Green [Matcha] Tea

How we arrive at being ourselves fascinates me.  Like where and when and how does something become our favorite thing?

Reflecting on how I came to love green tea (and now matcha tea) is because of a boy. Now, I found tea at some point and even started chugging more of it in college to get through the long nights and cold winters and springs in Chicago, but it was after trying to impress a boy that I began drinking my tea without sugar or honey or lemon. At first, the taste was too bitter without a touch of sweetness, but after a few dates of trying to be sophisticated, I began to really enjoy the taste of the sharp, nutty tea that always energizes me.

A cup of green tea was all I could afford most days when I was writing spec scripts at Insomnia Cafe back in the early 90s. I had enough for one cup of it and I would pour hot water over that used tea bag for the next six to eight hours until all I was drinking was tinted hot water.  (A special thank you to the owners of that special place that allowed me to nurse a cup of green tea into dreams.)

Green tea became my superhero, when later as I was trying to run my first TV show, Girlfriends, I had to stop reaching for junk food at the witching hour. Instead, I substituted a hot cup of green tea to tap in and help me power through. Not only did I have more energy to get through the rewrites, but I also started to notice my sugar cravings had just disappeared. Aww, snap, I could be focused, healthy, warm, and hit my goal weight?

That was the time in my life I married GREEN TEA.