a commitment to enjoying nice beverages
There’s something lightly, mischievously taboo about having an extravagantly nice drink: the strawberry lemonade slush at the patio restaurant, the $7 flavored latte on a busy city morning, the overpriced but well-packaged experimental drink that you finally let yourself buy because hey, isn’t that the reason why you’re working so hard in the first place?
Sitting on a bench overlooking the Yanagawa canals, willow trees swaying in the humid evening breeze, a friend asked me, “What are you passionate about?”
Normally, I’d regurgitate a rehearsed answer along the lines of alleviating human suffering, or experiencing and building community, or Dane DeHaan in the 2013 film Kill Your Darlings. But an off-hand thought entered my mind and stuck -- I am passionate about enjoying beverages.
The more you get to know me, the more I let slip that I am not a particularly calm person. I try to present as chill because I admire chill people and think it’s a good ideal to strive towards. But truthfully, I am particular about the ways I do things and allow slight disruptions to grate on my neurosis.
Enjoying a beverage is antithetical to that tension. It is the counter-symbol to disorder. It represents satisfaction at the end of the day, the opportunity of a new morning, the savoring of peace and presence.
I am the type of person who cannot enjoy a meal unless I am clean and at a good stopping point in my to-do list. Similarly, I will not splurge on a beverage unless I feel like I’ve earned it. That means that whenever I am partaking in a cheeky bev, my life is in good shape. It means that I’ve made responsible decisions that created the space for leisure.
Life, at its best, is a series of small pleasures. Of those small pleasures, a fancy beverage is among the most attainable and splendid. My daily prodding forward is motivated by the promise of a small oasis: the joy of taking my time to sip a tasty drink, preferably with someone I love.
I asked Twitter and Instagram: what is your favorite beverage and when/where do you have it?
“Diet Coke because it tastes like the nectar of the gods. Or lime and salt Modelo beer which Safeway has sometimes. Or no, ignore that. Sparkling water mixed with sparkling apple cider, like 70/30, is my favorite drink ever. Super common in Germany.”
“Maybe a hibiscus iced tea at my local coffee shop, Mo’s.”
“I like lemonade and Shirley Temples. My favorite adult bevvy is sangria. I like sweet things.”
“It's a drink I invented called the Freskey and I can’t have it as much anymore. Fresca and Crown Royal Apple Whiskey. It’s too good. I get sad drunk on it.”
“Blended frozen strawberries plus pineapple soju. Had it once a month during lockdown, but not since.”
“I drink a lot of AHA sparkling water at work. I also really like Diet Coke with lime.”
“Hmm, Cherry Coke. Anywhere I see it.”
“Coke or Coke Zero with lemon and vanilla extract, at home, every other day in the summer.”
“Dr. Pepper. I drank it like water as a teen, then largely cut soda out of my diet. I still drink them, but try to limit it to no more than once or twice a month.”
“I love a Thai milk tea boba. Also, honestly, just espresso drinks of any kind. The adult bevvies? Love a Guinness. And Moscow mules.”
“In Japan, it's probably Aquarius. I drink it pretty much all the time, especially when I work out or before I do something where I need electrolytes.”
“Gin and tonic, whenever, wherever!”
“Unsweetened iced tea, any place that has it. My favorite is from Raising Cane’s.”
“I’m a kombucha cuck. I’m surprised it isn’t everywhere in Japan. These fellas love fermenting and pickling stuff.”
“Green tea shot. Most bars can make it.”
“My top two beverages are chai lattes and boba tea and I drink them whenever I am near a place that sells either. However, sometimes when I’m in a bad mood, I will buy a Coke. But that’s about the only time I drink soda. Except for infrequent McDonald’s visits.”
“Jasmine tea! I usually make a hot one every morning but I like the cold bottled ones too. It’s also my go-to drink mixed with plum wine at this restaurant that I frequent in Toronto called Imanishi.”
“Mango smoothie. Bangkok. I always get a fresh fruit smoothie from a street vendor when I'm there.”
“Trader Joe’s sangria. Best shared with a friend at home or in a Nalgene bottle at the beach. It’s a drink I’ve shared with my mom while listening to summer concerts in the Todos Santos Plaza. It tastes like rosy cheeks and the breeze and it makes me feel like dancing in the sand. All for just $5.”
“Mojito. First time I had one was in January in Tijuana. So refreshing, and such a nice vacay with my friends.”
“Dark and stormy, when I play pool.”
“Lime drinks! Limeade, mojito, Moscow mule. Also, sparkling ginger drinks like ginger ale.”
“Lemon iced tea all day every day! Which definitely isn't the healthiest.”
“I feel like I have three favorite, go-to beverages and I like each of them because of the memories attached. First is tea, because it’s delicious, refreshing, and connected to so many good memories. When I think of it, I place it at a Japanese person’s home or tucked into the side pocket of my backpack as I’m traveling around. Second is coffee, specifically iced lattes, because I love cafes. Third is apple juice, because it’s tasty and cute and reminds me of home - either my home here or back home in Oz."
"Cold water after a weed nap. Maybe like, once in a blue moon. That shit just hits. No cap."
“Wintermelon green tea with extra ice or iced maple oat latte from a local coffee shop. Multiple times a week.”
“Arizona green tea. Every day, or every other day.”
“Gin and tonic looking over the Zamzebi river while seeing the cloud of mist coming off Mosi oa Tunya waterfall.”
“Mango shakes. They're quite pricey when you buy them at restaurants, so I have them on bad days - especially when I feel like my parents will allow me to order them and shoulder the bill, and when I want to feel like a little kid again.”
“Green tea! Every morning at my house, to calm down.”
“Iced oat milk matcha, but only when I’m having a really bad day. I make them every day.”
“Taylor’s port wine! Mainly during a meal is the best time to have it. It’s quite strong but it tastes amazing.”
“Apple juice or ginger ale on an airplane just hits different.”
“French 75 before dinner and espresso martinis post-dinner.”
“Mexican mule. It’s a Moscow mule but with tequila. I have it on cathartic evenings out with friends.”
“Iced blueberry matcha with oat milk. Cafe Dulce in LA!”
"Me and my partner's fave drink when we’re out at a new bar is a gimlet! We were at Realm of the 52 Remedies for our one-year anniversary and chatting up a storm with our bartender, Jonny. After our first drink and a few tapas, he started whippin’ up gimlets for my partner and me, and he poured them into these perfect little shot glasses as a sort of palate cleanser in between our drinks and meal! He told us they were on the house for our first time at Realm and for our first anniversary, and even had his own little serving of the gimlet too! Now whenever we are at a new bar together or out with our own group of friends, we try that bar’s gimlet because each bartender has their own special way of adding some sort of flair to it! We’re also long distance, so whenever we go out on our own and order a gimlet, we send a picture and a quick review of it to each other!”
"Moscow mules at this dive bar in Redlands, California. The ginger helps my tummy and lame boys coming onto me helps my ego.”
Thank you for sharing your drink experiences with me. I had a lot of fun figuratively cracking a cold one with you.
Whatever you’re sipping on, I hope that it tastes good and makes you feel good. Treat yourself, chug a bev, share your faves, get the next round, have delicious drinks with delicious company. You deserve it.
Brit’s Tea Corner
I’ve been drinking a lot of green tea lately. At my house, proper teatime involves a mug of emerald liquid steeped at the correct temperature for the correct amount of time, a little above and to the right of a light beige melamine plate holding the treat of the day. When it’s serious, I use my best fork, one intended for children with rounded tines on one end and a Miffy decoration on the other. I take a moment to observe and appreciate the right angles of my place setting. I waft and inhale, then bring the cup to my lips for a small sip. I partake in performative lip-smacking, pretending that it helps me discern taste. I think about astringency and tannins and mouthfeel and body. I consider the nexus of flavor - sweet to bitter on one axis and aroma to umami on the other. Marine or muscatel? Grassy, earthy, nutty, savory, floral, oceanic? Smooth, velvety, viscous? Most importantly, good?
Tea is a little pocket of order in a chaotic world - a meditative grounding - a focused, deliberate engagement with pleasure - the gentlest part of my day.
Tea Recommendations (not sponsored, just tasty):
Paru Tea’s Blue Chamomille: This is what fairy princesses drink. This is the tea party blend of your wildest fantasies, a springtime marvel, a cottage-core classic. Lavender, roses, and butterfly pea flowers stain the tea violet-blue, and it feels like you should twirl after every sip.
Tokyo Saryo’s Harumoegi: Grown and produced in my prefecture of residence, Kagoshima, this single-origin sencha is robust without being overwhelming, and has a grain-like, chestnut aroma. It’s sweet enough to be palatable for non-tea drinkers, but it’s umami enough to let you know this is the good stuff. It gets even more delicious with a second, high-temperature steep.
TWG’s Napoleon Tea: I don’t normally choose black tea for myself, especially not black tea blends with vanilla notes, so stumbling upon this tea and falling in love with it was a happy accident. Reminiscent of maple pancakes, this tea is caramel-y and surprisingly sweet, but the sweetness is light and pleasant and not at all artificial. It reminds me of touching the tip of a honey stick to my tongue. Drink it for dessert, particularly if it’s a cold day and the holidays are approaching. An unexpected winner.
Ito En’s Matcha Love Culinary Matcha: Yes, I know you are supposed to use ceremonial matcha for drinks. But listen, matcha can be prohibitively expensive, and we already spent $5.99 on Minor Figures Barista Oat Milk, so it’s okay if we cut corners and use culinary matcha in our lattes. For everyday use, this matcha powder is an extraordinarily good option for the $19 price tag. Vibrant and grassy with a velvety finish, it’s much better than what half of the coffee shops are serving anyway.
Ito En’s Premium Genmaicha: This is my everyday tea! It’s convenient enough that I can steep multiple cups a day and cheap enough that I don’t feel bad when I accidentally forget I made tea and let it go cold on the countertop. Ito En sells two tiers of genmaicha teabags: premium and regular. The premium teabags are mesh and triangular. The regular teabags are paper and square. Do not buy the regular kind; they are filled with shitty, tasteless powder. The premium version, however, has actual tea leaves and rice grains and is strong enough to get two good steeps out of. Toasty, nutty, and highly drinkable, this is my go-to.
In the spirit of this post, I’d like to buy five people a drink. If you could use a drink, please shoot me a message. <3