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The Proper Way To Sippy Cup

Do you ever get the feeling that you've been mindlessly shoveling food or gasping down liquids without truly appreciating the tasteful bounty? Like an old professor of mine used to say; eating is something that is done at least three times a day, you may as well do it well.
Or one of my all time favorite culinary quotes from food critic Anton Ego: If I don't love it, I don't SWALLOW. (Quote taken from my also all time favorite movie Ratatouille.)
Here is Leo, (a true Sommelier of the sippy cup beverages) on a very hot day this past week, showing us how it is done! Oh yeah!



First, the bouquet. A long silent pause is required. A thoughtful pause in which the nose can assimilate the slightly pungent smell of a sippy cup that is indeed a rare vintage. The sweet aroma of warmed rubber and of the other random debris which has fused to the outside of the cup during its dark sojourn in the Cellar of La Diaper Bag.. 




Before that first sip is taken, the appellation of origin must of course, be determined. Is this intriguing h2o from the sparkling pristine Swiss Alps? Or perhaps from the mysterious and bottomless depths of a Vermont artesian well? Or is it from a bubbling prehistoric underwater spring? Who can say? It's anybody's guess at this point.
Leo decides the time has come for a taste.



A genteel sip is all one needs; a swish through the mouth and pallet, to determine the body, the balance, yes, even (especially) the astringency of the vintage.



Wowee! That first taste can be a shocker! Sometimes time is needed for the senses to assimilate the onslaught. The taste buds need time to recover so that the accurate mouthfeel can be determined.

Or not. Sometimes the best way to know is to have more. Lots more!


Ahh. There. Now the proper finish of the beverage can be ascertained. 



The lukewarm water has some sweet and sour notes, perhaps from the residual soap from a previous washing. A gentle light body, with just a tasteful hint of fermentation, and wait, wait, aha! The subtle taste of cheese-puff backwash. 


Perfection, thy name is Sippy Cup! A revelation in every sip. (Like the revelation that it's time to clean out La Diaper bag.)



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