TEA.

I'm addicted to it. I've always had sort of a thing for tea, something that I inherited from my Anglophile older sister. But I went further than she did. I'm hardcore. I had, before coming here, at least 19 different kinds of tea at home. And I knew them all. I had favorite brands and favourite mixtures of favourite brands. For some, I even used whole leaves. (Which, by the way,really DOES taste better. Don't let the packaged tea lobby convince you otherwise.) I knew what was the best way to boil water for ea, how long to steep the different kinds, etc.

And then, High school. And like most high school kids, I had two options: 1) Soda 2) Energy drinks.
I tried a little of both. By brother went with energy drinks, I went with soda, specifically, I went with either ginger ale* or a mixture of lemonade and Sprite.

Of course, here are the monastery, we only have soda on rare occasions, so what am I to do? Withdrawal was too hard. I needed a fix. I went back to tea, and she received me with open arms.
I'm slowly building up my collection again. I was saddenned to find that two of my companies are no longer in business, and another no longr ships to the U.S. For another, I can still get it, but I'll have to make a trip to a Japanese foodmarket downtown.

But it's worth it. It's the BEST white tea I've ever had.