Stay for Tea

Category: miscellanea

August 9, 2008

Bottoms up!

This is a fantastic, quick drink to make that is caffeine-free, but rich in taste. It’s made from roasted barley, and sometimes a little bit of wheat too. It is popular both in Japan and Korea, called either mugicha (Japan) or boricha (Korea). My boyfriend introduced me to this refreshing beverage and now I stocked up on it at home.

I cold steep it, for about half an hour or so, in the refrigerator. I don’t like it to be too dark or taste too strong. The drink has a natural sweet taste. It’s a very subtle sweetness, more of a softness to the flavor than a sugary overtone. The cute pitcher is also from the boyfriend.

(Note: It’s likely that those with gluten allergies might not react favorably to this drink.)

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March 4, 2008

Objects, Food, Rooms

I wanted to do a public blog for a while. Who knew that the simple adage of writing what you know and like would actually end up being true? So here I am, inspired by the sub-title of Gertrude Stein’s book of prose poems (Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms). I like objects – like buttons, on things or in jars sitting on shelves; and containers for things, to keep me organized; recipe books and comfortable shoes; framed photos and refrigerator magnets from Thailand. I like food – whether it’s a greasy slice of Indian pizza delivered late at night, an iced soy drink, fresh fruit from the farmers’ market. I like rooms – rooms that I inhabit and rooms I visit; strangers homes I glimpse in the evening through their unshuttered windows as I pass by on a streetcar; inspiring abodes printed in a magazine. These are things that I like. The simple things. And I plan on writing about them. None of this is new, plenty of people have talked about these things already, and that’s just fine. Maybe something that I like will be new to someone else, and then they’ll find something new to like. Simple.

-T.

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