15 July 2009

I heart summer?

I can honestly say that I haven't been blogging that much because I've been busy with summer things. No, I don't have any travel plans (yet), but most of the things that I personally equate with summer has kept me reasonably occupied. I've even been to the beach - though it was at night, so I can't say the bathing suits have seen the light of day.

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that summer is usually the worst time of year for me. I don't just mean the weather, though it has a lot to do with it. I hate the heat. To me it's fitting that the two words are anagrams. Warmth is perfectly fine; it becomes heat when it's oppressive. I guess anything over 85 degrees, especially combined with humidity, is enough to send me cowering in front of an air conditioner. Oh, the electric bill! This year, though, it's been really mild. I've heard some complain that it's not hot enough, but I'm thrilled. I can take my long walks without sweating buckets, waiting for the subway train is not (as) suffocating, and my wardrobe options are plentiful. So I've been more of an outdoors person than usual.

Besides the actual temperature, in the past few years July and August have been nightmares for me. Some of the worst events took place under the summer sun. Obviously the biggest tragedy was losing my father in July (it'll be three years on Sunday). Also, I tend to be the most broke this time of year, and the most obnoxious roommate moments happened around the summer. Duforth died in early September (which is technically still summer), and let's not even go into September 11th. So, the fact that it's been so far, so good, is enough to keep me thankful. I'm trying to be as pleasant as possible, just to show my appreciation.

It's not a bad time for drinking tea, either. Hot or iced, I'm still sipping. But because the "broke" part of summer is still kind of there, I haven't really been hanging out at tea rooms. I did try one recently, though, and that was Podunk.

Podunk is on East 5th Street in Manhattan. It's been there awhile; I just never got around to visiting it. Technically, I didn't really spend enough time there to merit a full-on review. I had an iced tea to hold me over until I met up with a friend. As far as environment was concerned, it was quite cozy. In fact when I first stepped inside, my nose was rewarded with the smell of buttery baking. It's not a huge tearoom, but the seating isn't cramped either. It's called an American tearoom, and it does feel like Anytown, USA. I'd share pictures, but I had a recent streak where I kept forgetting to tote my camera (imagine my chagrin when I was able to see Johnny Depp in person! Cell phone camera just doesn't cut it!).

Anyway, I asked for an iced tea, and I got the green tea with apples and cucumber. It's served in a mason jar, which is really more than I can drink. The price was also more than I can swallow. The lady behind the counter, who was friendly and quaint, felt bad that I'd waited a while, so she discounted the tea - it was only $8, down from $10! Really? Really, Podunk? It was refreshing, but the aftertaste was kind of mealy. Perhaps if I'd hung out for a few hours I would feel like it was worth it, but for a quick tea break, no thanks. I will have to return one more time, and get food while I'm at it, in order to give a fair review. I'd better save my pennies.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Gata,

Your passion for tea is truly inspiring and your daily posts have proved to be a very entertaining and edifying read for tea aficionados such as myself. Having relied on your site for quite a while for the latest tea news and reviews, I thought I might return the favor by directing you to an official press release for an upcoming tea exhibition at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. The exhibition will be on display from the 16th of August to the 29th of November which will feature oil paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, as well as other tea-serving paraphernalia from all around the world.

We here at the Fowler are very excited about this exhibition and would love to have you visit and see everything on display. We’d also be more than grateful if you can forward this information to family and friends that might be interested in viewing the exhibition, or perhaps discuss this upcoming event in your site for all other tea-lovers to see (http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/fowler-exhibition-tells-story-93693.aspx)!

I wish you the best in your endeavors and I hope you readership continues to expand as more and more people begin to appreciate the wonders of tea! If you need more information about the exhibition and related events, please don't hesitate to contact me via my e-mail and I can send you pdf files and images that may be helpful should you decide to cover this in your blog.

Have a wonderful week, and go tea!

Sincerely,
Beatrice Eyales
UCLA Fowler Museum, Marketing and Communications Dept.
E-mail: beatrice.eyales@me.com

Fowler Museum at UCLA
Box 951549
LA CA 90095-1549
fowler.ucla.edu

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Bonnie said...

Yeah $10 or even $8 is a crime to charge for tea (was it infused w/gold?)

And I totally agree that the weather here this summer has been to my liking (a little less rain might be even better, but anyway...)

Marie said...

It's been 95 degrees in FL...but not at all that bad (to me at least). Am I getting used to it? Maybe? I mean...we get in and out of cars and air conditioning constantly.

Po-flunk! No $10 teas for me!!!

Marie said...

3 Years since your father... :(

And Aug 30th would make 16 since my uncle died. 16!!!!

Bittersweet month for me!