I enjoyed reading about orchata. During early days in Canada and longing for the treat of which I had pleasant memories of drinking in Goa, I found a few stores selling it, either Lebanese or Italian, some labeling it as ‘Orgeat’. The Portuguese stores just didn’t have it. Being a concentrate, all you had to do was add carbonated water to one and a half ounces and you would get a drink exactly like you did in 1960s Goa, only fizzier.
It is very difficult to get now as the demand in Toronto has ebbed with its high sugar content and all. So if you Madam ever think of sending your home-made batch of it to this city, I will be your first and lasting customer. Roland Francis Toronto. > On Jun 29, 2020, at 11:53 AM, Goanet Reader <[email protected]> wrote: > > A discussion on Orchata started off on the Goa-Research-Net > (Yahoogroups) recently, after Dr Leopoldo da Rocha commented: > "This reminds me of another soft drink that was served only in > solemn occasions, such as weddings etc., normally in landed > gentry houses. Its name is orchata. After decolonization, it > ceased to exist in Goa, at least during my time. Here in > Portugal I asked many people. Nobody knew a drink by the > name of orchata. Curiously, many years ago while on holidays > in Benidorm (Spain), I saw the drink called 'horchata'. It > tasted exactly as the one of my childhood. The monumental > Dictionary of the Portuguese Language by the Bazilian author > Houaiss, of Lebanese stock, does register the term 'orchata'. > It is a soft drink made of ground almonds. Etymologically it > is a Spanish word introduced in 1734. I presume only in Goa > and Spain." Below is the story of the recent revival of the > drink in Goa itself.... > >
