A CUPPA WITH JESSICA LOVE

Ms. Love and I met in the 2nd grade at our hippy Montessori school. We knew we were on our way to a deep and everlasting friendship when we concocted our first witch brew on the playground (twigs, dirt, apple juice and remnants of our pasty peanut butter sandwiches) and dared each other to taste it. Our fun times continued as we wrote songs, practiced French braids, scampered in the river, watched racy movies on Beta (these guys rocked the BETA for-e-ver!) doodled in our journals, contemplated the stars, rehearsed dance routines, took bubble baths, and made the best chocolate chip cookies in her parents' rad house in the middle of the Los Padres forest. Amazing things could occur in this house with this girl.

Jessica's talents seemed limitless as she became the best artist (still is, she illustrates children's books and makes unbelievable works on paper), best writer and best actress I knew. She's followed her dream ever higher by attending Juliard for acting and now is a professional actress in an array of plays across the country. Based in Brooklyn, Jess continues to inspire me with her dedication, honesty, ridiculous humor, irreverence and joy. She's lights rooms on fire with her brightness.  Lucky for me, I managed to keep in her orbit for all these years.

What is your favorite type of tea and how do you take it?
 I like a vanilla or an apricot black tea, with milk and sugar, like an English person.

How does tea punctuate your day?
Tea is good for any kind of settling in. It's good if you have to read something very long and boring, and you need one small treat to keep you company. It's also the beverage accompaniment of choice for any kind of novel reading. It also trumps coffee in terms of the amount you can consume without having heart palpitations.

Favorite tea accompaniment is def for sure buttered toast.

NPR . . .  is on when I'm having tea.

I first started drinking tea when . . . I would have tea parties for my dolls. So my first tea would have been imaginary tea.

My dream tea party would include . . .  Eloise, from the book, and maybe Oscar Wilde, because he would tell good jokes, and Madonna.

When I sip from my tea cup, I . . . I drink my tea exclusively out of this gigantic, 24 oz ceramic mug that my dad made me (my dad is a potter) exclusively for tea-drinking. You can't drink that much of anything else so it's tea-only.