I just had my first paan and it was an absolutely life changing experience. I may never be able to leave India now. Amazing. Paan is a sort of Indian digestif, consisting of a betel leaf soaked in water that is folded around a glorious melange of spices, herbs, and syrups. Some versions contain tobacco, but I enjoyed a sweet paan. You place this package in your mouth and laboriously begin to chew. It's the gustatory equivalent of shifting into hyperspeed, salivary overdrive. Suddenly, flood-like quantities of juice burst across your palate. And with each bite, your teeth release a host of new flavors and encounter, no exaggeration, a dozen different textures. There are rose petals falling like confetti and fat cherubs hovering above, making eyes at the river nymphs, and playing the French horn. It's almost too much. It is too much. Divine...
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