anyone want a cuppa?

since ancient times, the east has used green tea for medicinal purposes, an elixir to treat everything from headaches to depression. in recent times, scientific studies have shown that drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful in the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high colesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infection and impaired immune function.

it seems that confectionary companies are also very aware of the green tea popularity. what other market in the world is so quick to try ANYTHING new? (gee i love japan, as much i love fads - we are a perfect match)

i felt it my moral duty to be the unofficial taste tester for all new green tea products flooding the japanese market at the moment.

i have already introduced the hagan dazz green tea and molases ice cream sandwich -  giving it a 10 out of 10.

just as the japanese love to rank anything and everything; from cute boys and fruit juice to lipsticks and ear pickers, i will rank the latest green tea products.

no.1 green tea kit kat

not exactly a new comer to the market, as i tried this one a few months ago. but a very big winner. have a break have a kit kat...no wait have a healthy, scrumptious flu preventing break, have a green tea kit kat.

added to its green teaness, kito kato (as the japanese call it) is also seen as a symbol of good luck and fly off the shelves around exam time! lucky break huh nestle, bloody good job!!

no.2 green tea coolish

a long time fan of the vanilla coolish, introduced to me by zume last summer; the green tea coolish is a refreshing icey treat. and it looks healthy, doesn't it? wrapped in an environmentally thoughtful, sporty looking pack, who would think it is packed with sugar?? another winner by the japanese food giant lotte.

no.3 the green tea cream cake

tasting a lot more like grass than green tea, this moist little cake ingeniously uses cream to sweeten up its unusual flavour. (despite the odd taste, i could manage to easily down four of them in the blink of an eyelid , all in the name of health and science)

although i cannot be sure that any of these products contain catechin polyphenols or epigallocatechin gallate (the powerful  anti-oxidants that claim to inhibit the growth of cancer cells cancer, lower LDL cholesterol levels and inhibit the abnormal formation of blood clots)  anything is worth a try. perhaps if mixed with healthy doses of red wine (the french elixir containing resveratrol, a  polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet) i could very well have created my very own international diet, bubbling with antioxidants. ??? i'll let you know how it goes.