Buzzed

Bees make the honey and cocaine certainly helps.

Shouts & Murmurs: Buzzed: newyorker.com

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Review: Alvita Catnip Tea

30 tea bags (Vitacost.com, $3.06)

Present in all fifty American states but Florida and Hawaii, the plant nepeta cataria (also known as catnip, catmint, catsword, and field balm) is attributed with a variety of health benefits. A quick search on the internet reveals that it may help to suppress and/or treat cough, headache, sore throat, insomnia, colic, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and miscarriage. Whether or not this member of the mint family can do some or all of that has yet to be confirmed by anyone official. Of course in that same internet search you are likely to come across devotees. (For instance this site offers advice on using catnip to treat colic however I could not find any testaments to catnip’s prevention of miscarriage.)

I decided to try catnip tea as a sleep aid (“a cup of hot catnip tea taken at bedtime insures a good night’s sleep” one website advertises). Whether or not I slept any better than I usually do after drinking I can’t really say. What I can report with certainty is that this stuff tastes terrible.

From experimenting with different teas (and their herbal counterparts) I have to say that whenever the term “earthy” is thrown around, a red flag should go up. In this case, as in others, the term “earthy” actually means “awful”. Best compared to trying to drink old clothing that doesn’t fit, if you really want to use catnip for medicinal purposes, by all means, find a different way to do it.

Whittard of Chelsea

The General's Tea

Grow tea, not guns? Check out this story from Gourmet about growing tea in Thailand.

Sanctuary T

Sanctuary T
337B West Broadway
New York, NY 10013
(212) 941-7832

Despite being described by the New York Observer as catering to a “more disheveled crowd” (more disheveled than the average Four Seasons customer presumably), a recent visit to Sanctuary T revealed very little dishevelment. Tending more towards tucked in shirts and square glasses, the crowd lacked the clouds of dirt and patchwork clothing of a good dishevelment. The patrons blend in so well with the blonde wood and wicker chairs in fact that it is not uncommon to mistake the place for one of the many similar looking dimly lit SOHO apartments nearby.

As the name suggests, tea is the name of the game at 337B West Broadway. The menu includes a wide selection of tea blends and tea infused cocktails alongside short explanations to dispel any confusion. The Midnight Flower, for instance, is “A string of Jasmine flowers with a lily blossom wrapped in black tea” ($5) while the Rise and Shine cocktail is a mixture of “pear, green tea, vodka, lemon” ($12). Each table features a color coordinated cube with sand timers (available for $18) to ensure proper brewing (an explanation of which can be found on the wall opposite the bathroom). Hot tea is served with a stick of rock candy and at least one hot water refill per cup can be expected.

I went with the Pineapple Sencha cup ($4) which proved light and pleasant however without as much pineapple flavor as I expected. The Cava de Cama ($12) which combines elderflower, chamomile tea, and cava in a wine glass was sweet though hardly distinguishable from any other fruity, bubbly concoction on the market. A dining companion who was feeling under the weather asked our waiter for a recommendation. His advice was the Dragon Well ($4) for its promotion of “general well being”. Did he know what he was talking about, or did he just suggest it because it had Well in the name?

I asked her afterward if she was feeling any better. She said while her condition had not changed immediately, she was confident things were improving.

The FM3 Buddha Machine

If you haven't already experienced the FM3 Buddha Machine this review from popmatters.com sums it up:

The Buddha Machine, then, is a little plastic box that plays music. Specifically, FM3 constructed nine drones, varying from two seconds to 42 seconds, which repeat endlessly in the listener's ear until the "track" is switched to the next drone (or the two AA batteries run out). The machine has its own built-in speaker, in case one would like to fill a room with the drones, but there is also a headphone jack for more personal meditative experiences. There's a switch on the side that allows for traversal of the tracks, and a DC jack (though an adapter is not included) for those who would like the Buddha Machine experience be truly endless. In a way, it's like the cheapest pre-loaded IPod you'll ever be able to buy. It even comes in a number of different colors, for the fashion-conscious experimental music aficionado.

If you're like me and this sounds awesome but you're unlikely to actually buy it, check out the Zendesk Buddha Machine Wall. I turn this thing on at work whenever public radio starts talking about musicals and serenity soon follows. It's great with tea.

There's also an iphone app.

New Barbies for tea?

I came across this ad on the NYC Craigslist:

TEA TEA TEA (QUEENS)

I HAVE A LOT OF TEA, 9 DIFFERENT PACKAGES,7 ARE 20-24 TEA BAGS EACH, AND 2 ARE LOOSE TEAS, AND I DON'T DRINK TEA. THE BRANDS ARE: AHMAD TEA LONDON, BAYCE, EXOTIC TEAS CHELSEA, BIGELOW, SELECT, STASH, UNCLE LEE'S TEA. WOULD LIKE TO TRADE FOR WII GAMES, CARTOONS DVDS, COIN SORTER, NEW BARBIES, OR ANYTHING INTERESTING. THANKS

It really raises more questions than it answers. Where did they get all that tea? Why do they want new barbies?

See the original here.