Green Tea

So, as mentioned in the video, I've been trying to move away from drinking so much hard core black coffee.

Enter - Green Tea

Generally, I am not a tea fan.  I just don't like it.  I enjoy a soy chai latte from time to time but, that's kind of like someone who doesn't like cheese saying that they occasionally enjoy cheesecake - it's a treat; a totally different animal.  So, the majority of the time, I don't have any desire to partake in a mug of the green stuff, or black, or mint infused… however you spice it, I generally haven't been a "tea person."

However, I recently tried plain ol' green tea with a splash of almond milk (which is the kind of milk I most prefer) and it was… well, it was alright.  It wasn't bad but, it wasn't good either.

Now, I know what you may be thinking, "Try it with some honey or a little bit of sugar."  But the thing is you see, that's one of the reasons I so enjoy my coffee - because I can drink it black and, though I'm surely doing my part to bolster the tooth whitening industry, I don't have to doctor my coffee to where it's no longer healthy for me.  I don't want to transition to tea if I have to add a bunch of stuff to it to make it palatable.

I think maybe tea, like coffee for some, is a bit of an acquired taste.  Well, with the possible exception of the preferred liquid-elixir of the south, Sweet Tea.

Those of you who have had Sweet Tea, actually from the South, know exactly what I'm talking about.  I'm getting a toothache just thinking about it.

Actually, now that I think about it, for one whirlwind night, me and tea, well, we had a thing… a fling I guess you could say.  I distinctly remember one night when I was at some kind of big, church function where there was a huge buffet (not surprising either if you've ventured south) and the beverage selection consisted of water, some kind of bright red drink, and sweet tea.  I think it was the first time I'd ever tasted the stuff.  And I was hooked.

I just have this image in my mind of one of those red, plastic cups, with my name scribbled across that side, always being half empty or half full.  All night long I went back for more.  The buffet was of no concern to me.  But the tea… yes… that was something.

The evening ended with me hurling.  Yep.  I know.  Sorry, but it's true.

I drank so much sweet tea, my body just couldn't handle it.  I got terribly sick and, though I don't remember the gruesome details of the evening, I remember thinking, "I'll never drink tea again!"

So, I think its fair to say that tea has been at a bit of a disadvantage for some years now.  That night probably served as more of an admonition against gluttony than anything else but unfortunately, for me Tea was linked with the strongest association to that evening's unpleasant finale.

But, that was years ago.  I no longer have a unpleasant, visceral reaction when I think of tea.  Rather, coffee just has such a head start, it would be difficult for me to imagine any warm bevy coming anywhere close to it in the satisfaction factor.

However, knowing what I know now about the highly publicized and much touted health benefits of green tea, I feel it would do me good to at least try to incorporate a steaming cup of the green stuff more regularly, even if it just stands as a good alternative to my long time warm beverage, morning go-to choice of bold, black coffee.

How do you take your Tea?



Curious,
Rachel