The Green Leaves Of Summer

My favourite green leaf this summer, comes in a bag – I have become very fond of green tea. I am not going to bore you with all the theories about why it is good for you – claims that it is full of anti-oxidants, and it helps you lose weight, fight Alzheimer’s, prevents cancer, improves circulation, lowers cholesterol, reduces diabetes risk, and even “reduces your risk of death” [sorry folks, that one is clearly wrong!!] No, I started drinking it because

• I like the taste
• It has less caffeine than regular tea or coffee
• I drink it without milk – so it is convenient to take to school, ensuring I always have the means of making a hot drink.

But, I have discovered a couple of other benefits –

• it freshens your breath [unlike regular tea and coffee with milk]
• If I make some at home, I can pop the used tea bags in the fridge. These are wonderful for soothing puffy eyes [and a good excuse to lie down in a darkened room for fifteen minutes whilst they do their magic]

My other hot drink of choice this summer is mocha cortado. But as I do not plan to hand over lots of money to Costa, we’ve been experimenting. Bob has come up with a good ersatz version – take a cup of black coffee, add a spoonful of basics instant drinking chocolate and stir briskly. I quite like this, mid afternoon, to perk me up a little.

Do you have a favourite summertime drink?