The Art of Scented Tea
It’s said that Cleopatra drenched her ship’s sails in jasmine to announce her arrival in Rome and seduce Mark Antony. Imagine the extravagance of it: today, average estimates suggest that it can take as many as 10,000 jasmine flowers to make one gram of absolute; a pound of that would sell for $1000 or more. […]
MoreTea Culture: Russian Caravan
The early autumn, blustery Wuthering Heights-like weather in New York right now has me in what I can only describe as a Russian mood. I’ve been dreaming about hunting for forest mushrooms in the Russian tradition but the best I could do was score a bag at Kalyustan’s the other day (they have a forest […]
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A Chekovian Fourth of July
I love the mood in New York just before Independence Day–half the city has fled but the streets are still brimming with people ready to relax and have fun. We have some great parks in Greenpoint and Williamsburg with lots of sprinklers and fountains turned on in summer (water balloons are a big thing with […]
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Memorial Day
When I arrived at Ms. Ezersky’s apartment mid-Sunday morning, she announced that she’d barely slept the night before. She had spent six months preparing a tribute for a Russian actor and friend and presented it on Saturday in Brighton Beach. The first words out of her mouth were: “He was like Spencer Tracy or Laurence […]
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These Foolish Things 