Thursday, April 27, 2006

I Don't Like It When People Say the "H" In Herb

The good news is that almost every aspect of my cold is gone. The bad news is that the one remaining element, the cough, is horrendous, dramatic, keeping me and my husband up at night, making me ache, and giving me a headache. And, most importantly, annoying my coworkers.

The good thing is, though, I work with people who work with homeopaths. And then have interesting ideas about how to make you better. Such as, Chrysanthemum Tea. So, an editor supplied me with an empty packet of the "good" sort of tea that had been sent to her, and the address of a local acupuncturist/chinese herbal store (the acupuncturist goes by Doctor Ginger. I find this hysterical. Even more hysterical since I found that link.)

Anyway. Original packet:


And so, E-liz and I were off on a work sanctioned adventure. (she, because she works with the homeopaths, and me, because my boss wanted me to stop coughing already!) The building was easy to find. We walk in, and at it's a compact, dusty, small but awesome store presents itself to me. At 11:30 AM on a Thursday morning, the store was already crowded with 3 other people. E-liz and I edge our way around to where we see an entire wall of teas, we settle in, knowing that this would be a long process, figuring out which one we need. I'm holding the original Chrysanthemum Beverage packet in my hand, and an older Chinese lady walks up ot us and tells us that "These are teas for colds." Then, she notices the packed in my hand and says, "Are you looking for that one?" "Yes," we reply, and she disappears but almost instantly throws this bag at me:


And, notice the green sweep-y thing at the top - it's the same brand, just the Americanized version of the tea I'm holding. So I immediately buy it.

Total damage? 20 packs of the tea powder stuff for $2.

And yeah, it's a disolving powder that's very sugary, but good. It smells like maple sugar.

I'm not sure if it was the traditional Chinese remedy or just the hot sugary water, but something in that made my cough better. For about a half hour. Which I'll totally take.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got quite the godsmack yesterday. I was "sick" on Tuesday and called a sub. Naturally, on Wednesday I really was sick! I hate tea, but I was a good little girl and drank what was prescribed by my mom. I'll take a half hour of cessation any time!

Oh, and my friend at work wants to be your friend, too.

Lizzle said...

I think you're just faking... you want matt to buy you something pretty and pink so you are dramatically faking it until you get what you want!

Good for you!

Just teasin ;)

Feel better peanut!

Kat in da Hat said...

There is no substitute for Chinese herbal medicine.

We hate the "h" in herb too. A herb (h included) is a loser. Everyone knows that! An herb (no h sounded) is what you smoke...I mean drink...I mean season your food with.

Oh forget it.

Feel better!

Kiki said...

I'm glad I read the url to your Dr. Ginger link (exclamationadultvideo.com!)before I clicked...at work!

I hope the tea helps and you feel better soon.

doggerelblogger said...

I totally agree with you about the "H" in herb. Whenever people say it like that, I always think about my dead grandfather (Herbert Barnsley Fox II). Everyone called him "Herb").

He discovered a star, too. But named it some dumb number. How boring.

Anonymous said...

I wanted to comment, but the only one I could come up with bored me.

Good luck with the cold.

Anonymous said...

Wait, if you're dramatically sick people will buy you pretty pink things?? Where is your world, and can I come live in it, please?

v said...

I still say you should sneak in some chicken soup. But maybe Chrysanthemum Tea is chicken soup for vegetarians.

Anonymous said...

They do that in England and it drives me nuts. Especially when they ask me if I want some herbal tea or if I use Herbal Essence.

Anonymous said...

I know someone who swears by Dr. Ginger. He gets acupuncture from her and loves it. He tried to get his wife to try it and she freaked out after the first needle and ran out. You should let her stick pins in you and report back.

Lisa said...

Can hot sugary water every be a bad thing? I think not! I love reading your blog! I'll be back! Michele sent me today