This week, I decided to take a break from the interviews to explore some of the ways I relate the craft tea movement or the foodie movement with the kinds of people that subscribe and belong to them. I thought a poem would get across my ideas in an artistic way while still remaining open ended enough to speak to a wide audience. Among other things, I mostly thought about what makes someone interested in these very specific interests, and how do these experiences shape the people that experience them? Here is the result:
They say you are what you eat.
Running down to the garden with my father, rushing to those plump red strawberries. My first memory.
Biting into the challah, salt lining the top. My first taste of tradition.
Farfalle with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, red wine vinegar and spices. My first recipe.
Chocolate shoko in a sack and pita like a pillow. My life as a seven-year old at summer camp in Israel.
Bubble tea and dumplings on Forbes Avenue. My go to for catching up with old friends or bringing new friends.
Seltzer. Just about my favorite thing on the planet…Does that mean I am what I drink?
I’ve got it bad for tasty drinks, from teas to juices and everything in between. This is probably due to my mother keeping a milk-and-water only household, (There was orange juice, too, as if that made a difference) but it’s led me to many new places.
How to use a hammer. Opening a coconut to extract the freshest of waters.
Patience. Steeping hot tea and leaving it to chill overnight for that perfect, ice-cold finish.
Chemistry. Injecting carbon dioxide into my flat water to make seltzer from scratch.
An internship. Expanding my marketing knowledge and skills through my love of tea.
Linguistics. At a coffee shop with my Spanish class, speaking nothing but the whole time.
Food as means for memory, craftsmanship and connection.
A “drinking habit” full of adventure, intrigue and that inevitable, bubbly finish.
On any given day, it’s simpler than you think.
Know that your core is the strongest part of you. Don’t go after the unnecessarily complicated. Think twice before hastening to answer those seemingly mundane questions. Take time and ponder…
Coffee or tea?
Green or black?
Still or sparkling?
Hot or iced?
Sweetened or unsweetened?
