Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Green Tea Blues

So I was drinking my new green tea this morning and kept smelling the scent of freshly mown grass and thinking of spring and flowers and then realized that the smell was coming from my cup and that it truly tasted like it smelled. I had been drinking citrus green tea, but couldn’t find it last time at Wal-Mart so I decided to move up to the harder stuff. Just green tea with no flavor enhancers, nothing to keep my tastebuds from experiencing the unvarnished taste of that noble herb.

I’ve been drinking green tea every morning and at noon for some time now. I can’t say it’s changed my life, but the health benefits of GT are well documented now. It’s a fantastic anti-inflammatory and anticancer drink. Four cups of it a day load you up with antioxidants, eager to sweep those nasty cancer-causing free radicals from your body. Here’s a link to tell you more about its benefits than you wanted to know: More than you wanted to know about green tea's health benefits.

Thus I have added it to my daily diet. But this new stuff … wow … After a couple of more gulps and gags, I decided to add a bit of sweetener to it. I usually drink it straight, going on the assumption that the pure form is best. I don’t need no stinkin’ sweetness, I’d say to myself. This taste, however, was defeating me completely.

So I added one level teaspoon of sweetener to it and stirred well. Then I took a sip. I hadn’t thought I could make it worse. I was wrong, of course. Now I was drinking sweet, hot mown grass extract. Whee. I made a face and drained the glass, much like the way I’d take medicine. Then I shuddered so hard I shook the floor while my entire digestive tract attempted to leave my body for someone else who wouldn’t do that to it.

I’m sure the flavor will grow on me. That which does not kill us makes us stronger and really, really cranky. You were warned.

How are you today?

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the smell of freshly cut grass, but I'm certainly not eager to taste it! The Lipton Cranberry Pomegranate green tea is great, though.

I think we're coming back into town this weekend...if so, we'll give you a call. Maybe we can do brunch again?

AK Huckeby said...

Dude, freshly cut grass makes me itch. By the way, Wal-Mart here in Ada does that A LOT - it drives me NUTS! I find something I like, commit to buying it for the rest of my life, then Wal-Mart stops stocking it. I think I'm going to start buying all my groceries online!

SBB said...

TL, call me. It would be great to see ya!

Yeah, Adam, or they move it to another aisle. It's an exercise in frustration sometimes to find anything.

Anonymous said...

I hope this will help you: Green tea must be brewed correctly or it will be harsh. The water cannot be boiling when the tea is being steeped (this is very important). If you pour the boiling water into your mug, then pour it back, it will usually be cool enough to steep the tea. Also, don't disturb the tea while it's steeping. Follow the steeping time on the box, but if it's too harsh, try a minute or so less. I love green tea, but occasionally I have run across brands that can't be cajoled into anything resembling tasty. :)

SBB said...

Thanks for the advice, Amber. I switched to a lemon ginseng and green tea this morning. Much better.

Kirsten said...

Amber's right--boiling water's too hot. Having the water just barely producing bubbles is about right.

And yeah, the Ada Wal-Mart's frustrating in their stocking practices. Yet another reason why a real grocery store would be so welcome....

Have you been to Cao Nguyen in OKC and seen the dizzying array of green teas there? Most of them are probably a bit grassy for your tastes, but it still fun to look.

Anonymous said...

It must be a corporate policy of Wal-Mart. I have the same problems here.