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Woke up this morning and my stomach was NOT happy with me. Let me tell you, waking up to a big, “WAKE UP, LADY! Why you gotta eat spicy food? You KNOW I don’t like spicy food! And when I’m not happy, you’re no- what? No, I don’t wanna HEAR none-a that mess! Don’t eat spicy food! Just don’t eat- SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME, JUST DON’T EAT IT!”…

Right, then. Mint tea it is.

I like red licorice, but black licorice is not on my list of things I like to chew on. [This seems random, but walk with me for a second here.] As a child, a friend’s mother kept a bowl of black licorice jelly beans in foyer and I tried one once and spit it out without telling anyone. It ricocheted somewhere into their hall closet and I couldn’t find it. So after the great jelly bean incident of 1991, I would BOOK IT through the foyer, terrified that they were going to discover it and ban me from ever playing with my friend again. Well, that, and I was kind of afraid that someone would offer me a jelly bean.

My palate has since matured a bit, and I don’t have quite the same aversion to that black licorice taste, though I certainly won’t seek it out. [And if you were to offer me a black jelly bean I would likely politely decline.] Because fennel has that kind of licorice-y taste to it, I typically don’t like it when it is overpowering in a dish or what have you. The fact that it is bearable, even PLEASANT to me in this tea is speaking tomes to the power of a good blend.

Moorish mint a tea that I like to keep moving, either giving it a little swish in my mouth or drinking it quickly. There is a LOT going on in the aftertaste, and if I let the liquid sit on my tongue for too long the bite from the black pepper becomes overwhelming. The various components combine quite nicely, and the mint makes the overall effect refreshing.

Occasionally, I think I’m tasting chocolate in the background. Actually, I have moments where it tastes like Thin Mint. I mean, it’s not nearly as sweet and if I think about it too hard I lose it. And being honest, if what I were tasting were replicated into an actual cookie I’d probably laugh at you and hand you a five and tell you to go get me some real cookies. But as a tea, it works. It definitely works.

And it’s working on my stomach right now. I’m pairing it with the Lenka album and it’s made for a nice transition into afternoon. Time to go get some stuff done.