Sometimes we need silly drinks

I despise grocery shopping – supermarkets just bore me to tears. The only thing that allows me to survive a shopping trip is the promise that I can buy some form of silly drink to amuse me as I trek home with bags of food. Whilst I’ve been stuck in hospital I have been brought two flavours of Mangajo green tea silly drinks by Editor Daniel and my dear sister – I’d have prefered some 2010 German Riesling but the hospital probably wouldn’t.

Before I get down to the reviews, I have a hospital anecdote. Yesterday I had to go for an ultrasound scan of what is left of my pancreas. As I sat in the waiting room there was a doctor chappie checking his email and surfing the web. Suddenly I noticed he was reading my ‘Brief Hiatus’ post on this esteemed organ, which was a bit of a surprise. I asked, “Do you like that website?” The doctor turned to me, looked back at the picture in the post and said, “Good god! Yes, I love the site! A pleasure to meet you!” He introduced himself and we had a bit of a chat about wine. Sadly I forget his name, but when you read this, dear sir, do drop me an email and I will buy you a pint when I escape.

Pomegranate and green tea, Mangajo

It is an impressively livid shade of red. Smells strongly of the apple juice extract they claim it contains – I wonder if that is a cunning method of hiding the fact that they have added vast quantities of sugar to it. As I taste it I can see it is, it is really rather sweet. It has a pretty strong apple flavour and a vague approximation of pomegranate taste. I recognise green tea is largely the characterless steam from my piss, but if you could detect any tea taste at all on this then you are a far better taster than me. That being said, I quite like it in terms of being a silly drink. It is sweet and fruity and, despite being over-priced toss for the kind of neurotic arse who believes in de-tox drivel, at least it is quite refreshing.

Lemon and green tea, Mangajo

This has the slight green tinge of pond water – the first taste is with the eye. The nose it very lemony, but it also shows apple hints, which is the apple extract-euphemism-for-sugar at work. I do really like how it smells, though, I seems like it’ll refresh. It tastes sweet, but less so than the pomegranate, and it has a strong lemon bite. I was about to type I could begin to taste a bit of green tea astringency, but then I realised it was just my over-active imagination making things up after being under stimulated by boring weeks in hospital. I like it, more as a different take on lemonade rather than an iced tea concoction, and I have been drinking it with pleasure.

Many thanks to Aimee and Daniel for bringing in refreshment and giving me something to write about.

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