Hi, Bomb Squad. Welcome to Food for Thought, a radio Cherry Bomb miniseries.

I'm Carrie Diamond, editor-in-chief of Cherry Bomb magazine.

We wanted to know what's on the mind of food folk across the country, so we went on tour

to eat, drink, and talk with

hundreds of you and recorded the whole thing live. Today's stop brings us to Philadelphia, where we

recorded at the new brewery, Triple Bottom Brewing. Thank you to Kerrygold for supporting our

Food for Thought tour. Carrey Gold is the Irish brand known for its award-winning butter and cheese,

made with milk from grass-fed cows, from family farms all over Ireland.

We'll be hearing more about their amazing products later, so stay tuned.

First up, we'll hear from Alexis Siemens, a tea expert who tells us a little bit about what she calls pre-eating.

Before I jump into my story, I just want to have a quick TPSA,

because I have to just share a little blurb.

First and foremost, if you're making match at home,

definitely sift it first. I know this seems like a crazy extra step because it's powder,

but it's a game changer, I promise, even if it's like a little tea infuser, and use the bamboo whisk.

It will just add the beautiful frothy texture that you cannot otherwise get. Step two, if you're going

to be steeping tea, really good tea, make sure you're paying attention to the steep time and the

water temperature. Makes a huge difference in the flavor. And finally, number three, if you have dried

fruit or dried mushrooms at home, rehydrate them with tea and then use that broth to cook grains

and then reincorporate

that dried fruit or dried mushrooms back into the dish. So that's kind of a fun way to use them.

Okay. Had to give that off my chest. So now I'm going to tell you a little story. So let's take

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