The drink that haunts me, both awake and asleep (and other thoughts, semi-related)

Do you have any idea how often I will order something with a pretty name expecting it to be as good as it sounds? Yet I, time and time again, become the face of disappointment and disgruntlement, drinking a $6+ drink that only loosely resembles something consumable. This is true of chain restaurants, it's true of small businesses, it's true of everything. It's either too sweet or not sweet enough, bitter, artificial, or in some way not at all like it's supposed to be. Agh!

Yet, one day in the recent past, I finally found it: my unicorn. My sweet, perfect, lovely, heavenly drink that goes by the name of "Chamomile Rose Latte." 

Yes, it was like $8 for a 16oz, but when in Nevada, why not? It's not like there's much else on the shores of Nevadan Tahoe, save for unopened serotinous cones. I wish they sold a 50oz. I'd pay $100 for it. Hell, I'd pay more than that.

What you have to understand about this drink is that it actually tasted good. I have no complaints- no criticisms at all- and that's unusual for me. It didn't taste like some weird, strange lab concoction that gets called "Rose" despite not having anything to do with actual roses; no, it tasted like it had rose syrup in it (because it did), which has the perfect level of sweetness to balance out the chamomile. If we're all being honest with ourselves, plain tea is not typically very flavorful no matter how well it's been brewed, but I think this was the perfect addition. Add the milk, too, and it's just... well, perfect.

The bad news for me is that this drink is, at any given moment, roughly 2,362 miles away from my humble person. I don't think I can justify going to Nevada from Ohio just to get my beloved Chamomile Rose Latte, although I think that, in a moment of weakness, I might try. So I took a picture of the tea bag while I had it, knowing that I was going to be haunted by this drink, and I intend to try to find a rose syrup authentic enough to recreate it best I can because recreation is the only chance I have at having what I consider to be the perfect drink.

Most if not all of those reading would not know this, but I love rose syrup. It's not exactly a common ingredient, but it (well, rose water) is essential for desserts such as Baklava (which just so happens to be my all-time favorite dessert, since we're talking about it). It is difficult to describe the taste if you have not had it, but rest assured it is good: it's floral, of course, and sweet without being too sweet (too sweet IS a thing). It tastes very natural, very fresh, very light and just, in my opinion, right to balance out the 69438 grams of fat from the walnuts you're consuming when you eat Baklava. Do you think I care? I don't! One of my other all-time favorite desserts is Gulab Jamun, which uses orange blossom syrup (among others), so I'm beginning to think I just like flower syrups-- and because I feel like I'm getting close to "look at my unique and super special dessert taste" territory, I will also throw it out there that I love pies.

I find myself quite pathetically upset over not being able to just get up and go to the pretty lake with the pretty trees and pretty mountains and tasty drinks. It's so very different from here, and it's very easy for me to take where I am now for granted. After all, compared to the land of mountains, oceans, and trees taller than skyscrapers, what exactly is there in Ohio?

Well, while I recognize Nevada is only home to one of the things mentioned above, I associate it with the same region (California) because it objectively is the same area, just separated by state borders. You drive for nine hours there and go from arid desert to the most beautiful coast you've seen in your life; I drive for nine hours here and unless you look closely you get the same landscape, more or less, with slightly varying hill sizes. Hilariously, this land is also connected to California, so despite the separation brought about by different states and a great number of miles I choose to believe that California, too, is part of Greater Ohio. 

One thing we definitely have here that they do not out west is an abundant supply of water. Sometimes too much of it, in my opinion, because if it's at the point that the water is in the air... we've gone too far. Too much water. We've been getting droughts, of course, and that's really only likely to get worse, but you don't have to drill that far into the earth to strike a spring that doesn't dry up even in the worst drought. I know this because we, luckily, have access to one. The thing that scares me, if you will, about out west is the lack of water, most noticeable in the lack of green. Sure, there is green, and there are plenty of plants, but not as many as here and certainly not at all similar.

The thing is, despite that, I love the desert. I love it. I love the mountains of the west, the coast, the forests, the chaparrals, all of them; but I also love the prairies here, our forests, our rivers, valleys, and hills. I love all of it, everywhere, because it is all the same sort of thing, only at different stages, phases, places-- sure, a redwood isn't a beech tree, but aren't they both trees? I do have favorite species, of course, but it's sort of like how I feel about animals. I love cats and I would say I prefer them to dogs, but that hardly means I don't like dogs, and it certainly doesn't mean I don't love all other animals (and I do mean all). 

I didn't particularly care to travel when I was younger because I hadn't traveled anywhere other than Alabama, and I really didn't know what was out in the world. The first time I actually went on a "big" trip was to the U.K., and ever since then I have been certain of one thing: I have to go places. I cannot stay in one place. The world is far too big and far too wonderful to not try as hard as I can to see as much of it as I can, to meet as many people as I can, to live as much as I can. My precious latte is just a small example of that, isn't it? It's the exact kind of drink I've always wanted to have, but in 25 years I'd never even thought of that combination, let alone tasted it, let alone found it anywhere near me. I only found it because I was thousands of miles away from my home in a place I wouldn't have been if it weren't for my brother living there. What else is there that's like that? Something you've never even thought of but would love so much if only you knew it.

You know, maybe Ohio is "boring" compared to some of the more dramatic states. Maybe the hills are gentler, the landscapes don't change quite as much or as fantastically, and we don't have tons of endemic species here. I could go on and on about how the hills I live on are significantly older than the mountains out west, but whatever, that's neither here nor there (well, it literally is here and there, but you know what I mean). I'm sure somebody out there has never seen anything like my home and they'd probably like it a lot.