secret_no_03

I'm a coffee drinker, though I enjoy tea as well.
 
Typically, I'll make my coffee with just enough creamer to get a nice golden brown-ish color. I don't add any sugar or sweeteners.
 
Coincidentally, this is the way my dad used to make his as well.

With me, I can only have coffee with a lot of creamer or milk (either eevaporated or condensed). Basically, contrasting the bitterness with some creaminess and sweetness. That's why Thai and Viet coffee use condensed milk. You need something super creamy and sweet to contrast the really rich coffee. 
 
I will never understand plain black coffee. I've tried it and it ain't my thing personally. Just plain bitterness is sensory hell for me lol

I've had hot chocolates from Starbucks and from what I recall I didn't find them bitter but I did find them a bit weak in comparison to others (e.g. Costa). Maybe they do them a little differently in different parts of the world? Or maybe we tried them at different times and they changed up their recipe in between. 🤔
 
That being said, I've had some rather bitter hot chocolates too. I went to a cafe near the seaside a year or two ago and had a hot chocolate that was so bitter it tasted more like coffee than anything else (and I know they didn't mess up my order). I usually drink a hot choc every evening or near enough and I do it very strong and sweet with lots of marshmallows so I have quite high standards for the strength/sweetness of my hot chocolates, lol.

I can't handle anything too bitter so the only hot drink I drink is hot chocolate. I have a massive sweet tooth and I've never understood why people say "put sugar in it" when I say I don't like coffee. Coffee is just such an overpowering taste/aroma to me and I don't think all the sugar in the world could convince me to drink it. Although, all the sugar in the world does sound nice... 😆

Coffee is the best, so many ways to have it. From quad espresso shots, to cold brew, and blended drinks I can have it basically in any form.

I enjoy both tea and coffee; interestingly, I prefer them without any milk or sugar in them (I know I'm a minority). I buy pre-ground beans and brew in a French Press. Usually I buy medium-blend and brew it strong. I'm not big on weak/watery coffee. Sometimes I buy flavored coffee, my favorite flavours are chocolate, raspberry, and French Vanilla. I'm fairly caffeine resistant so I don't drink coffee for the caffeine but merely because I appreciate its bitter and deep taste. Usually I just skip it in the morning and my energy levels don't get any worse (vice versa for benefits). I've only gotten coffee jitters once in my lifetime but that was from drinking like 10 cups in 5 hours because the new beans I got were so tasty that I just kept making new pots (it was those raspberry ones btw). The only stuff I drink from Starbucks are their frapuccinos because damn that shit good.
 
As for tea, I drink black, green, white, rooibos, herbal, Matcha, Chai, you name it, I drink it. I love earl grey and fruit tea the most! Specifically strawberry and raspberry flavours (I can see a pattern here). Usually just stick to tea bags but my family often buys loose leaf green tea from Asian markets. We often brew a big pot of green tea for afternoon snacks, tea is important to my family because of our cultural ties.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-52177125
English Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted into hospital.

Well, I got it in the can, and it was pure coacoa so that's probably why, but yeah. As far as hot cocoa goes I have to have Swiss miss. 

So, I used to hate it as a child, but as I became an adult and now at 30 I love the stuff. I'm talking about coffee you make yourself, not Starbucks or a percolator. So, do you like coffee? If so how do you like it, do you just buy it or do you prepare it yourself? How do you prepare it?
 
I got rid of my coffee make and use a Hario v60 and an Aeropress depending on how much work I want to put into it. I buy beans from the store, and occasionally pre-ground. I'm hoping to subscribe to a Japanese coffee subscription soon as well. Currently I go for medium roasts as it's pretty hard to find lighter roasts in the store and I'm not ready for the dark roasted traditional Japanese coffee aka jet fuel. ☕ 
 
-Also be sure to say if you prefer tea over coffee, what kind and why? I pay around $16USD for a small container of pure matcha every 3 months and it's definitely worth it. Matcha is stronger and has even more health benefits than green tea, especially if you get pure and not "made with matcha". I still need a chosen though as I just sift it and cold brew it. 🍵

My favourite coffee is Vietnamese/Thai style. Rich, dark roast, with condensed milk. It is simultaneously strong and creamy.
As for tea, I can only do sweetened teas because I'm an uncultured plebian. That being said, I love black, oolong, milk/chai/boba, and chrysanthemum. I can't choose tea or coffee over eachother though, because I like them for different reasons. Coffee during the mornings, tea and water the rest of the day for me lol

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-52177125
English Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted into hospital.

It actually reminds me of how DIMLIM did 喜怒哀楽.

Either that or new songs, my knowledge of Kanji is very limited.

That Facebook one is actually the first time he's shown his face online when he's playing in probably a year as well. Interesting.

Ray generally goes on Instagram at least twice a week and plays for an hour or so.

Two lovely Ghibli soundtracks <3 
 

https://soranews24.com/2020/04/04/how-to-kill-your-temptation-to-go-outside-this-weekend-with-one-piece-of-paper-and-some-tape/

Nicolas is having a livestream now

I'm talking either awful mixing because someone is a shit engineer or the kote kei kind where they deliberately make something sound like it's from the 90's when music production in VK was bare bones like La'veil MizeriA (might not count since Starwave record songs in an empty tunnel or something) or Crucifixion and the Matina label who did such a thing deliberately as it's a part of the aesthetic. I personally have times where I really like it and times when it's unlistenable compared to more well produced bands.

This. +1
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Lo-fi could sound cool in some bands, but for the bunch of guys that just released one poor song I don't think they had a better choice, and still there are some good only-songs by bands that surely didn't exist at all. I mean, I take lo-fi as a natural thing in vk. The strange one is hi-fi lol

Ooooof yeah thats dangerous. Most people dont know much about it so it just goes downhill into that debt

CNN's Chris Cuomo has tested positive.

I do fall into the range of Americans who have more than 1 credit card, but I don't have THAT many. I have a pretty good limit on both but I do NOT overspend and max out cards. I first got one when I started working as a teenager because I wanted to start building good credit since that's pretty important in America. Spend only what you can afford to pay back etc etcccc. It's useful for emergencies.
 
please don't max out credit cards for bands yo lmao

It depends on the circumstances. Some lo-fi recordings hold up because the guitars still have mids, the bass still has low end, etc. Basically, it has what I call the "minimal EQ required" to sound good to the ear. Songs like "Machibouke no Kouen De" by The GazettE, or pretty much anything from Vice Risk.
Others hold up because the low fidelity works with the aesthetic. For example, DEViL KiTTY's "Hello Katty" is probably meant to sound like a bad MP3 download. Or how Guruguru Eigakan songs are based on Japanese popular music from the 1900's to 1945, so some of the older songs kinda have the lo-fi feel of older music.
However, some low-fidelity recordings do not hold up. A good example is, weirdly, of Devil Kitty again. After Sasaki switched to guitar and Shita joined on bass, Yuuga had the wonderful idea of scooping all the mids and low end from the guitars, making it sound like it has a phaser effect, but "stuck" somehow. This is seriously ear grating and a serious step down from "Ese Ikare Rockstar", which imo had really great production, not just by DK standards but also by early 2000's vkei standards.
 
Basically, I would say there are different tiers of Lo-Fi. You got S-tier, which sounds good to the ear, fits with the aesthetic, and holds up.
And then you have F-tier which is the worst of the worst, garbage, would make Black Metal jealous lo-fi. Most Vkei falls somewhere in between

Hit or miss! If the music  feels right, I'll forgive the most abysmal production! And if it doesn't feel right ... ,