greasepig reviews

I first got acquainted with this stuff in Singapore around 1993, I believe. I can remember buying a tin of this stuff, which was about three bucks US at the time. I made some on the ship then (this was back when I was still a coffee drinker, so I didn't try that much.) I remembered how amazing it tasted - just a little bit of sweetness from the lychee enhancing what was just some pretty good black tea. Then I forgot about it for a few years, of course (which I do with almost anything), and rediscovered at some little store in Chinatown, this time for about five bucks.

The thing about this stuff is, even though it's obviously made in batches of about a billion, the quality is perfectly consistent, every single time. If you make hot tea from it, it's got a nice caffeine kick to it and it doesn't need any sugar or cream or anything, and it gets you through the day. Probably a little much to have every single morning, however. Where this stuff really shines, though is when you make iced tea out of it. I just take about two heaping tablespoons and put it in a little Chinese ceramic teapot I've had for about three years, fill it with boiling water and wait about ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Then I add two trays of ice cubes to a half-gallon pitcher, add the tea, and fill the rest with filtered water. It's ready to drink (i.e. mixed up and cooled down enough) in about five more minutes. The result is a drink that is always colder-tasting than its actual temperature, and still a flavor that is unforgettable, but never too strong. Anyways, I'm addicted to this stuff, and have at least a half gallon a day. Put it this way: if it were Coca-Cola, I'd weight about 250 pounds from the amount I drink. But it's not, so I don't. It's simply the best cold drink I've ever had.

Today I buy it at Sunset Supermarket on Irving and 25th and overpay to the tune of around $5.95 for a one-pound tin. This lasts me about three or four months. I'm sure I'm overpaying, that if I go to the right hole in the wall in some hidden alley and speak fluent Cantonese, I could get this stuff for a buck a pop, but I'm not sure it's worth it to find that out. So I'm pretty happy with what I can get for now. I hope this is as easy to get in Japan.

Rating: 5 Godzillas