Helen Gustafson Passes

How very unfortunate... Her "The Green Tea User's Manual" book was quite good.

I picked this up from the library. I remember reading one of her other books, and the part where she describes the account of her installing tetsubin as the brewing pot of choice at Chez Panisse left me with the impression that she was a bit frivolous.

As for the tiny book mentioned above, this passage struck me as odd:

"In Japan there are little streetcorner stands that dispense green tea to passerby who keep their thermoses filled all day. They drink green tea continually, like water."; p.17

I have absolutely no idea what she is talking about. Sure, vending machines that dispense cans and bottles of green tea are ever-present in Japan. But streetcorner stands? When I relayed Ms. Gustafson's intelligence to my wife, her response was, "For free? And what thermoses -- we don't carry thermoses"

--crymad