Lombardia's Gingerlove in a Cup

There is a strange connection between Belgium, tea, and me. I was more of a coffee drinker before my Belgian roommate, Virginie, introduced me to the blissful experience of drinking thee (Dutch for tea) in our tiny apartment in Amstelveen. We even had thee time after breakfast, in the afternoon while studying, and after dinner while watching Gossip Girl. Incidentally, because of a magical map I picked up in a hostel in Antwerp, I got into trying one heavenly cup of ginger tea in Belgium's quirkiest organic food joint: Lombardia.

The interior was far from Antwerp's general 16th-17th century ambience.

I sat on an empty spot near the window and scanned the menu for the drink that made this store famous worldwide.

But actually, I didn't have to since the store posters screamed their bestseller!

My warm ginger tea arrived a few minutes after I placed my order. It was a mug of frothy, bright yellow tea that was a divine surprise. It had the tangy ginger-citrus taste that felt really good on the throat, but it also had the right, almost milky, kind of sweetness. It was served with a fresh slice of ginger at the end of a stick.

Story goes that a journalist from Wall Street Journal had tried GingerLove when he visited Antwerp and listed it as among the "Must Do's in Belgium" that even international stars like Sting and Moby came and tried the drink. GingerLove's recipe remains secret but the magical experience of drinking it sure has been heard in many places.

If we can make our local salabat as heavenly as this, I would drink it everyday and twice on a Sunday! Then again, who's to say we don't have our own fine herbal concoctions to rave about? I've tried Bistro Remedios' lemongrass iced tea (only I asked it to be served warm) and Travel Cafe's hot basil and calamansi tea. They did taste great and were therapeutic, too! And as I write this I am already thinking I can feature local herbal teas here one day! I saw Travel Cafe's menu had Ginger Iced Tea on it; that would be one to try. Aaaah... Good things happen when you spread the --

Check out www.gingerlove.be for the latest updates, such as this:

"GingerLove is now within the reach of all, the GingerLove machines are no longer required to prepare a delightful cup GingerLove. You can now drink GingerLove any time and any place: at home, at work, while travelling, during sports. The only thing you need is a sachet of GingerLove,  to which you add ice-cold or boiling water. Stir or shake, and your own GingerLove is ready to drink!"