recording. The recording itself is different depending on which instrument everything is hanging off in terms of time. It's trivial to play to a click track to keep tempo for you, but it doesn't help that much if you're playing in swing feel or you have conflicting syncopations.”

I asked Alec what software he uses : “Well, on the first album we ended up using lots of different things. Sonar, Cubase, Logic or even GarageBand in one case. Compatibility isn't really an issue as you can export each track as a .wav file or another form of lossless audio.” In terms of bringing it all together, modern DAW (digital audio workstation) software does this all in one. So as you are recording one you can hear everything else, actually watch the waveforms etc. “But if you're working in various locations, it's trivial to export one recording in, say South London, share it via Google Drive anywhere in the world and have them import it into their DAW. It's not ideal, but it works. I did a lot of bass parts that way.”

I asked Alec for his thoughts on mastering and distribution. “Mastering is a dark art. I have no idea! It was done by a professional. Digital Distribution was surprisingly easy. There's companies that will do it for you - I used tunecore, but others are available. This basically means that an independent artist can kiss goodbye to the questionable joy of needing a record company to get your material released. Marketing becomes the real issue.”

We talked about social media and how it plays more and more into the whole marketing ethos.  My concern was how does he go about getting the word out about a first time album by an artist who goes under the alias Oh Hi Mark?

“Well, it's still in progress, but the important thing to realise is that it's going to be a lot of work. The days where an artist will get lucky and have a dramatically expanding fanbase within weeks are over. There's simply too much music out there to rely on luck. So for me it's about the long game - almost using the first album as a marketing tool for the live shows and then cycling that back around. Making it available on Spotify was motivated by the desire that not being willing to pay £7.99 up front shouldn't stop people being able to hear it, while still trying to maintain some sense of good business.

In a way there’s a catch-22 of music production nowadays. The tools are there relatively cheaply, it's the expertise that's expensive. That's also true for video production. For many years now musicians have used video as a way of promoting their songs. I asked Alec for his thoughts on this and also if he has any plans to use video to promote his album?

“True, but remember some of the greatest music ever recorded was laid onto four or even two track tape in tiny smoke filled rooms. The modern, super polished highly compressed shiny sound people used in records now, doesn't have to be the only aesthetic. Plus there's a temptation when surrounded by modern technology to feel it has to be all used, which can cause major delays. Video, now then, I am still learning that side of it, but to save people having to look at a static picture when listening to the single, I had a little go.... Apparently it causes motion sickness.

I asked Alec if he finds encouragement in the likes of The Arctic Monkeys and Justin Beiber, who were Internet phenomenons before they were ever signed by the big labels?

“Yes, but they are edge cases. Justin Bieber particularly. The Arctic Monkeys had a large live fanbase before they went viral after all. Plus they're actually really good. Bieber I simply don't understand - it seems crazy to me. But I'm not alone in that. Plus, MySpace (where the monkeys broke from) has pretty much died. I enjoy playing live and interacting with an audience, but as for emulating their level of success, I swing back and forth between wanting the recognition and hating the idea of fame. But who wouldn't want to headline Glastonbury? Seriously, I'll do any stage.”

Alec has had to make a fairly major life change to accommodate his ambition. “I made a major lifestyle change to work nights, but it's really a case of wanting the four on/four off pattern rather than the hours. It means that I'm not cramming the music into tiny slices of time and can really get into it. I'm extremely good at losing enthusiasm if it’s constantly stop/starting.”

On the topic of motivation. I was curious how Alec keeps himself motivated, and at what point does he bring in other collaborators? “It's a real challenge for me. The simple answer is that I have learned to be willing to accept that I am not in complete control of my emotions and accept that when it isn't working I need to do something else. Forcing it breeds disillusionment. I know - I've been there before.” So any routines? “Unfortunately I have a very difficult relationship with routines and their resulting pressure. What I've done instead is create a battery of creative outlets that have related skills so that even if I'm not working on one, I am informing it via another.I won't lie, some of my creative process is calculated. But the most satisfying and robust parts are usually products of inspiration.”

Alec told me that Bitter Politics is an album intended to be consumed en masse, rather than in single songs. I asked him if it was written that way or did it evolve? “It was arranged that way, out of ideas that came individually. And actually, the stated intent is that it works best en masse.”

We talked about what things he would do differently on his next album “Sooo many things! But chiefly to spend more time on the vocals in advance and less on fixing problems in the mix. Also to trust my instincts more - and try to have more fun with it.”

As we signed off our time together Alec had one final comment for me “The strongest marketing tool is a good review - if any of your readers listens and enjoys the album, a positive review on iTunes, Google Play or Amazon would be a great way of helping me get this to more ears. Thanks for inviting me to chat to you!”

To listen to Alec’s music try Spotify. To purchase, go to iTunes, Google Play or Amazon and - if you like what you hear - leave a good review..

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Tea-shop vs Coffee shop - What's the difference.

Regular readers of this blog will remember a week or two back that I posted an entry proclaiming the reaction in the village when a branch of a well known UK coffee chain opened there.

In the intervening weeks I have had the opportunity to chat to a number of people about their feelings. They have ranged from "Love it!" to "I can't believe they've let them open that. It'll ruin the village" to a reaction I want to talk about in a little more detail today.

A good friend of mine has been chastised for visting this coffee chain given that there are already a number of 'tea-shops' in the village "You're taking business away from the local employers" she is being told.

What nonsense!

I see there being two distinct markets in the village for these shops.

In my mind a 'tea-shop' is a place you go when you want to enjoy a snack with a beverage. It is also the place where you can go for lunch. As a rule the drinks tend to be cheaper (hence smaller) and not particularly tasty.

A coffee shop is a place to go to relax, to chat and to enjoy stout caffeine-based beverages. The whole set-up is completely different. For a start they employee trained baristas rather than people who either own the tea-shop or are there to earn a bit of extra money after school or on the weekends. Secondly they provide a decent drink. They provide a beverage which is sturdy and prepared according to certain  standards. In my experience tea-shop tea is usually weak, insipid and not worth writing home about.

Secondly coffee shops provide a certain ambience. They have easy chairs and sofas, wi-fi and places to sit and relax. In a tea-shop there are usually a few small tables (often with gingham or cheque tablecloths) and the main reason for you to be there is to eat and/or drink and leave.

Thirdly coffee shops provide a good selection of possible drinks. You can have your espresso's, your latte's, your cappuccinos, mochachinos, flat whites, a selection of cold coffee-based drinks as wall as a basic filter coffee. These come in caffeinated, decaffeinated and with various 'accessories' such as syrups, toppings and added shots. You can also have it to drink in or take away. In your tea-shop you can usually get a coffee or a tea. They might do a latte' or a cappucino. And you might get decaf.

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed many a drink in a tea-shop. I have a friend who seems to be compiling a definitive guide to tea-shops in the area and she has visited many of them, dragging me along with her. Who have consumed endless vats of tea and Victoria Sponge in garden centre tea-shops, high street tea-shops and tourist attraction tea-shops at the seaside and in far-flung places of interest. They have all had their own charm and appeal.

But none of them were coffee houses.

Remember, the origin of the coffee house dates back to the start of organised commerce when traders and merchants would congregate in a coffee house to transact business. They would almost use the coffee house as an office, arriving early in the morning and spending all day there. This is still something that can happen in today's coffee houses. I recently spent the best part of 7 hours in a local Seattle-based coffee chain establishment writing and having meetings about upcoming projects. Sure, I bought several drinks (both for myself and for the people I was meeting with) and I used their wifi for the whole time I was there, but I snuck myself into a corner seat and took up as little room as I could, thereby ensuring I didn't block several tables and chairs at busy times (and boy, did it get busy!).

I cannot imagine doing that in a tea-shop. The business model of the tea-shop appears to me to be "Get as many people in the door as possible. Provide food and drinks in an environment where people are encouraged to consume and then leave, and charge as much as possible for it". If you are on a long day out hiking in the hills of England and happen upon a tea-shop in a local village, it is an ideal place to rest, replenish your carbs and head out again. But it isn't a place to finish your day and spend hours dissecting the hike.

Don't think, either, that I'm only taking about the big coffee chains. In my experience there are a number of smaller shops who have embraced the ethos of the cafe society and produced excellent establishments which fulfil all of the criteria I expect from a coffee shop: Nice ambience, good drinks, comfy seats, wifi (optional) and a lack of hassle. Indeed, if my local village had one of these I'm sure I would have frequented that rather than having to get in my car and drive to the next nearest chain outlet.

So people who say that visiting a coffee shop is taking business away from tea-shops are like people who say visiting a high street clothes store is taking business away from local farmers.

It isn't.

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Summer

The best time of the year. Or the worst. Depending on your point of view.

If you are a normal citizen of the world ( and by normal I mean someone who thrives in nice weather rather than freezing cold or rain) then summer is probably the time you really look forward to. There's a reason most of the al fresco social events of the year take place in the summer - weddings, BBQ's, cricket games, country fares, agricultural shows etc. They are very much dependant on the weather.
But lately this hasn't really been the case. In one summer we have seen some of the extremes of weather that really make us question the concept of summer vs winter. In the US there has been a sustained heat wave over most of the Midwest. Crops have failed and record temperatures have been recorded. In the UK the summer has ranked as one of the worst on record. Temperatures have been low, and rainfall has been much, much higher, than normal with record rainfalls of as much as one moths rain in a single day. This has extend pretty much across May, June and July.

More recently there has been a report of record rainfall in Manila which as turned the city into a disaster area. News reports of people swimming down the main streets have appeared on the nightly bulletins.
As I sit here in my garden, under a parasol watching the sun set at the end of a scorching hot August day, I can't help but feel that this kind of weather is much more preferable to the cooler, wet weather we have been subjected to for the last two or three months. But at the same time I also know that the concept of seasons as we know them is starting to change - particularly in England. This year, for example, we had a march which was memorable for being one of the warmest on record. Everyone was taking this to be a sign of warm weather to come and a great summer. This was dashed when April came round and brought with it torrential rain and floods. This was followed by a wet May and a June that the weather forecasters actually wrote off as a summer month. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend was almost a washout. July was fractionally better.

But since the start of the Olympics we have had what can only be described as a good summer. The weather has been warm and sunny and the amount of rain has been light and sporadic.
Naturally everyone is euphoric that summer has finally come and - providing this warm weather lasts until the start of September - we will go around patting ourselves on the back about what a good summer it finally turned out to be.

But then we have the winter to look forward to.

Traditionally the winter should be mild. Snow may fall, but shouldn't be too bad and shouldn't last too long. This isn't Buffalo, New York where the Lake Effect causes heavy snowfalls across great periods of the winter months. Nor is it Green Bay where the temperature will drop off the bottom of the thermometer and stop everything growing for weeks on end. This is England where a particularly heavy snowfall can result in history books being rewritten and people reminiscing about "The big fall of '47".

So, naturally, when we had some particularly bad winter weather over the last couple of years people started to wonder what is happening. Our summers are shorter and wetter, our winters are longer and colder. Is it the end of days?

So what does this mean? Are we in the midst of climate change? Is the end of the world nigh? Well yes and no.

I think that even those who are the most climate sceptical would concede that what is happening is not following a normal pattern. They would have to admit that there are weather events which are not expected and which must point to something being different.

They may not agree that this is coming from man-made causes. They may believe that it is a result of a natural cycle of the planet. But science has proven time and time again that we are throwing things into the atmosphere that cannot be good for the planet. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is rising and the amount of plants and trees that can use this and convert it back to oxygen is falling. This is simply unsustainable.

What are we to do about it? Well. The fact of the matter is that you, my reader, can't do a single thing about it. You are just one person. You are just an individual with little impact and influence on the fate of a planet.

But the fact also exists that everyone on the planet is an individual with little impact and influence on its fate. But if everyone did something, then these six billion inhabitants of planet earth must be able to make a minor difference. Maybe even a major difference.

That's why I encourage you all to look at what you do on a daily basis and try to be a little more ecologically minded about it. Here's a short lists of things you could do.

• Walk to the shops rather than drive.
• Ride your bike more (the exercise will be a benefit too)
• If you must drive, practice hypermiling
• Get a more economical car. Preferably get an electric car. (Sure, they need electricity which can come from burning fossil fuels, but it can also come from non fossil fuels and the electric engine is more efficient than the petrol engine at using that energy)
• Turn your thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and stick a jumper on instead.
• Recycle as much as you can. I throw out more in my recycle bin than in my regular bin. I also compost where possible.

There are many other things you can do to become more environmentally aware. Some of them are easy. Others are harder and require a mindset change that will not come easy to certain people. (Would you give up flying on airlines and start taking your vacation somewhere that you could get to by coach or train?), but these things were never meante to be easy.

It's the future of the planet and our children. If it were easy we would be doing it already.

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Costa comes to town.

There's been some consternation in the village.

Let me explain. I live in a village which was recently voted "Best Place to live in Britain". It's one of those places with a nice little village green, duck pond, and a main street that is packed with small shops all run by local people. We don't have any chains here (in fact when Tesco wanted to come in and open an 'express' outlet in a pub building, it was successfully knocked on the head).

Down the main street we have a top-end bed shop, an antique shop, a local estate agent, an art gallery, a vet, a butcher, an off license, a family-run jewellers, and a small cafe. The main shop is a 'One Stop' that incorporates the post office.

It's all very genteel. Cricket is played on the green every weekend during the summer and the first Saturday in June is always the village fete, which has lots of small stalls, food and a ring where we parade classic cars and the like through for the adulation of the crowd.

What I'm trying to get across is the fact that it isn't a conurbation, a suburb, a town or even - god forbid - a metropolis. It's a small village on the A30 which has tried to remain as much like a small village as possible. As I mentioned earlier it got noticed. The people who decide these things marked it is the nicest place to live in the country, we are proud of that - especially as we took the crown from the reigning champion of three years.

But recently there has appeared a blot on the landscape.

Let me explain. The nearest 'town' is about three miles away. It is quite a bit larger than our village. It has a long main street, shopping centre, lots of chains (Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys, MacDonalds, Starbucks etc.) and it has suffered during the recession having many empty shops and the subsequent invasion of the charity shop outlets along the main street. It has gone the way of many of the towns in the country.

Out village isn't like that. We don't have empty shops. We are thriving. There is a sense of community in the village. Just about everyone knows everyone else. We are all waiting in anticipation and fingers crossed on the outcome of a good friend's cancer treatment. We know where the young married couple are going on honeymoon and we wish them the best in their marriage. It's that kind of place.

Recently, however, a dark cloud has loured over our village. For a short while now there has been one empty shop along the main street. It used to be an off licence, but they just weren't getting the business from the community. It's probably because the established off license was so good and the guy who runs it knows everyone's name. It went out of business a couple of years ago. The shop has remained empty since then as we wondered who was going to take over it. With the breadth of shops that we already had, we didn't really think there was a business that could come in and fill a gap. We didn't need clothes shops, cafes, sweet shops or travel agents. What would fill the gap?

We recently got to find out. A planning application went in to the council for permission to put movable temporary seating outside the premises, and word got out that it was one of the chains.

It was.

Costa Coffee had moved into the village. There was outrage. "It's the thin end of the wedge" people shouted. "Let them in and soon we'll have KFC, MacDonalds and Pizza Hut. We will no longer be the best place in Britain to live.". The complaints were many. But nobody actually did anything other than complain. We couldn't actually stop anyone from moving in because we didn't have a legitimate complaint.

So Costa arrived.

And, do you know what? It's great. I'm sitting in here now, typing this. And it's busy. It was busy when I came in the other day to see what was happening. The seats are full and there's a queue waiting for their drinks. Despite the fact that people were complaining about them moving in, there doesn't seem to be a boycott of the place. Of course, the other cafe in the village will probably have a problem. But at the end of the day that's a cafe and this is a coffee shop. I see the clientele as being completely different.
Is this the thin end of the wedge? I don't think so. Despite what I said earlier about not having chains here, we have two of the four high street banks already. Nobody complained about them. On top of that there is no room for any of the other chains to come and take over - unless one of the shops on the main street goes out of business, that is. At the end of the day I don't see the village become a 'generic' high street like so many of the nearby towns have become.

I may be proven wrong, but we'll see.

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The Olympics

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you're probably aware that there's a small sporting competition going on in London. The Olympics is - of course - one of the largest sporting events on the face of the planet, and London were successful in gaining the rights to stage it this year.
In preparation for the games the country has gone into overdrive and put together a project that is quite staggering in its complexity.

Amongst other things they have:

1. Identified a site in East London that can stage the majority of the sports
2. Gained the appropriate planning permissions and clearances to build a staggering number of sporting venues and supporting buildings on the site
3. Upgraded the associated infrastructure around the site to accommodate increased traffic and energy needs
4. Identified and upgraded a number of additional sporting venues outside the Olympic park to deal with the rigours of hosting an Olympic event.
5. Built a complete web system to manage both the public interaction with the games (identifying and displaying competitors, venues, sports, and medal information) whilst also creating a fully functional e-commerce site to deal with the sale and distribution of tickets for the games.
6. Dealt with accommodation and accreditation for all athletes, supporting personnel and local media.

All while organising a world-class sporting event that is being broadcast to every corner of the world.
Attached to that has been the ancillary tasks linked to this effort, such as creating a totally awe-inspiring opening ceremony using over seven thousand volunteers highlighting some of the best bits of British history and culture.
If you have some time I thoroughly recommend looking over the London2012 website. As well as giving live updates of the games, the competitors and the results, there is also a fascinating amount of information behind the scenes about actually building the venues and preparing for the games,

The Legacy

The one thing that is apparent reading the literature is that the organisers of the games had two main objectives in mind.

1. Creating an Olympic games that would be both well run and memorable
2. Creating a sporting legacy for sport in the country.

The issue of legacy itself is an interesting one because it manifests itself in two different ways. Primarily there is the legacy of inspiration. By that I mean the fact that Britain did so well in the medal tables has inspired a large number of people to take up sports and start to be a part of a sporting movement that had suffered in this country. The government is already talking about leveraging this goodwill - and taking flak over the fact that earlier government cuts have lead to a reduction in money available for sports in school.
Secondly there is the physical legacy of the Olympic venues themselves. The Olympic Park has always intended to be something that would remain after the games were over. It is meant to stand as a reminder of the greatness of the games and the achievements of the athletes. But the venues themselves are going to be used and available to the public long after the games have disappeared into the record books.
The velodrome - which is widely acknowledged as being one of the best in the country - will be open to the general public, as will the aquadrome and a number of other venues. The temporary venues - such as the beach volleyball stadium in Horse Guards Parade - are going to disappear leaving just archive footage and a couple of specially commissioned paintings as reminders of what was there, but several billion dollars have been spent on the Olympic Park itself, and it is hoped that the legacy will be more impressive than the decaying overgrown stadium that now exists in Athens after their Olympics.

The Sports

One of my favourite parts of the Olympics was watching some of those sports that have never, really, appeared on my radar before. Examples of this include the diving, synchronised swimming, water polo and mountain bike riding. Thanks to some great information on the BBC website about the sports themselves, the rules and what to watch, I've learned a lot about these sports.
For me the highlight - apart from the Super Saturday when Britain won 4 gold medals in 45 minutes - was watching the controlled chaos which is the BMX cycling competition.
Eight competitors in a single race flying round a course with jumps, dips, a tunnel (in the case of the ladies race) and speed sections which bring the riders to within millimetres of each other. This was the site of several spectacular collisions resulting in concussions, broken wrists and collar bones, and one unlucky competitor being stretchered off after a nasty crash which saw her head plant into one of the 'knuckles' on the course. But despite these crashes the short races (each averaging about 37 seconds) we're fascinating to watch and almost had me holding my breath throughout each one. The issue I had with BMX was that despite having to do a seeding run, three heats, and three semi final runs just to get to the final, the medals were decided on a single run. One mistake - as happened with the British hopefuls - and all the hard work was undone. It just doesn't seem fair.
On the topic of unfairness I have to say something about Usain Bolt. Here's a guy who has trained - like all the athletes - for his Olympic chance and yet to get his medal he had to run for a grand total of about 30 seconds (a heat, a semi-final, and a final). Sure he was running at maximum speed, but it was just three very short races. Compare this with, say, Mo Farah who had to run a heat, a semi-final and a final each lasting nearly half an hour. And at the end of it all he gets exactly the same medal as Usain “I'm a legend even though I only ran for 30 seconds” Bolt. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
And don't get me started on the marathon runners....

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Juice Infused Dried Cranberries

So let me get this right: they take juicy cranberries, remove the juice by drying them out, and then add juice back into them (pineapple in this case) before packing and selling them.

Why?

Posted via email from The Posterous Cafe

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