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Most humans would probably eat a very basic diet, but the Imperium is huge and has many different social classes. I expect Spyrers in hives would eat as fancy food as the Eldar

For some reason I expect the Tau to have rationing rather than purchasable food. That's more of an economic mechanism than actual food though.

Kroot eat (nearly) everything too, provided their Shapers say it's ok

 Ynneadwraith wrote:

 amazingturtles wrote:

 oldzoggy wrote:
Sure they have tea, but as a rule it has to be grim dark somehow. So just don't ask what it is made of.

oh, i got it! They have tea, but it's like... that really cheap off-brand kind that they sell in american gas stations. that's the only kind you can get.

GRIMDARK

Oh God[-Emperor]! it's worse than I expected.

It's tea, but the stuff they sell from machines in polystyrene cups that's either 50% milk or inexplicable dark and bitter.

I don't know why humanity fights anymore...

Emperor Save Us!!!

Regarding the food, in the Lure of the Expanse adventure for the FFG Rogue Trader RPG, there's a few dishes on page 17. Granted, it's on a backwater void-port with highborns with bizarre tastes but...

- Voidburned Winterscale Creeper with Rakken Brain Sauce (not too dangerous, just generally disgusting)
- Live Dolorium Throat Crab (hard to keep down)
- Shardspider Eggs in Promethium Soup (mind the sharp bits and try not to smoke afterwards)
- Jerazol Brain-Fluke braised in Ork Spinal Fluid (don’t let it get onto your brain stem)
- Deep Warp Eel (of unknown origins) with Egarian Mummy Extract (one look at this ‘eel’ will tell anyone something is not quite right about it…)

Some effects of these dishes are quite dire. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting example of the level of goofiness one might expect from the edge of the Imperium.

Reading some more of the Path of the Outcast and they mentioned tea again. Aradryan and his companion were drinking "whitenut" tea...and again it mentioned Thirianna's "apartment".

I'd imagine tea's the only way for IG regiments to relember home... valhallans probably bring a bag or two on campaign just to remember home

The classic Dark Future books by Kim Newman (writing as Jack Yeovil) had the first mention of Recaf that I can remember.

I was a poor substitute for coffee after President Oliver North's wars in Central America caused the US to be cut off. Real Coffee was a luxury for the rich.

Those were good books. I should reread them again.

Adding a plant to hot water and drinking the extract is probably a social custom, a form of experimental (or established) apothecarianism, and a general habit across the Imperium. Even on advanced/industrialized worlds, the powder they add to the water probably began as a plant at some point (though is now just recombined chemicals).

I formall declare I was wrong, not sure how I got the idea in my head (damn you tzeetch) but britian was not brought up in SM

CommanderRednaxela wrote:
I formall declare I was wrong, not sure how I got the idea in my head (damn you tzeetch) but britian was not brought up in SM

Did you play the whole game to find out?

Humans have shown that they will go to great lengths to attend to their vices. I'm sure all manner of things are boiled, strained, distilled, snorted or rolled up and smoked throughout the Imperium. Reminds me of Kalma and Spook from Necromunda, it's a shame the general mainstreaming of the 40k IP means that these types of adult references are gone.

 wuestenfux wrote:
Beer seems to be confirmed by SW.
I'm sure that some caffeine will be served in the 40k universe.

Beer is not difficult to make, the Egyptians were drinking it at least 3000+ years ago. Likewise tea is very simple to make, and bark teas were drunk before modern tea reached Europe (not much, but still done for various reasons).

It isn't technology that would be lost. Maybe the sorts of beer or tea you know might be lost, but not beer or tea themselves (beer, in particular, was drunk,as well as wine, for thousands of years because it was safer than water due to boiling the liquid/mash).

 MarsNZ wrote:
Humans have shown that they will go to great lengths to attend to their vices. I'm sure all manner of things are boiled, strained, distilled, snorted or rolled up and smoked throughout the Imperium. Reminds me of Kalma and Spook from Necromunda, it's a shame the general mainstreaming of the 40k IP means that these types of adult references are gone.

Agreed that it's a shame these references are gone. Same reason why we've got the androgynous crab-people as Daemonettes instead of the kickass Huan Diaz sculpts...

Tea, as in plant-based infusions, will exist. The Camellia sinensis plant, from which real tea is made, is probably extinct, or so different it might as well be.

However, a case could be made for, due to the grimdark of the setting, everyone drinking flower and fruit "tea" with heaps of sugar or artificial sweetener with milk. Truly gruesome.

 Arktyranus wrote:
There's still tea, mostly for the officers, just look at White Dwarf (Tea and Crumpets for me!) Also, the future is nice. Except they'll make sure it's grim dark. I guess no Earl Gray.

Earl Grey isn't even real tea. It's just bergamot flowers and hot water.

 ChazSexington wrote:
Tea, as in plant-based infusions, will exist. The Camellia sinensis plant, from which real tea is made, is probably extinct, or so different it might as well be.

However, a case could be made for, due to the grimdark of the setting, everyone drinking flower and fruit "tea" with heaps of sugar or artificial sweetener with milk. Truly gruesome.

 Arktyranus wrote:
There's still tea, mostly for the officers, just look at White Dwarf (Tea and Crumpets for me!) Also, the future is nice. Except they'll make sure it's grim dark. I guess no Earl Gray.

Earl Grey isn't even real tea. It's just bergamot flowers and hot water.

Galexey may be going to hell. The warp wants to eat you and a entire invading race do the same to your body.

But wr have tea... And in tea... We shall have calm!

I heard tea made from the Venus Mantrap has an exquisite taste

nareik wrote:
There was a Space Marine chapter that specialised in wine. I think it might have been in the omnibus.

might be the 1k sons you're thinking of, if I recall correctly ahriman (or one of the other characters mentioned in a thousand sons) owned a vineyard and made wine as a peacetime occupation.

 Glasdir wrote:

nareik wrote:
There was a Space Marine chapter that specialised in wine. I think it might have been in the omnibus.

might be the 1k sons you're thinking of, if I recall correctly ahriman (or one of the other characters mentioned in a thousand sons) owned a vineyard and made wine as a peacetime occupation.

No way? That's funny

 TheLumberJack wrote:


No way? That's funny

can't remember where it was mentioned in the book, but it did amuse me, especially the idea of peacetime in 40k

I love this thread. It is delightfully niche.

Does alcohol still exist in 40k? I know the wolves have their beer but anyone else or any info on alcohol in the universe?

 TheLumberJack wrote:
Does alcohol still exist in 40k? I know the wolves have their beer but anyone else or any info on alcohol in the universe?

Alcohol is a naturally occuring phenomena. As long as life exists it will exist. It occurs naturally when yeast encounters sugar.

Drinkable alcohol dates to earliest recorded human history as a result. Egyptian poetry states, "If I kiss her and her lips are open I am happy even without beer." Grave goods thousands of years old show evidence of having contained alcohol.

It is a byproduct of nature, and imbibile alcohol is also completely natural. You just also get toxic forms as well if the wrong yeast is introduced.

 TheLumberJack wrote:
Does alcohol still exist in 40k? I know the wolves have their beer but anyone else or any info on alcohol in the universe?

Fungus Beer, if yer Green enuf ta drink it!

 TheLumberJack wrote:
Does alcohol still exist in 40k? I know the wolves have their beer but anyone else or any info on alcohol in the universe?

The Abnett books frequently mention Amsec which serves the role of wine. One of the Gaunt books has him going on a bender after several 100 Ghosts are killed in a friendly fire incident.

The 'Of Mars' books has the Cadians setting up a still and bar in the bowels of their ship and talk about it as standard procedure.

And that's off the top of my head.

This helps.
http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Food_and_Drink

Frankly, I think even 40k isn't going to go so evil as to deny the people alcohol. Got to deal with the nature of the universe somehow.

 TheLumberJack wrote:

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Apparently the Grox (a sort of semi-reptilian cow-like creature) is common as a beast of burden and source of food, so probably Grox steaks and burgers would be common.

Other than that, probably various different types of staple food crop that can be grown en-masse: grains, rice etc.

They'd likely be heavily genetically altered from the crops we'd recognise today. We've already started genetically altering food crops in M3. I'd expect it would be commonplace in M41.

Saying that, there's a whole galaxy full of different worlds with alien life. What people eat probably varies massively between continents on a world, let alone between worlds themselves.

Yeah I've read about Grox. Orks eat squigs. I imagine humans eat very basic diets. Marines eat whatever. Eldar probably eat fancy food. Tau no clue. Nids eat everything

In Kill Team, the Last Chancers had dinner with a Tau delegation, and almost all the food was vegetarian of different shades. Different fruits, vegetables, breads and rices, among other things. The Fire Warriors occasionally ritually eat meat but otherwise it's vegetarian.

I now have the image of whole planets devoted to nothing but the growing of tea leaves.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 TheLumberJack wrote:
Does alcohol still exist in 40k? I know the wolves have their beer but anyone else or any info on alcohol in the universe?

The Abnett books frequently mention Amsec which serves the role of wine. One of the Gaunt books has him going on a bender after several 100 Ghosts are killed in a friendly fire incident.

The 'Of Mars' books has the Cadians setting up a still and bar in the bowels of their ship and talk about it as standard procedure.

And that's off the top of my head.

This helps.
http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Food_and_Drink

Actually the Imperial Infantry Mans Uplifting Primer mentions gargling neat Amasac as a way of treating leaches in the throat

OJJ

icn1982 wrote:
I now have the image of whole planets devoted to nothing but the growing of tea leaves.

Yeah, and they're more sacred than shrine worlds and more heavily defended than fortress worlds.

icn1982 wrote:
I now have the image of whole planets devoted to nothing but the growing of tea leaves.

And they say the future is grimdark!

Actually, it's probably all that weird tasting stuff you get in hotels...

 Anfauglir wrote:

icn1982 wrote:
I now have the image of whole planets devoted to nothing but the growing of tea leaves.

Yeah, and they're more sacred than shrine worlds and more heavily defended than fortress worlds.

Orks invade a world that exclusively grows tea leaves, next thing you know, the largest army since the great crusade shows up and utterly smacks the orks into the middle of next week, the few that survive wake up thinking 'what did we do.' The Tyranid Hive Mind sees this and diverts an entire tendril away from another such planet, unfortunately its towards one that exclusively grows cucumbers.