There’s a new event in town, or rather, a new movement - and it’s called Team Dirty Chai!

Though most of you may have already heard of a chai latte, a spiced tea concentrate infused with hot milk, or even a soy chai latte, using soy milk instead of the dairy version; or already tried it at one of the countless coffee shops that spread all over town within the last years, not so many (not to say hardly anyone) will have any idea what exactly the term ‘dirty’ could stand for in that connection.

Well, kindest readership!
I have the honor to introduce to you what was brought to my ears - and lips - all the way from Los Angeles, CA (by Sean Bonner, to be accurate) last winter, and what changed my life by the means of my weekly habits and social interactions in the most joyful and enriching way possible - for a beverage, that is.

The dirty (soy) chai consists of the classic chai syrup (as to be found at your well-assorted coffee shop of trust), infused with hot (soy) milk (rumor has it, the soy makes it even more ‘muddy’; to me, it simply makes it more delicious: vegan, that is) and added with two shots of espresso - which makes it ‘dirty’.
And besides, being an addict, I should not forget to mention the excess of caffeine the dirtyness brings along with its super-awesome taste!

Now back to all the gibberish about the movement thingy:

The Team Dirty Chai, also known as TDC, was founded back in calender week 07 in the year 2008 by Dave aka DaddyD (whom you will certainly know by the trail of his posts) and my most humble self, when twittering about running out of coffee in the still of the night. Although Dave - as so far everyone we’ve met - was rather bemused about the general idea of pouring coffee in one’s tea, after trying a dirty chai latte was proselytized immediately and finds himself now co-leading Team Dirty Chai, evangelizing our friends (from thereon to be called the TDC army) towards a better taste in caffeinated, muddy-liquid treats.

We do so every Sunday, meeting at around 10.30 am CET at the Starbucks Mariahilfer Strasse/Theobaldgasse, aiming to improve our social skillz (yes, we do have some) by getting down to the *socially* dirty.

Our core team members include the following - as lovely as famous as down-to-the-dirty - folks: Kewagi, Angelol, Oneup, and Enkido, all of them admittedly geeks and/or nerds and/or ‘artists’ in some or the other way; but since the dirty chai meme spread rapidly amongst the Viennese Twitter league, the TDC army is still unstoppably growing, aiming to become the most notably alliance of 2008 a.d.

So there you have it.
Now screw up your courage, take heart, and join the TDC movement for more deliciousness and sociality in life!

Team Dirty Chai is legion.
And soon it’ll be on Wikipedia, fo sho ;)

Photograph no. 1 taken by Angelo Laub (licensed under CC by-nc-sa)

es wäre interessant, von einem stadthistoriker zu erfahren, unter welchen umständen damals - abgesehen davon, das es einfach ein netter job ist, strassen mal so zu benennen - die strassen wiens benannt wurden. vielleicht zu der zeit als sich angelo soleman für das naturhistorische museum ausstopfen liess?
es gibt ja in wien eine ganze anhäufung kurioser bis grotesker strassennamen. man wundert sich nur, wieso bspw. die grandiosen “mohrenköpfe” per gerichtlichem beschluss in “schwedenbomben” umbenannt werden mussten, und nebenbei immer noch solch herzerweichende strassennamen wie “negerlegasse” existieren.

not only the life of angelo soliman was exotic. born around 1721 in nigeria and brought to viennaise society as the first black person he lived in aristocratic comfort with a huge circle of friends. in this small model the coexistence of white and black did work out not only theoretical. some of his “friends” endeavored to persuade soleman to leave his mark after death in the form of his skin for public as racist theories became modern just around that time. he agreed.

so he was padded (ausgestopft) after his death in 1796 and for almost ten years a grotesque exhibit at the “naturhistorisches museum wien” before he and his two padded collegues, f