Arizona - awesome!

Post by **_Sethbag** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:31 pm

No, not the state, although temperatures this week only got up into the 90s, and hopefully the 100s are a thing of the past until next Spring. No, I'm talking about the tea.

I picked up a case of 23 oz. cans of an Arizona 50/50 blend of tea and lemonade (or lemonade flavoring or whatever, since it says it only has 5% actual juice) from Costco. It says Arnold Palmer Lite Half & Half on it, and has pictures of Arnold Palmer (the golfer) plastered all over the cans.

This stuff is awesome! I'm liking it cold, but I've had it hot (was sitting in my car), warm, room temperature, and cold, and it was good in every one of those states.

It's absurd that this stuff is "banned" by Mormons because it is a blend of lemonade and water that was stewed in the leaves of plants of the camellia sinsensis species. If it was 50/50 lemonade and Chamomile it would be fine. If it were 50/50 lemonade and rose hip, again it would be fine. In fact, I could make a blend of Lemonade and water steeped in the leaves of just about any plant on the face of the planet Earth (though I wouldn't like to try poison ivy) and be fine according to LDS tradition, but use camellia sinensis and suddenly it's strictly verboten. And who in the church can actually explain why? There's no rhyme or reason to this, except that 170some years ago a guy named Joseph Smith offered up some advice to avoid "hot drinks", and this was subsequently interpreted to mean coffee and tea, by which only camellia sinsensis is meant, which eventually evolved from mere advise into a commandment. A commandment which is to be obeyed, whether there's any good reason for it or not.

Some members will say it's because of the caffeine, but ironically, I could make a 50/50 blend of lemonade and Coca Cola, or lemonade and Dr. Pepper, or lemonade and Mountain Dew and be just fine. I've actually left a message for someone at the Arizona company to call back and tell me the actual caffeine content of a 23.5 oz. can of the half and half. Their literature online says that an 8 oz. serving of their black tea drinks contains 7.5mg of caffeine, so I'm betting that they'll tell me the 23.5 oz. can of 50/50 contains around 10-12 mg. Compare that to 35-55mg of caffeine in a single 12 oz. can of Coke.

But hey, for all we know, it's not really the caffeine that makes it so we shouldn't drink a 50/50 blend of lemonade and water steeped in camellia sinensis leaves. It might be something else, something so hidden and secret that scientists still have no idea that it's lurking in there, ready to kill us all, but God knows, and has warned us through his servants, the Prophets. Or something like that.

In the meantime, I'm loving this stuff. Anyone else a fan?

ps: I just noticed I'm no longer a Regional Representative, but have graduated to the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy. Whose butt do I have to kiss now to be "promoted" to the 1st Quorum?

Post by **_Who Knows** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:38 pm

I'm digging this stuff right now:

Mainly just when i need a sustained energy kick.

Post by **_Sethbag** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:57 pm

Hmm, looks good. I haven't tried any of the other Arizona drinks, but I plan to, eventually, as the opportunity arises. I also bought some English Breakfast Tea bags from the grocery store and have been enjoying some nice tea with milk and a stevia-based sweetener from time to time. Made well, with good bags, and not steeped too long, it's some really good stuff. I likey.

I should crank up AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and crack open another can. Mr. Scratch, if this is what you're drinking down there, maybe hell's not such a bad place after all. ;-)

Post by **_AmazingDisgrace** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:03 pm

Well, in a world where the Supreme Being commands a man to tie his son down on an altar and stab him to death as a test of loyalty, the idea that He would forbid a certain plant, purely for the sake of testing people's obedience to arbitrary orders, isn't too far-fetched.

Post by **_KimberlyAnn** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:11 pm

Seth, a mix of half lemonade and half tea is called an "Arnold Palmer" here in the Tulsa area. My husband and I love that drink, and I make it a lot at home.

Also, beer and lemonade are great together. I'm unsure of the proportion of beer to lemonade, as I was served that drink at a BBQ this summer, but I really liked it.

If you're up for tea with a real kick, I suggest Long Island Ice Tea. Yummy. After downing two of those, my husband's jokes actually seem funny to me, which is really saying something...

KA

Post by **_Sethbag** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:17 pm

Does Long Island Ice Tea actually have any tea in it? I always thought it was just a mix of different liquors.

Post by **_KimberlyAnn** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:26 pm

Sethbag wrote:Does Long Island Ice Tea actually have any tea in it? I always thought it was just a mix of different liquors.

No, it doesn't have any tea in it at all! It does have a lot of liquor, however, and a splash of cola to make it appear to be tea. From what I understand, the drink was popular during prohibition.

Long Island Iced Tea is what people drink, in my opinion, when they're just looking for a quick buzz or to get drunk. I like them because to me they taste good. If you ever try one and feel like being really daring, have them add a shot of Jack - Yee Haw!

KA

Post by **_silentkid** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:11 pm

I've never tried any of the Arizona teas. I don't drink coffee or tea because I never aquired a taste for either. I have aquired a taste for beer, though, so anything is possible. And yes, Long Islands are delicious and pack a punch. Just don't order one in a Utah bar. They only give you one ounce of liquor...the rest is alcohol free flavoring.

Edited to add metered dispensing law: Utah law requires restaurants, private clubs, and airport lounges to use a metered dispensing system that is calibrated to dispense no more than one ounce of primary liquor in a mixed drink. Secondary alcoholic flavorings may then be added to a mixed drink as the recipe requires not to exceed a total of 2.75 ounces of spirituous liquor. Find other weird laws here.

Post by **_Some Schmo** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:12 pm

If you start to wonder why certain Mormon commandments are the way they are (in other words, think about them logically), it can only lead you down the path toward insanity.

Apologists are the way they are for a reason, you know. They didn't start off completely loopy...

Post by **_Polygamy Porter** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 2:22 am

Sethbag wrote:Does Long Island Ice Tea actually have any tea in it? I always thought it was just a mix of different liquors.

Drink two servings of the above on an empty stomach and you will FEEL the spirit.