Emulating Blondie’s spirit while sipping tea
Have a cuppa with honey at Crimson Teas while listening to Pollinator album
Blondie is back and it’s time for tea.
Confused? Don’t be. Listen again to the new wave/punk band’s 1979 hit “Dreaming,” in which peroxided lead singer Debbie Harry makes her preference known: You asked me what’s my pleasure, A movie or a measure? I’ll have a cup of tea And tell you of my dreaming. It’s been 40 years since Blondie first played in Toronto, rocking the nowdefunct El Mocambo.
This week, the New Yorkers release their 11th album, Pollinator. They play the Sony Centre on July 26.
Fittingly, I find a cup of tea reminiscent of Blondie across from the El Mocambo at Crimson Teas, a café that caters to the U of T and CAMH communities. But which tea to choose? Owner Phillip Chan lines up five samples of Chinese pu-erh teas — raw, green, white, red and black — in graduating intensity.
“Don’t tell me which one you like best. Let me guess,” he says.
I sip from each cup, trying to keep my face neutral. Afterwards and with my permission, he feels the temperature of my hand and takes my pulse. After asking me to stick out my tongue, he guesses I prefer the one in the middle. He’s right.
“In traditional Chinese medicine, people have different body types: cold, hot and balanced, the ideal. You have a balanced body type,” Chan says.
Chan makes clear he is not a medical practitioner. A former community development co-ordinator for the Kidney Foundation and program planner for Hong Fook Mental Health Association, he opened his café last year to spread the health benefits of tea.
He even serves noodles ($9) made with green tea. Dark green and slightly gummy, they sit in an Italian- style broth of tomatoes, basil and oregano. Red pepper, zucchini, carrot and shredded purple cabbage add colour; poached chicken packs protein. The rest of the bowl reflects Chan’s Hong Kong upbringing: king oyster mushrooms, fried garlic and Chinese greens. It makes for a substantial and homey lunch.
In the end, I opt for orange pekoe shot through with lemon pulp and honey, in keeping with the bee on the Pollinator cover. Dreaming is still free, but the tea is $4. Crimson Teas, 415 Spadina Ave. (at College St.), 416-432-3139, crimsonteas.com. Open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30 to 7 p.m. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki