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| Best Coffee in the US |
Coffee is my vice.
I need it. I crave it. I want to make love to it.
This is just one reason why I'm actually stoked at the possibility of living in Portland, Oregon. (On my recent visit, I made friends with Talin, my soon-to-be-local coffee-guru at the Mecca of Coffee, Stumptown. I heart him and his vast knowledge of the dark bean.)
Unfortunately, I drink waaaay too much of this stuff. It affects my sleep (erratic) and my stress levels (increase). But most importantly, the sweet caffeine nectar affects my body physiologically: Dehydration.
Research studies have laid out the benefits of coffee and its powerful benefits of protecting against diseases from cancer to Parkinson's; but it is also a highly caffeinated beverage and like everything, there's a limit. (*sniff sniff*)
According to the trusty ol' Mayo Clinic, we shouldn't be drinking more than 2 to 4 cups of coffee/day to avoid addiction and symptoms such as: Nervousness, irritability, muscle tremors, etc. I'm far passed that limit which probably explains why I often find myself cotton-mouthed like I've just been trekking through the damn Sahara.
Last year, I visited the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) in San Francisco to check out their program. Whenever I visit a school, I make it a habit to sit-in on a class and make an appointment with the clinic. During my visit, I opted to volunteer for a diagnostic clinical class (Translation: Clinic class in which an instructor and 4 students diagnose and treat 1 patient) to treat dehydration, stress and apparently (didn't know at the time until the doctor noted) constipation.
After my acupuncture treatment, the doctor prescribed herbs to treat my dehydration. I've taken herbs before, typically in the form of a brewed, thick black tea or pills. I'm going to be totally honest and admit most Chinese herbs don't really taste all that great to me (Yuck). The thick black teas taste "earthy" (Take that however you like). Yet, I can't deny the incredible healing effects (Not for nothing, Pepto-Bismol sure don't taste like hot cocoa neither). My parents put me on herbs when I refused to drink milk at 3 years old; back in 2007 when I lost my ability to walk, I drank herbal teas as a supplement to my treatment plan; and the only medicine I brought to South East Asia for 2 years were herbal pills that treat digestion problems (Even shared them with my Hmong trek-guide, Sue, in Sapa, Vietnam when she became ill with severe abdominal pain. Worked like a charm!)
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| Licorice Root |
In SF, I stopped by the ACTCM herbal clinic and received 5 mixed-herb packages of: Licorice root; chrysanthemum flowers and goji berries. These weren't the leaf-version but real things I could see and they looked gorgeous in a huge tea cup.
After the first cup, I could actually feel the moisture in my mouth reappear. The tea was delicious. It was very light with a slight hint of licorice. The goji berries plumped up and had a tint of sweetness to them.
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| Seriously? SO good! |
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| Goji Berries |
I don't have the accessibility to an herb clinic but I can easily find these items at the grocery and for sure, down in Chinatown. Licorice root can be found at Asian supermarkets and possibly health-food stores but chrysanthemum tea (FYI: Def grab a can of YEO'S if you ever see it. It looks like a canned soda but is actually cold chrysanthemum tea and delicious!) is available widely in teabags and even Whole Foods carry goji berries.
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| Chrysanthemum Flowers |
The main ingredient of the tea is the chrysanthemum flowers which infused, is so light everyone will enjoy. If you don't like licorice or can't find goji berries, forget them. I've drank just chrysanthemum tea and have had similiar effects. The tea is especially useful when drinking gallons of water just doesn't cut it and the thought of drinking sugary sports drinks for those "electrolytes" isn't worth the calories. It also reminds me herbs aren't all weird, funky medicine but they can be delicious and just as effective.
Side Note: Hiked 10 miles on Sunday and thought of a yummy iced version for the summer, I'm gonna call it:
"Beach Peach Spritzer"
Ingredients
- Infused Chrysanthemum tea (chilled)
- Fresh lemon and juice
- Fresh mint
- Teansy bit o' sugar
- Agave syrup
- Fresh ginger (diced)
- Georgia peach (diced)
- Club soda
- (Optional for alcohol-luvers: Cold sake, rum OR vodka -- Don't get crazy and mix)
Directions
- In a shaker, muddle fresh mint, ginger and sugar into a paste.
- Add peach, agave syrup, lemon (squeeze the juice and throw the whole thing in there) and muddle.
- Fill shaker with ice and chrysanthemum tea (Optional alcohol insert here).
- Channel-in your inner mixologist and SHAKE!
- Strain and pour into tall glass with ice, top off with club soda and garnish with a piece of mint and a nice, thick juicy piece of peach.
Now, I haven't made this yet but in my past life I was hired by numerous bars/clubs/restaurants to create specialty cocktail drinks sooo... I gots the skills to back it up & say this is gonna taste gooood.
