My canister of Jasmine tea pearls.

Tea makes me feel safe. It helps me write, it keeps me awake past 8:30 when we have company, it soothes my aches when I feel defeated.

I carry tea in my purse when we travel to alleviate homesickness, and generous friends have brought me so much tea that it fills a chest of drawers in our entryway.

Lately I’ve been reducing my collection to teas I can’t live without. A lot of them are from The Republic of Tea, because I get them in bulk at my local market, but there are a few others as well.

I’ve been collecting vintage tea tins with an eye to building a shelf for the essentials. So here’s what will live there:

Black Teas

Kusmi Prince Vladimir Tea (loose leaf)
This smells as good as it tastes–a bit spicy, with a lot of floral and citrus. One of my top-two favorite teas.

Earl Grey by Mighty Leaf
This is traditional pick to have on hand for guests who just want a familiar cup of black tea.

Green Teas

Jasmine Pearls
Green tea and jasmine blossoms hand-rolled into little pearls. This is my other favorite tea, and I tend to keep a pot of it nearby while I work throughout the day. It makes the house smell great. I get mine from Chinatown, or friends who make business trips to China, but the tea linked above is the one you’re most likely to find at a gourmet foods shop.

Mystery Tea from China
Bryan was working in Urumuchi, China a while back and brought back exceptional teas for me. All the packaging is in Chinese though, so I have no idea what I’m drinking. My favorite isn’t long and grassy like most green tea. It looks like dark, balled leaves when dry, and unfurls into whole leaves with stems when brewed. It has a light, floral flavor. Any ideas?

Herbal Teas

Ginseng Peppermint by Republic of Tea
Strong, spicy mint tea with a sweet aftertaste. Similar to the sensation you get after you’ve eaten an artichoke and take a sip of water. My favorite herbal.

African Nectar by Mighty Leaf
I tend to find herbal teas too weak for my tastes, but this is a nice, strong, fruity herbal that I have when I’m too wired to drink another cup of real tea.

I also like plunking a big bunch of fresh mint or ginger in hot water to make a tisane when I’m avoiding caffeine.

Iced Teas

Good Earth Original
Good Earth makes flavorful bagged teas (I like their sweet Green Tea blend too), but this one is the best. It’s very sweet even without sweeteners, and is a strong cinnamon and spice flavor. Refreshing on ice.

Ginger Peach by Republic of Tea
Exactly what it sounds like, and great cold (with or without sugar).

Mate

Mate Latte by Republic of Tea

For when I need a caffeine boost, or if I’m craving milk in my tea. It smells like cocoa, and has strong, comforting vanilla notes.

So those are the all-stars.

If you’d like to start trying better teas, but don’t want to give up the ease of using tea bags, you can’t go wrong with Mighty Leaf and Tea Forte. I find they’re some of the best whole-leaf teas that come in bags. I used to evangelize Steep Teas because they’re tasty and the matchbox packaging is bangarang, but now I can’t find the matchboxes online anymore. Boo.

If you’re a tea drinker, leave your favorites in comments.

Orange County, California summed up in three business signs visible from the highway:

1. Second Amendment Sports
2. Premium Meat Snacks
3. Flags Sold Here

Me: I want to take a bath. Will you bring me popcorn, princess style?
Him: Hmm. Only if you dance sexy for me.

So I danced sexy, and he brought me popcorn.

The end.

It’s 7 p.m. on a Monday in the Mission. The man walking in front of us is drunk, very drunk, and angry. He spins around to engage with us, and Bryan turns me by the elbow toward a display window. We pretend to discuss eyewear trends long enough to confuse the man, and he continues on.

We’re a quarter block behind him when he begins to weave and stumble dangerously. He is crossing the street, tilting forward, forward, until suddenly he is horizontal.

He falls so fast, so hard, there isn’t even time to gasp. I can still hear his teeth smack the asphalt.

http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf

My camera, she is broken. Broken since before we left Argentina, in fact. Not fixing it turned out to be stupid, as I lost many photos from this lovely weekend with the girls. Most regrettably, all the naked ones.

-You should know, I’m a sleep farter.
-Noooooo!
-Yeah, it’s true.
-I like to scream in my sleep. Scream and scream.
-I’m a sleep stabber.
-…I’m a sleep Republican.

Our arms are full of bags, there are plastic bags hanging from our elbows, our wrists, our fingertips. We climb aboard the elevator, watch the doors close, and pause uncomfortably for a moment. I look at the buttons, at Melissa, back at the buttons. Then I lean forward and press our floor button with my nose.

I straighten back up.

“That may be the most unsanitary thing I’ve ever done.”

Me: Shit. It’s dark.
Melissa: I know! And the banks are super high. Do they just have enormous plows?
Me: Yeah.
Melissa: And it’s totally deserted. This is so strange.
Me: I’m cool. I’ll just consume your flesh while I wait for rescue.
Melissa: Yeah, which part should you start with?
Me: Which limb do you use least?
Melissa: Help arrives like minutes later, and you’re hunched over my body.
Me: I’m like, “Whaa?”
Melissa: OK. So it’s true we just had dinner, but I was nervous!
Me: I felt anxious!
Melissa: Don’t judge me!