Soy chai, kere kere, University of Melbourne

Yes, detox over, back on the chai. Chais are one of the few things I've missed over the past few weeks, and I'm happily adding it back to my beverage world, albeit sans honey for the moment.

This morning's chai was from kere kere, a unique little coffee stand on the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus (near John Medley West for those passing through the Dream Large 'hood). The brainchild of Unimelb alumnus James (well he looks like a James...), the kere kere menu is limited to hot drinks, water bottles and a changing array or baked goods, but the quality is consistent, the service genuine and it's fast become the mid-morning haunt of most break-seeking staff and caffeine-deprived students on campus.

Like Astroboy, kere kere is small but only in size. The beauty of this business is that you get to choose where the profits of your tea (or caffe latte, short mac, raspberry friand, etc) go. You can allocated these funds back to the owners, or to an environmental, social or cultural cause. When you place your order, you're given a on oversized playing card. This serves as the order number they'll call out when your tea's ready, but doubles as your vote for where the profits will go. Each month James (he could also pass for a David...) adds up the profits and distributes them according to how people have 'voted' throughout the month. It's a pretty neat idea and seems to have captured the support of many regulars -- they've recently had to add a second machine to help keep up with the steady flow of orders.

On campus? Check them out when you can -- you can even take in your own mug and go that extra step on the environmental staircase.

Peppermint tea, Brunetti, Carlton

I'm still on the detox. And I'm still drinking peppermint tea. Blurgh. Don't get me wrong, I'm an avid fan of peppermint tea and would miss it if Australia experienced The Great Peppermint Famine of 2009, but it seems to be all I'm having these days and you can get sick of it. It's like if you filled a large vat with Labrador puppies, jumped inside and lived there for 10 days -- you'd soon become sick of those cute Kleenex commercials.

(Speaking of Labradors, last night I dreamt that I was in a pet store with 'free range' puppies and kittens. One of the Labrador puppies had skin made from puff pastry and had been sitting under heating lamps for too long. He had started to literally cook and looked like a Brumby's sausage roll at 4.30pm. I don't think he had any egg wash on him either. R thinks I'm just craving meat, but I'm resisting the idea that my subconscious is translating 'meat' into 'Labrador puppy flesh' -- watch out Tosh!).

People react to the news that you're doing a detox in the same way that they react to you telling them that you're into Scientology or eating toddlers (not that I've told anyone that I'm into eating toddlers...). Most people just think that feeling healthy is something you do because your doctor has told you to or you're a sadist who likes to deprive yourself of good things. I'm neither, I just adore the feeling of not being dependent on anything -- caffeine, post-meal sugar rushes, Labrador puppy eat, etc -- and I always feel great afterwards.

Now, mind you, this time I'm doing the piss-weakest detox of them all, the Blackmores Detox. This lasts for 10 days, involves taking lots of pills and tonics and just means you eat lots of fresh fruit and vegies (and some fish), and no caffeine, alcohol, sweets, dairy or wheat. And it's not that hard to keep up after the detox is over -- I discovered wheat-free muesli during Detox 2008 and have had it every morning since. You also realise just how great fresh food tastes without salt or sauces or oil -- during last year's detox I discovered that rocket tastes peppery! How could I not have known this?!

I can also somehow have sashimi and miso, so am meeting R today to binge on Japanese from Toki in Carlton. I could easily survive the 10 days on sashimi and miso, but it would set me back about $250.