Professor John Foxe got me excited about science of tea again. He conducts research on theanine and how it affects brain function. At a recent talk, he explained how the synergy between theanine and caffeine (both present in the tea plant) increases the brain’s ability to focus. This higher state of focus can be linked to the feeling of “well being” that has been associated with tea drinking for centuries.

Theanine is only naturally occuring in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), and a rare variety of mushroom. It’s an amino acid that crosses the blood brain barrier, so it has pychoactive properties. Taste-wise, it’s sweet. Here is a great resource on wikiHow.

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I was ten when I ate my first raw oyster. I’ve always liked them, although as a kid it was more about the dare. Now, it’s about taste and the feeling of being close, intimate with the ocean.

Two weeks ago, I schucked my first ones, with Aurora, on the dock of West Sound, Orcas Island. With a screw driver and hammer, we did our best, perfecting our technique each night. Let me tell you, these oysters are worth any distance travelled. Sweet, buttery, creamy, impossible to describe how pure, oh, just so delicious.

The Judd Cove Oyster Bed. I’d never seen one before, it surprised me how they worked. It’s a lot of sticks with ropes tied around them, giving the oysters a nice place to attach. It was low tide when this picture was taken, out of the car window, as we were heading into town.

This is Aurora eating the crab we caught. She is my hero. If I had any stress in my NYC body, she instantly saw it and took it away with laughter, seriously delicious cocktails and activities. Maybe she’ll write a book someday sharing her life secrets, if we are lucky.