Can I Offer You a Drink?
June 16th, 2007 (1:09am) Dian Schaffhauser 11 CommentsTweet This
You’re hot and you’re thirsty, and the Wisdom Cafe is a long haul into town. So what are you going to reach for?
Early on in the history of this site, Om Malik invited web folks to share what they nosh on as they work. I don’t worry about the eating part. For the most part, since my home office is a flight above the fridge, my lazy self refuses to tackle those stairs whenever a craving hits.
But what I can’t do without is a glass of OJ first thing in the morning, followed by a non-stop cup o’ tea. My favorite: Dynasty 100% Natural Jasmine. Nothing fancy. I drink it out of a Starbucks commuter mug purchased in the Forbidden City on a trip to Beijing last year — the better to prevent spillage.
In fact, as I write this in my office — which lacks air conditioning and heating and probably stands right now at about 85 degrees — the water in my Braun kettle is steaming up my National Geographic Map of the World. Time for another mug’s worth (steeped precisely for five minutes — or until I remember to remove the bag). On hot days it keeps my body temperature off-kilter enough not to notice the heat, and on cold days, it keeps my fingers warm enough to type.
We’ve talked about what comes first in your day — coffee or tea. My question to you is: What keeps you quenched — Google Gulp, PomaGrand, Kool-aid Jammers 10 or some concoction a bit more exotic?
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
I start my day off with a cup of Ethiopian Harrar brewed in a Bodum press pot. Once in the office I top that office with a second cup. At lunch I wash my lunch down with a Coke Zero. During the day I keep the body fluid filled with Aquafina Sparkling Water.
For the most part, tea starts off my day. Unless LB (alias: LoverBoy) makes it to the Senseo before I make it to the electric kettle; then it’s dark roast for the both of us. (Hey, since I didn’t have to make it myself, it tastes just great!)
If I make the 1st move, though, it’s usually a cup (or demi-pot or thermos jug) of Twining’s finest. I’m particularly partial to Twining’s Lemon Tea, though at the moment I’ve got a demi-pot of Twining’s Lady Earl Grey steeping by my side as I type. If I want a change of pace, one of Germany’s premier tea companies, Teekanne, has an assortment of teas with new agey names to match their exotic ingredients.
Now that it’s summer, if I need to work into the evening (and want half a chance at falling asleep quickly later in the night) I often mosey out into the garden for a handful of lemon verbena, applemint or lemon balm to add to a pot of green tea.
powered by tea and Brahma…
A double espresso is the way to start the day. And in the summer Ice Tea does the trick in keeping those degrees off of me.
Unfortunately I drink way too much coffee (around 4 -5 cups a day :( )
Well right now I drink Root beer. It cools me off. That is just me in the summer. In the winter I drink tea to start me off.
I’ve been drinking oolong tea instead of coffee. If I pass by a Tea Leaf & Coffee Bean cafe I always get myself a large iced tea (black tea), it’s quite refreshing.
I dig my soy vanilla latte in the morning, and preferably not from the chain that’s on every corner.
just curious, but did you know about the controversy surrounding that Starbucks? It appears that the locals don’t much appreciateit.
Coffee in the morning (can’t kick the habit). Then the rest of the day, I try really hard to get in my eight glasses of water. Fastest and easiest way I’ve found to do this is to get a one-liter water bottle, and add lemonade-flavored Crystal Light powder. They sell these in packets now that are the perfect amount for a one-liter bottle. Makes the water taste much better, and gets those eight glasses down more regularly.
I went to an asian grocery store and found a little steel Vietnamese espresso maker for about 3 bucks. Then I got a can of Bustelo espresso grind coffee and one level scoop of that filtered through the coffee maker over a tall glass of ice and milk makes really good iced espresso for about a 20th of the cost of the same thing from Starbucks!
Nate Smith,
I can imagine there would be a bit of uproar about having a Starbucks in the Forbidden City. It certainly surprised me when I came around the corner after hours of wandering through the halls and thar she stood.
– Susan